Challenges for interactive electronic technical publications in military aviation

In military aviation, Technical Publications (TP) are fundamental for the establishment of a maintenance strategy and provisioning of information support and maintenance services. They are also under the supervision of military authorities. For complex technical systems such as aircraft, technical publications often contain essential information such as indenture levels, repair and replacement instructions, spare part information, configuration information, required tools and item-related maintenance information. The manufacturer is faced with the challenge of coordinating the production of the complete TP-package. Authors and illustrators must write, draw and supply meta-data to every piece of information. They must do so according to detailed specifications (e.g. ASD S1000D) and writing guides. There is also complex cross-reference handling within the TP-package to consider, e.g. from maintenance instructions to illustrated parts catalogues. Cross-references exist within the content in the same publication, to other publications and/or to external information sources, e.g. databases. The information contained in the final TP-package is equivalent to, literally, tens of thousands of A4-pages. Paper-based deliveries, when occurring, are in themselves a logistic feat. The need for context-based adaptation of this complex information content to different actors' requirements is also challenging and need to be considered when establishing an efficient information logistic solution for provision of TP. Hence, the purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of some of the challenges and issues for establishing development and provisioning of Interactive Electronic Technical Publications (IETP[1]). Some important aspects and requirements on integration of IETP for both provider and user are also highlighted. The scope of the overview is restricted to an eMaintenance context related to military aviation.Godkänd; 2010; 20100506 (raka