Aviation / Customer story

150 manuals.
One content foundation.

Conceptual illustration of the United Airlines structured-content workflow

The reported impact

3 to 1legacy applications consolidatedHistorical case-study scope. ROI is a projection, not a measured payback result.

Conceptual illustration

In Brief

Challenges

FAA and ICAO guidelines compel commercial air transport operators to comply with extensive documentation requirements.
Operation, policy, and procedural documents must be maintained for both the fleet and the operational staff.
Content must be delivered in various ways to multiple devices.
Three different legacy documentation systems were in use, each requiring vendor support, internal IT support, and user training. Publishing used 12 separate process flows.

Results

The solution deployed for United Airlines allows them to:

Create and curate all their content with a single system.
Easily share content across publications.
Easily add reference content.
Instantly identify what content relates to which regulation.
Easily publish content in any format and for any device.
Reduce the cost of documentation while improving accuracy and usability.
Simplify the validation process with an easily accessed comprehensive audit trail.

About United Airlines

United Airlines is the third largest airline globally,

operating over 850 aircraft and employing over 84,000 staff. They operate more than 1.7 million flights each year and carry over 162 million customers.

The Challenge

FAA (Federal Aviation Authority) and ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization) guidelines compel commercial air transport operators to comply with extensive documentation requirements.

In addition, airlines have internal documentation requirements. Operation, policy, and procedural documents must be maintained for both the fleet and the operational staff, and they must be delivered in various ways and to multiple devices.

“The solution provided by Bluestream has revolutionized the entire document workflow and delivered huge benefits to United Airlines.”

Amy O’Dell,
Senior Manager Technical Data
Management at United Airlines

The Solution

Once the final requirement document was completed, it was submitted as part of a larger RFP for Technical data and Company manual authoring and management improvement project.

Several companies submitted RFP responses, including two aircraft manufacturers and several industry-leading authoring publishing companies.

These proposals included propriety systems, some using SGML/XML, S1000D, and DITA standards.

The initial desire was to utilize one authoring/ management system for both Technical manuals and Company manuals.

As the review process unfolded, it was determined that the one tool option was not available, and developing a single system that met United Airlines’ needs was not in scope for the vendors that were initially approached.

United Airlines then met with the consultants and focused more on the best single authoring tool for non-technical company manuals. Most of the company manuals were based on the ATA 100 standard.

As they moved ahead, it was decided to include DITA as part of the selection process. This option appeared to provide some benefits, such as more efficient data conversion, use of oxygen (as many of the authors had already been using), and the possibility to develop a regulatory compliance tag.

The main focus was the ease of setup, training, multi-format flexibility, Regulatory compliance tagging, and lower data conversion costs.

Subscription costs and recurring support costs were also a high priority.

United Airlines interviewed several DITA providers, and based on the best industry expertise and support; subsequently, Bluestream was selected.

Bluestream has been helping companies improve and streamline their documentation processes for over twenty years, applying experience gained and best practices developed in one industry to another.

The Result

United Airlines used three legacy applications to manage 150 operation, policy, and procedures manuals.

Replacing these with a single solution from Bluestream will enable United Airlines to achieve a total return on investment in under three years.

Amy O’Dell,
Senior Manager Technical Data
Management at United Airlines

Questions & answers

More about this case study

What documentation did United Airlines need to manage?

The case study describes 150 operation, policy, and procedures manuals managed in three legacy applications. Documentation had to support regulatory requirements and reach operational staff across multiple formats and devices.

Why did United Airlines select Bluestream?

Its selection priorities included setup and training, multi-format flexibility, regulatory compliance tagging, data conversion costs, subscription costs, and support. United Airlines selected Bluestream after interviewing several DITA providers.

What does the case study say about return on investment?

The original story projects a total return on investment in under three years from replacing three legacy applications with a single Bluestream solution. This is a projected outcome, not a measured payback result.

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