"The need for a maintenance-tracking program such as ADVICS is increasingly important as aircraft fleets around the world continue to age."- Garry Lynchuk, Director of Business Services
Air safety is a top priority with Canada’s airline industry, one that extends to airspace around the world.
According to the Canadian Transportation Safety Board there were 339 accidents involving Canadian-registered aircraft in 1996, 18.5% fewer than the annual average of the previous five years. At the same time, flying hours by Canadian-registered aircraft increased by .4 per cent, giving an accident rate of 8.8 accidents per 100,000 flying hours, compared with a rate of 10.3 in 1995.
Proper maintenance of aircraft is vital to sustaining Canada’s air safety record. With the help of a new software program developed by a tenant of Innovation Place, airlines around the world are better able to track maintenance and repairs of their aircraft fleets.
Canadian Digital Photo/Graphics, located at 122 - 15 Innovation Boulevard, has developed a software program which records vital statistics on aircraft maintenance and repair, and provides visual images of areas requiring repairs.
The company was founded by Garry Lynchuk and Lyle Chamney who bring years of experience as aircraft engineers to their new business venture.
Lynchuk says that before the introduction of Canadian Digital Photo/Graphic’s new software program, the method used to track aircraft damage involved "drawing the damage. Then you would fax it over to the repair station for proper repair." Not an exact science.
The need for such a maintenance-tracking program is increasingly important as aircraft fleets around the world continue to age. "The older an aircraft gets, the more work it needs. More cracks show up, corrosion, all kinds of problems. The work required on each aircraft intensifies," says Garry Lynchuk, director of business services.
Transport Canada requires that every aircraft registered in Canada have a permanent and continually updated maintenance record.
Lynchuk and Chamney felt there had to be a better way to communicate this information. Going with the idea that a picture is worth a thousand words, the two aircraft engineers obtained a digital camera and began investigating.
Following specifications set forth by Lynchuk and Chamney, a program was developed that tracks aircraft maintenance and repairs, and provides clear and accurate color photographs of damaged areas using digital images. "We’ve now expanded our staff and have hired our own programmer," says Lynchuk.
The software program, known as ADVICS (Aircraft Digital Visual Inspection Cataloguing System, allows for data, visual images, mandatory inspection records and audits to be easily transmitted around the world.
Digital photos of the damaged areas of the aircraft would be taken by an aircraft engineer or aircraft operator, who then sends the damage report away. Photos, which can be easily magnified, indicate damage in clear detail.
The ADVICS database will record the level of damage, and how many incidents of damage have been present on the aircraft, thus identifying potential weaknesses or problem areas specific to an individual make of plane.
Data can be accessed by reference number, zone, work card – all standard terms of reference in the aircraft industry around the world.
Canadian Digital Photo/Graphics is currently marketing the ADVICS software program to airlines and aircraft manufacturers located around the world. The partners are very pleased with the response to date to the ADVICS program, and have been busy traveling across Canada and the U.S., to meet with airline companies and aircraft manufacturers. The company is already working closely with federal aviation organizations and several North American airlines.
The company opened offices at Innovation Place in January of 1997. Lynchuk says that the Internet access offered to tenants of the research park has already proven to be a big benefit. "We’ve found it very easy to contact potential clients and invite them to look up our website for additional information. It’s a lot easier and cost efficient than sending out brochures."
To learn more about Canadian Digital Photo/Graphics, check the WorldWide Web at www.Digital-Pics-At-Work.com, or call company representatives at 955-7731.