Introduction
The aviation industry is constantly evolving and advancing, and one of the most significant areas of change is in flight crew training. The use of electronic forms has become increasingly prevalent in flight crew training as they offer several advantages over traditional paper-based forms. In this post, we will explore the benefits of electronic forms in flight crew training and how they can improve overall effectiveness and safety in flight operations.
Types of electronic forms
Electronic forms come in various forms and shapes. These can be simple pdf-forms that in essence just replace a paper form with some additional fanciness. Then we have online forms such as Google forms that are great for surveys and other data collection where the person filling the form is connected to the internet.
The third form type is the mission-specific form. In aviation, that means the ability to fill out any form at any time, regardless if the user has access to the internet at the time of form filling.
Not only do these mission-specific forms allow offline access, but they often allow the collection of specific data types essential to the industry where it is used. In aviation, the collection of core competencies in combination with observable behaviors used in evidence-based training are examples of such specific collection types. The rest of the article will focus on the industry-specific forms that are used in aviation.
Benefits of using electronic forms
Apart from the rather obvious fact that an electronic form can be much easier controlled than a paper-based form which can be outdated and with the incorrect version number. Electronic forms are easy to modify and can have built-in validation which can help to ensure that all required information is provided. They can also include multimedia elements such as images, tables, and more which can enhance training and checking even further.
Integrations
Effective training administration can be enhanced through the integration of electronic forms with scheduling tools. By doing so, basic information such as crew and instructor data can be pre-populated into the forms, reducing the risk of errors caused by manual input. Furthermore, by automating the calculation of expiry dates for certifications or qualifications, such as line checks, and seamlessly transmitting this information to relevant scheduling systems, the process of scheduling crew members for flight duty can be streamlined and ensure compliance with legal requirements.
Data analysis
By using electronic forms in flight crew training, Training managers can easily identify trends and weaknesses in their department. Not only ca
n this be a good indication of what to focus on next, but it can be used to standardise instructors and examiners to make sure everyone is performing there job to the expected level.
Conclusion
There are a lot of things to mention when it comes to digitalisation in the aviation training industry and the transformation has only begun. At Crewdox we work tirelessly to provide powerful and user-friendly software to the aviation industry. If you would like to know more about what we have to offer, please have a look at our web pages and we would be happy to discuss how we could help your operation with digital transformation.