TO management becoming easier

  • Published
  • By 1st Lt. Laura Renner
  • 82nd Training Wing Public Affairs
SHEPPARD AIR FORCE BASE, Texas (AFPN) --  Ever receive an update to a technical order that is out of sequence? For instance, update No. 11 came after update No. 12 rather than before.

Ever ask for a specific technical order and never receive it?

Technical orders provide the blueprint maintainers use for the upkeep of aircraft in the Air Force. Outdated TOs can create flight safety issues and could possibly lead to mishaps.

Air Force officials have launched a new management system that will create a more efficient process for maintaining TOs.

New electronic TOs have begun to replace the heavy and cumbersome black binders used for several years. Yet, waiting to receive updated TOs or changes to mistakes in old TOs still places a burden on maintainers, officials said.

"The [old] TO process takes too much time to go from point of idea to point of application," said Staff Sgt. Dean Middleton, a C-130 Hercules crew chief instructor in the 360th Training Squadron here.

The Enhanced Technical Information Management System will enhance, consolidate and modernize the Air Force's technical systems with a digital approach, officials said.

"ETIMS is a TO-management system that is user-friendly and provides accurate and up-to-date data as required," said Chip Haerr of the technical data modernization change management team based out of Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. The team has been working with Intergraph Corporation to develop and test the new system.

Currently, no single system manages the more than 130,000 TOs. Many agencies control the TO processes such as distribution and updates, but without talking to each other. This leads to many overlaps and inefficiencies, officials said.

According to the developer, ETIMS offers a single point of access for all TO data, a real-time TO index, immediate notifications of updates, an online view of the status of any TO change, a paperless flightline and improved efficiency.

The development team did not simply think up this system. Developers, along with a team from Wright-Patterson, visited several bases to find the source of the problem. They also looked at the 20-plus agencies managing TOs.

"We were panning for gold," Mr. Haerr said.

Intergraph and Air Force officials took the best parts of each of the management systems, as well as the needs of the crews on the flightline, and created the single management system -- ETIMS.

Currently the team is testing its system at different bases, using its observations to improve the system back at the drawing board.

The team visited Sheppard recently to get inputs from the technical training side of the Air Force.

The team will introduce ETIMS in segments to slowly and fully integrate the system into the Air Force beginning in June. The process should be complete by March 2006. (Courtesy of Air Education and Training Command News Service)