Before
- Mandatory paperwork binders impacted weight requirement restrictions for flights and created clutter in the helicopter cockpit.
- Crews spent multiple hours manually completing paperwork, reducing their mandatory rest time. Office staff had to sort through piles of paper flight reports each week and file them in heavy binders.
- Traceability of documents for safety and audit purposes was a tedious, manual process.
After
- Creating an electronic flight bag of mandatory paperwork optimized the weight/load bearing capacity for the 12-helicopter fleet.
- 600+ labor hours were saved per year by the flight crew and office teams with digital documents, automated processes, and reporting. Data is now analyzed, stored, and presented in a more efficient and secure way.
- The first helicopter company in Eastern Canada able to provide a paperless trace for all clients
Project Overview
Panorama Helicopters has two decades of excellence in aviation under its belt. The Canadian company’s headquarters is in Alma, Quebec, with bases in Alberta, Nunavut and British Columbia. Panorama has a fleet of 12 helicopters and offers a wide range of services including forest fire fighting, emergency response, wildlife/environment management, scientific expeditions, aerial photography/videography, hydroelectric and pipeline inspections, and passenger charters.
Challenge
The aviation industry is highly regulated, and given Panorama’s crews often work in treacherous weather conditions and fly over dangerous terrain, there was zero margin for error. The company needed to maintain safety standards and productivity but faced a variety of challenges:
- Paperwork binders in the cockpit impacted weight-restricted flights. Mandatory paperwork added 10 lbs of weight to each helicopter cockpit, which had to be assessed with the load or carry requirements of each job.
- Manual completion of paperwork decreased crew rest times. Crews were working late and losing valuable rest time because they had to manually complete paperwork after each flight. The time taken from the crew’s rest time in the evening meant a delayed takeoff time the following day.
- Significant time spent on office paperwork. Office staff were inundated with paperwork from flight reports submitted at the end of each week by flight crews — manually sorting through each flight report and filing the paperwork in heavy binders to prep for audits.
Solution
Panorama needed an aviation inspection software to solve logistical and operational issues hindering productivity. Panorama chose Fluix for its fast roll out, ease of use, and offline capabilities, which helped digitally transform the company by:
- Implementing EFB to optimize weight/load capacity per flight. The maneuverability and weight/load-bearing capacity of each helicopter directly determines the types of jobs it can complete. By replacing 10 lbs of paperwork binders with electronic flight bags on iPads, pilots freed up valuable space.
- Saving 12+ labor hours per week spent on manual paperwork. Panorama replaced manual processes for completing flight reports and other mandatory paperwork affecting Panorama’s availability for last-minute contracts. Flight crews saved time which could be spent resting, so they’re ready for their next job, while the office staff saved time spent on redundant admin tasks.
- Streamlining processes between flight crews and office staff. Before Fluix, flight crews kept all flight reports and other paperwork until the last day of the week for the office team to file. Now with Fluix, digital documents automatically sync back to the office and are safely stored in the cloud, making life easier for the office team and providing peace-of-mind at audit time.
“Fluix provides a really transparent view for auditors – both internal and external. We can also follow-up with people who are delayed in getting things signed-off.”
Patrick Cote,
Safety Officer & Training Pilot
Results
The helicopter company was the first in Eastern Canada to provide a paperless, digital aviation safety management onboard their 12 aircraft.
“Fluix is a tremendous tool. It allowed us to transform our safety management system according to our company’s needs. Other software systems for general operations aren’t as specific or customized as Fluix.”
Patrick Cote,
Safety Officer & Training Pilot
Discover why field teams rely on Fluix
Fluix is inspection software that manages journey logs, maintenance checklists, training records, and compliance audits in one place. Talk to our team and see what that looks like for your operation.
