AMTS Tour
The AMTS tour is divided into the two main areas - Setup and Routine Management.
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A quick word on Security. Your Alto AMTS web is secured so that
only you and those you authorize can access and modify data in
your web.
Managers can Add, Delete or redefine the roles of users by clicking
the "Setup" menu item and then selecting "User
Details".
There are four levels of security that define what users can
and cannot do on AMTS. These levels are called "User Roles"
and the privilages are defined in the following chart.
User Role |
Privileges |
| Guest |
Can view all information.
Cannot make any changes. |
| LogEntry |
Can view all information.
Cannot make any changes except as follows...
Can change their own password.
Can update the Logs on any Part.
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| Update |
Can view all information.
Cannot make any changes except as follows...
Can change their own password.
Can update the Logs on any Part.
Can add new Maintenance Records.
Can update Maintenance completed. |
| Manager |
Full access to change any information including
adding, editing and deleting Parts, Logs, Requirements,
Records and Users. |
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There are three basic items in Alto-AMTS; Parts,
Maintenance Requirements and Maintenance Records. The key to understanding
how to use Alto-AMTS is in understanding these three items - it
is what makes AMTS so flexible and such a powerfull tool.
A Part is any specific item that you wish to track the maintenance
done to it. For the maintenance side of AMTS, parts will always
have some way of uniquely identifying them, like a serial number.
Some examples of parts are "N123GK" (a US registered
aircraft), or "BVA6090" (a Harzell Propeller)
A Maintenance Requirement (referred to usually as just "Requirement")
is a description of a single Maintenance Requirement for one or
more Parts. For example "100 hour Inspection" is a Requirement
that might apply to all the Airframes in your organization and
is repeated every 100 hours of flight time.
A Maintenance Record is a description of which Requirement is
due/completed on which Part and at what time. For example "100
hour inspection due on N123GK at 12,100 hours"
When you setup AMTS for your organization, you will tell AMTS
about all the parts you will be tracking, all the Requirements
for those parts, and then set a New Record for each time a Requirement
applies to a Part.
Once AMTS is set up, all you need to do is periodically update
the Airframe logs, check the forecast for upcomming maintenance
and update each of the Records for maintenance you performed.
Alto-AMTS comes with a basic setup which includes common items
such as the 'Airframe', 'Engine' and 'Propeller' Categories.
Parts
A Part is simply any part that you
want to track in terms of Days, Hours, Cycles. The following are good examples
of Part; Turbine Wheels, Compressor Wheels, Engines, Propellers,
and Airframes.
Part are organized in Categories and Sub Categories. For example,
airframe "C-TEST" (a Part) might be a "Metro SW-3". The
Category used here is "Airframe", and the
Sub Category is "Metro SW-3".
Alto-AMTS comes installed with the Categories "Airframe", "Engine", and
"Propeller" already in place. Generally speaking, Categories describe what
a Part is (Airframe, Engine, First Stage Turbine Wheel, etc.)
and Sub Categories describe the specific model ("PA-31", "TPE-331-6", "First
Stage Turbine Wheel (867569-1/-3/-7)", etc.)
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Adding your fleet is very simple. Start with one aircraft and
use the "Add Part Wizard" to add the airframe, then add each item attached
to the airframe that you want to track separately.
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Scenario 1: The Part Number already Exists in AMTS...
If the Part Number already exists in AMTS, then
you can just enter it and click "Continue...". If you
don't know the exact part number then click "Browse"
to find it. Once you click "Continue", AMTS directs
you to the Serial Number Summary page for the Part Number you
entered.
The top part of the page give you space to enter in a new serial
number. For the Part Name, enter a name that uniquely identifies
the part - it doesn't have to be the serial number, but should
be a name that you will recognize. e.g. You can use the registration
instead of the serial number if the part is an airframe. Names
like "Engine #1" are not good, as that name will loose
meaning if you move the engine to Stores or another airframe.
Select the location of the new Part - "Root" means that
you will see it under the Aircraft Menu and on all reports. Generally,
only Airframes are "Root Components". If it's an engine
that belongs to a certain airframe, then select that airframe
as the Location. If you keep a log for the item, the you will
probably want AMTS to keep a log as well, so check "Requires
Log". and enter the current hours and cycles. Next, click
"Add Serial Number" and AMTS will add it to the inventory
and show the new Part in the list at the bottom of the Serial
Number Summary page.
Click the "Details" link of the same line of your new
Part to view the Part Details Page.
Scenario 2: The Part Number Does Not Exist in AMTS...
If the Part Number doesn't exist in AMTS, then
click "Add New Part Number" to add it. This part of
the wizard will ask you information about the new Part Number.
Select the Category and Sub Category. If an appropriate Category
or Sub Category are not in the list, then type in a new Category
or Sub Category in the space provided and click "Add Category"
(or "Add Sub Category"). Identifying the Supplier is
optional, but usefull when it comes to Part Numbers that you re-order
often. In Step 5 of this page, enter a name that
uniquely identifies the part - it doesn't have to be the serial
number, but should be a name that you will recognize. e.g. You
can use the registration instead of the serial number if the part
is an airframe. When you click "Add Part No. & This Serial
No", AMTS will add these two items (the new Part Number,
and New Serial Number) and redirect you to the Part Details page.
Names like "Engine #1" are not good, as that name will
loose meaning if you move the engine to Stores or another airframe.
Select the location of the new Part - "Root" means that
you will see it under the Aircraft Menu and on all reports. Generally,
only Airframes are "Root Components". If it's an engine
that belongs to a certain airframe, then select that airframe
as the Location.
In both cases, you end up at the Part Details
page. When you get to the "Part Details" page of the New Part
Wizard, most of the fields are self explanatory. Click
here to learn more about each field.
The next step normally done, is add a Maintenance Requirement
and Record. Once you have confirmed the information in the Part
Details page, and have saved them by clicking "Save Changes",
then click "Add Records" to move on.
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Requirements describe what kind of
work is required. For example, "100 hour Inspection", or "Fuel Pump
Assembly Overhaul" describe recurrent work required on a Part.
"7,000 Cycle Life Limited" describes a non-recurrent Requirement (in this case,
a Requirement to replace the a part).
Once a Requirement is entered into the system, you can create a
Record that tells the you what Requirement is due on what
Part. For example, "C-GABC" requires "100 hour inspection" at 12,200
hours.
It's easiest to add Requirements once you've finished adding
a new part. If you have the Part Details page (found at the end
of the New Parts Wizard, or by opening a part and clicking on
the name of the part), then just click "Add Records"
at the bottom. You can also start by opening the part in the menu
and clicking "Add Records"
AMTS starts you off here by asking you to select an existing
requirement. If your requirement exists in the system, then select
it and click "Move on to Record" to add a record of
this requirement in the system.
If your requirment does not exist in the system, then you need
to click the "Create New Requirement..." option and
start filling in the details.
The Requirements form has space for a number of items you can
use to help you remember what maintenance is required (e.g. "Service
Bulliten"). Enter the information or leave them blank.
The "Applies only to..." box tells AMTS what type of
Part this requirement applies to. This feature
exists to help prevent errors. Select the applicable
Category , etc. so that you and other users will only be presented
with appropriate Requirements when adding a Requirement to
a Part at a later date. The rule of thumb here is to select
as little as possible - If your requirement applies to ALL airframes,
then select "Airframe" and nothing else for Sub Category
and Part. If it applies to ALL PA-31s but no other airframes,
then narrow it down by selecting this Sub Category. In rare cases,
a requirement applies ONLY to one specific part (say, one airframe
identified by serial number and possibly other factors) - in these
cases, select the Actual Part. Generally, you will be creating
more work for yourself by selecting the specific part, so avoid
it if you can.
The next box, "Recurrent / Life Limited" box, is the most important
information for a Requirement. Here, you specify when the
Requirement is due. You simply enter the limiting information.
For example, if an inspection is due every year, then enter "1"
in the "Years" field.
The "Searches for this item should look an additional..." box is used for
Requirements that require long lead times. Lets say that you
might normally use the Forecast feature of AMTS to look ahead 50 cycles,
but you want to order a new hot section 6 months in advance to take advantage
of better pricing. In this case, if you wait until you see the
Requirement listed in the Forecast page, then you will probably have to order
the hot section to be delivered much sooner. You can get around this
problem by entering the approximate number of cycles for 6 months in this
box.
The next section is used for Requirements that end after a period, but a
different Requirement begins at that time. For example, you might have a
TBO of 2,000 hours on an engine at the end of which the engine goes on an "On
Condition" program. You could start the "On Condition" Requirement at the
end of the "2,000 TBO" Requirement.
Last, is the Trends check box. If the only purpose of this Requirement is
to monitor trends, then leave this box checked.
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To Edit a Maintenance Requirement,
find the Requirement by navigating the menu from the Requirements
section.
Next, Click the item name to view and edit the changes. |
Deleting Maintenance
Requirements
To Delete a Maintenance Requirement,
follow the steps to Edit the Requirement you want to delete, and
then click the "Delete" button.
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Alto-AMTS keeps a log
for Parts that are marked as "Requires Log". In
each log, it tracks the Hours, Cycles, the name of who made
the log entry, when, and where the Part was
when the log entry was made.
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To make an entry in a Part
Log , find the Part in
the menu and open the Part Details page by clicking on the Part.
A Log entry is as simple as changing the new totals (Hours,
Cycles) and then Clicking "Save Changes". The name
of the currently logged on user, a Date & Time Stamp,
Where the Part is located and other information
is automatically entered.
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Each time you update a Log, you have the option of creating a
log entry for all other Part attached (Attached Part)
or just this one Part. The default is to update all Attached
Parts. For example, if C-FABC was previously at 100
hours, and now is at 101 hours, then each Attached Parts
will have 1 hour added to it and a Log entry made for that Attached
Part if it requires a log.
Corrections are simple. Change the hours, etc. to the correct
value and add an optional explanatory note in the Notes section
(e.g. "Hours corrected for error on 5 July, 2002) before clicking
"Update Part"
If a component becomes out of sync (for example, if it was taken
off the airframe in reality, but not in AMTS, but updated anyways),
the you can correct the times by finding the specific component
(e.g. the offending engine) and updating just the engine and attached
components.
Often personnel updating the logs
are not maintenance personnel and are responsible for updating
several logs at the same time. You can update several Airframes
from the same page by using the "Update All Logs" link
found just under the Aircraft section of the menu.
There are two ways you can update logs from this page. You can
either enter the new total hours or cycles under the "Hours"
and "Cycles" Columns, or you can just enter the change
in time in the "+/-" columns. In the example above,
if you wanted to update the hours for N123GK to 5686.7, you could
either change the value in the Hours column from 5685.6 to 5686.7
or you could enter 1.1 in the "+/- Hours" column. Next,
click "Update Row" on the same row as N123GK.
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Simply find the Part on
the menu and click "Log" directly underneath that Part. There is a
"Log" button for every Part.
Alto-AMTS will display the last 20 lines in the log. You can view previous
entries by clicking on the page numbers at the bottom of any log page.
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A Record has two functions;
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When a Record is first created, it describes "A
Requirement Due on a Part
at a time determined by the Requirement." For example, it might say, "A
100 hour inspection is due on C-TEST when it reaches 9,200 hours."
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Once the Requirement has been satisfied, we Update the Record so that it
describes "A Requirement was complied with on the Part at a certain
date." For example, it might say, "A 100 hour inspection, which was due
on C-TEST at 9,200 hours, was complied with at 9,204 hours on 20-Jul-2002."
For recurrent Requirements, Alto-AMTS automatically creates a new Record to
reestablish another due period, bringing us back to step 1.
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If the Requirement already exists in your web then find the
Part you wish to add the Record
to and click "Add Record"
The Add Record page will display only the Requirements that are applicable for
the Part you selected. If you change the Part, then
the page will update the list of Requirements and allow you to continue adding
Records.
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Add as many as you like for as many different Part (even though you
started with one Part, you can continue and add Records for other Part
without going back to the menu).
It is important to note that the Due fields are for the Part your
are working on, and not the parent! For example if
your are working on a Part that is an Engine (attached to an
Airframe) and the Requirement is "2,000 hour TBO", then you should enter
"2000" in the Due Hours field, and not the airframe time when the TBO would be
due.
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You can view the Record History of any
Part by finding that Part in the menu and clicking
"History"
A page will appear that lets you select the Requirement you want the history for
on that Part. Select it and click "Refresh".
Click "Detail" on any Record to view the details and edit it.
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The Forecast sectioin is the most efficient way to get a snapshot of
a single Airframe or your whole fleet. The forecast section filters out
all the Records due for an airframe and
all the Part attached to that
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You can specify how far ahead you want to look by entering limits in the filter
boxes at the top of the page.
An "Update" link is located beside each record on the Forecast Page, so
that you can easily update that item. AMTS opens a new browser when you
click this link so you can update the record, close the new browser and not
loose your place on the Forecast Page.
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Once you have (physically) completed a maintenance requirement that is
in AMTS, you will want to update that Record
to show that this work was completed. In addition, if the requirement is
recurrent, then you will want to create a new Record to remind you to complete
it again some time in the future.
This process is very easy in AMTS, as the web will step you through updating
your record in a logical manner.
Start by finding the Record you want to update from the Forecast section
(described above), and click the Update link.
A new browser will open and display this record for you to update. Enter
the current Hours/Date/Cycles of when the work was completed. You
only need to enter the one that is applicable - for example if the item was due
every 100 hours, then enter the hours (you don't need to enter the date, but
you can if you wish.)
Click the "Update Record" button at the bottom of this page. Your update
has now been saved. If the Requirement is recurrent (e.g. every 100
hours, or every year), then AMTS will create a new record for your showing the
new due date/hours/cycles. Check the information for accuracy and then
click "Save New Record". You are now finished with this record and can
close the new browser.
On occasion, you may find that the information you entered in a
Record was incorrect. You can easily change this information by
simply finding the record from the Forecast menu and clicking "Edit".
Once you have made your changes, click "Save".
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