Boeing

Boeing [NYSE: BA] Commercial Aviation Services announced that Japan Airlines (JAL) is the first licensed customer of the Maintenance Performance Toolbox, an innovative set of performance-enhancing solutions for aircraft maintenance and troubleshooting.

Accessible via an Internet browser as a secured, hosted service, the "Maintenance Toolbox" is a key component within Boeing's evolving portfolio of performance-enhancing solutions for aircraft maintenance. Under the new agreement, JAL has access to the Structures Tool within Maintenance Toolbox.

Maintenance Toolbox uses intelligent documents and visual navigation methods to help technical operations staff troubleshoot airplane systems and manage structural repair records, parts, and task cards. The Structures Tool provides 3D models for recording, viewing, and analyzing structural repairs, making use of accumulated repair knowledge, and maintaining records of repair activities for multiple fleet types. It also includes a repair history database of records that includes details of repairs and repair locations on one or more aircraft. Users can search the database for information about repairs performed in specific areas of the airplane, search for similar repairs on other airplanes in their fleet, and enter/edit/delete repair records.

Mr. Hideo Hiramoto, vice president of the engineering department at JAL, said, "We are very pleased to be the launch customer for the Structures Tool of the Maintenance Performance Toolbox because we are the development partner for this innovative product. We are excited with the completion of the project, as we know it will help us to accomplish more reliable maintenance operations."

Boeing provides secure hosting for all of JAL's data and reliable access to the user interface of the Structures Tool through MyBoeingFleet.com. Engineers need only a computer -- a laptop, desktop or pen tablet -- and an Internet connection to access the system.

Maintenance Toolbox is a key element of Boeing's effort to e-Enable the air transport system. Boeing intends to offer content, applications, and services that connect all the data generated by an entire flight operation -- in the air, on the ground and in the hangar -- meaningful to all users: pilots, mechanics, flight attendants, operations departments and airport users -- and other potential customers.