CASE HISTORIES

Continental Airlines achieves success with OpenAIR

Continental Ailrines based in Houston, Texas has implemented Cambridge Online’s OpenAIR Aircraft Maintenance Management System and as a result has reduced operational disruptions and aircraft maintenance downtime.

In July 1999, Continental celebrated its 65th Anniversary. Once known as "The Proud Bird With The Golden Tail," Continental boasts a long and distinctive history that began on July 15, 1934 with single-engine Lockheed aircraft on dusty runways in the American Southwest.

Continental relocated its headquarters to Houston, Texas, in October 1982 after merging with Texas International. In 2003, Continental was ranked most admired international U.S. airline among Fortune magazine's annual list of America's Most Admired Companies. For the fourth consecutive year, Continental ranked No. 2 as the Most Admired U.S. Airline. Of the top-nine U.S. carriers ranked, Continental rated highest for the quality of its products and services.

Continental Airlines searched the market for a specialist Aircraft Maintenance Production Control solution to manage it’s heavy checks with core requirements to manage work packages by aircraft type, tail and zone, to capture WIP by employee, shift and skill, to link unplanned findings to originating work card and to manage event tracking, forecasting, what-if-analysis, post-check analysis and workload/measurement standards.

Soon after evaluating Cambridge Online’s specialist solution OpenAIR and following reference site visits to OpenAIR’s largest installation at FedEx, Continental Airlines selected to implement OpenAIR at its heavy base maintenance facilities in Houston, Texas.

A project team was created including Continental’s IT Management, Production Managers and User Champions together with Cambridge Online’s consultants who offered both industry experience and application expertise. Continental carried out the implementation in phases – rolling-out one bay at a time working closely with the FAA for approval of systems and processes. OpenAIR is now installed at all heavy maintenance bays and support shops at Continental’s Houston maintenance facilities.

“Once Technicians become familiar with the new system, they really like the way OpenIR puts all the critical work-card information at their fingertips” says Tom Cochran, Senior Production Controller, commenting on the project teams key focus on ensuring a positive user experience.

Considering the primary goal of introducing the new system Benny King, Senior Director, says “Due to OpenAIR's unique functionality in shop-floor planning and production control, we have re-shaped the Aircraft Maintenance Technicians' work environment and made great progress in meeting projected aircraft release dates.”

Key benefits Continental has achieved include:

Fewer airline operational disruptions due to slippage of planned release dates of aircraft from heavy maintenance
Reduction of aircraft maintenance downtime, resulting in outside contractor cost-avoidance
Improved integrity of performance measurement statistics, resulting in better workload standards and forecasting
Quality of life improvement for technicians with direct electronic access to key production information

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