Multi-Media NDT Procedures and Online- Maintenance Assistance in the Frame of the European RD Project INDeT (Integration of NDT)

摘要

Advanced information technologies are undergoing vast changes. Only a few years ago, hyper- and multimedia were still in their infancy. A European research group with considerable participation of Airbus studied the possibilities of developing in-service applications from these technologies. Hundreds of pages of paper, mainly text, illustrated by some graphics in black and white, properly sorted into DIN A4 folders with an overall thickness of 12 cm and a weight of approx. five kilograms - this is the documentation (NTM - Non-Destructive Testing Manual) according to which the most advanced civil aircraft are carefully and reliably tested for damage such as cracks, corrosion or deformations. An electronic demonstrator of a Multi-Media-Maintenance Manual (4M) has been designed, developed and tested for its suitability for daily business within the framework of the research project "Integration of Non-Destructive Testing", (INDeT). It is designed to substantially improve the efficiency of future maintenance processes by using multimedia and remote diagnostics systems. Further, in case of possible problems during a maintenance operation, the maintenance engineer can log into the computers of specialists at the aircraft manufacturers' via a telephone line. A small camera transmits live pictures of the aircraft - all around the world if required. The specialist can now view the problem area and rapidly support the engineer. Complicated descriptions on the phone and handwritten notes transmitted per fax belong to the past. This process is called Online- Maintenance Assistance (OMA). The deployment of the modern information technology will result in saving significant amounts of time and thus also reduce costs for the manufacturer (development of new procedures/instructions) and the airlines (application of these procedures/instructions). Creating and ensuring uniformity of structures and work processes in manuals and procedures will additionally result in a considerable reduction of the "human factor" as a potential influence on the measured results. By using multimedia-based forms of procedures and manuals, these procedures will be "less misinterpreted", as animations and links within documents can point out changes and new items more effectively.