Transport Canada's Aircraft
Services is striving to be more efficient while transitioning to a
new software system to be fully rolled out by 2008.
The new system - dubbed Teamcenter -- is being implemented to
manage the maintenance, repair and overhaul of Transport Canada's aircraft assets.
The MRO lifecycle management software and services are being
deployed by Plano, Texas-based UGS
Corp.
Currently, the Aircraft Services arm of Transport Canada
provides flight operations support to a variety of government
clients including the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, and the
Department of National Defence.
The contract joins UGS partner Electronic Data Systems (EDS) and
Public Works and Government Services (PWGSC) in a deal that sees
PWGSC receive 464 licensed seats of the MRO software.
"At the moment we're using multiple databases to do the work,"
said Transport Canada spokesperson Lucie Vignola. "We had been
looking for a solution to integrate all that."
Vignola added that the new software will mean moving to just one
system that will help streamline functions.
"It will also help us track inventory and our own control of the
maintenance performed on the different types of aircraft," she
said.
Having one system will enable Transport Canada to better plan
and execute the maintenance, and as a result, reduce inventory,
according to Victor Mate, UGS Canada senior account executive.
"For example, when a plane comes in for repair a certain part
the system would tell them that within five hours of the flight
you're going to have to replace something else," said Mate. "So
it's more of a proactive system."
The approximately 73 aircraft that are operated by Transport
Canada are for civilian and military roles.
Phil Taylor, vice president and general manager for UGS Canada,
said that maintaining a fleet of aircraft typically requires a high
level of collaboration that could be spread across an existing
facility.
"This system is providing one single system that allows
(Transport Canada) to manage all their assets in a consistent
accurate manner," he said.
Mate said that UGS has an extensive list of defense
manufacturers including Boeing and Lockheed Martin.
"We're actually helping these other companies manufacture the
parts using our tools and that becomes so much easier for them to
manage the planes if they already have that data pre-configured,"
he said.
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