CASE STUDY: Elevating efficiency at King Aerospace

Author: Chris Ranno, IT Manager, King Aerospace

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Chris Ranno, IT Manager at King Aerospace shares How eTT Aviation’s MISA Transforms King Aerospace’s Operations for Scalable Growth and Success

In this case study, I want to share with readers how a new software solution has helped King Aerospace’s business by streamlining and integrating processes while also improving our employees’ experience at work. But before that, let me introduce you to our business.

KING AEROSPACE

Aircraft maintenance company King Aerospace has been in business for 30 years, repairing and painting aircraft, and managing interior design for private and military customers. In this case study, we’ll explore how MISA (Management Information System for Aviation), from eTT Aviation, has played a pivotal role in improving our operations, enhancing efficiency and positioning us for sustainable growth.

First, a little bit of history. King Aerospace first met eTT Aviation in October 2005, and became a MISA customer to support a government CLS (Cargo Loading System) contract, as well as the MRO Operation. Since then, King and MISA have always had a strong relationship, working closely together in a long-term partnership focused on continuous improvement and customization. The close collaboration between King Aerospace and MISA demonstrates a commitment to aligning the system’s capabilities with evolving operational needs, underscoring the effectiveness of MISA, adapting to industry specific challenges and enhancing operational efficiencies.

The King Aerospace culture is grounded in teamwork and is illustrated in the following video.

Understanding the culture at King Aerospace, gives you an idea of what we’re about and what we believe in, and that moves us on to how our culture is synergistic with the eTT Aviation core values. eTT Aviation and King Aerospace share a deep commitment to excellence, innovation and reliability, which form the bedrock of those core values (figure 1).

Figure 1

Both organizations prioritize operational efficiency and customer satisfaction, striving to deliver cutting edge solutions that enhance performance and drive growth. eTT Aviation’s dedication to seamless integration and continuous improvement mirrors King Aerospace’s focus on advancing their operational capabilities and exceeding industry standards. This alignment of values fosters a strong partnership where shared goals and principles ensure that both companies work collaboratively to achieve mutual success and elevate their services within the aviation industry.

As you can see on the right of the figure, we have the background of our cornerstone principles, which match up to eTT Aviation’s core values, on the left, in a direct match. I think that it’s very important when it comes to a company being able to operate with any vendor, that the cultures match and that there are synergies between the two, so that, anything that we do will work.

eTT AVIATION

In the following video there is a brief look at the eTT Aviation story and a little bit about their background.

MISA IN KING AVIATION

Now, I want to look at what MISA is and what it has done for our corporation. MISA stands for Management Information System for Aviation and it offers an integrated solution for aviation management, combining tools for accounting maintenance, inventory and flight operations with training, HR, payroll, technical documentation, government contracts and flight school management. This comprehensive system streamlines processes, improving efficiency across diverse areas and aviation companies (figure 2).

Figure 2

In figure 2, you can see the software as seen on the screen, with the look and feel optimized for ease of use. It’s very user friendly with links giving us the reports that we need or the modules that we are used to seeing. It’s a web-based environment that we have now adopted into our environment and that works well with our users. We originally worked with the older application, and it has been a pleasure to see all the upgrades and advancements that the newer modernized version is offering (figure 3).

Figure 3

Looking at inventory management, MISA can provide automatic ordering based on inventory levels. It ensures timely replenishment, reduces stock outs and over stocking, and minimizes downtime by keeping critical parts available as well as providing detailed log tracking, which provides the transparency and accountability, essential for compliance and accuracy while setting up qualified vendors, maintaining high quality and mitigating procurement risks. MISA can also track various inventory types, which improves efficiency by managing all critical items.

A bit more on the inventory management. In figure 4 are additional screens that we have laid out to give you an idea of the software itself.

Figure 4

But it also has an ability to kit parts and create assemblies to streamline maintenance and inventory processes by reducing assembly time and simplifying part organization. MISA can also track parts by location, owner, type and category, which enhances management effectiveness, ensuring quick and accurate access to parts.

A module which we use quite heavily is Maintenance Planning and Tracking (figure 5).

Figure 5

Here, MISA provides automation of routine maintenance records, streamlining workflows and minimizing errors, plus enhancing operational efficiency and consistency in record keeping. The system offers tracking of all parts, labor and services on a work order with budget comparisons; it improves financial oversight and decision making with real time integration with inventory, ensuring up-to-date records, reducing discrepancies and boosting efficiency. The automated invoice generation speeds up billing, improves accuracy and enhances financial efficiency. Custom pricing options also allow tailored services, improving competitiveness and customer satisfaction. Finally, segregating contractor tasks ensures accurate tracking and simplifies billing.

It’s been a wonderful application to keep us in check when it comes to the organization of all this data in that we have benefited when it comes to audits and, especially when that happens, we are able to produce all of these reports in a timely fashion, right when they’re needed, and in a canned fashion where they’re available. It’s also easy to produce a bit more on the maintenance planning and tracking (figure 6).

Figure 6

We have tracking constraints for parts and equipment, optimizing maintenance scheduling and resource management. It can also create and manage constraints based on various factors which align maintenance with operational and regulatory needs, ensuring effectiveness, safety and, finally, efficient scheduling and automatic updates, which MISA streamlines for workflows. MISA maintains accurate equipment availability, improving the overall operational efficiency.

GOVERNMENT CONTRACT MANAGEMENT

In our government contract management section, MISA can segregate government projects ensuring accurate cost tracking and reporting, crucial for compliance and effective financial management (figure 7).

Figure 7

MISA’s account structure mirrors government contract formats, facilitating precise reporting and compliance with contract fund status reports, which enhance competitiveness and contract maintenance. The system can also record all project funding, improving financial oversight and transparency for better management of contract expenditures. Other features include tracking, tracking government inventory and specific requirements; for example, NSN (National Stock Number – NATO), FSC (Flight Service Center), ITAR (International Traffic in Arms Regulations). This ensures regulatory compliance and effective management of sensitive items. Managing ITAR licenses ensures compliance with international regulations, crucial for handling control, parts and maintenance, and overall regulatory adherence, which is super important in our industry.

ACCOUNTLING

MISA’s unique accounting structure provides flexible access to financial information at both high and detailed levels, enhancing effectiveness in reporting and decision making (figure 8).

Figure 8

The system’s system-wide integration ensures automatic recording of all financial transactions, improving accuracy and reducing manual errors. Other areas where MISA shines in the accounting discipline include electronic payment processing, and check printing, which streamlines financial transactions, boosting operational efficiency. Setting approval limits is another thing that the system can do which maintains financial control and accountability, ensuring expenditures stay within budget. Automatic check signing is another feature, based on thresholds, which speeds up processing and reduces administrative overhead. Finally, extensive GL (General Ledger) default setup for automating non accounting entries, enhancing accuracy.

PAYROLL

In payroll, MISA offers clocking-in and out through time cards based on job tasks, which improves payroll accuracy by precisely tracking labor hours, enhancing both efficiency and accountability. The system allows for exporting data for payroll processing, which streamlines operations by reducing manual entry while boosting accuracy and efficiency. And finally, in this area, MISA supports various compensation types, hourly salary, flat rate per diem, etc. It provides flexibility for accommodating diverse employee pay structures and ensuring precise payroll management.

HUMAN RESOURCES

This latest update which we were made aware of, Human Resources, is very effective in this area (figure 9).

Figure 9

In human resources, MISA can assist with printing employee badges for scanning tasks, which streamlines labor hour tracking and task management, enhancing accuracy and efficiency. It can customize company holidays for specific employees, improving HR management and payroll accuracy during holidays and can also create and track shifts and shift times, supporting effective scheduling and staffing, boosting operational efficiency. In addition to that, the system can help with managing employee certifications and training which ensures regulatory compliance and enhances workforce competency. Filing MISA can also track all employee related information, which facilitates effective HR management and decision making while streamlining PTO (Acronym definition please) requests with supervisor notifications, improving HR efficiency and employee satisfaction.

GAINS FROM USING MISA

The largest efficiency gain is just the ease of use that all of our mechanics as well as administration operations are enjoying in the way that they can enter all the information. But it’s not just that; it’s the customization, that eTT Aviation has allowed which has opened the door to an amazing amount of customization you don’t see with larger companies. I think everything we have done over the years to grow King Aerospace has been thanks to eTT Aviation’s open-door flexibility on being able to develop the IT how we want it. There’s never been a ‘no’ from them. I haven’t known any negative responses to our requests or change orders since I started. That, I think, is the biggest success out of any company that works with another; it’s the fact that they can work so well together and make it work to the design that we are looking for, despite all the other customers. In fact, all the other customers of eTT Aviation have benefited from a lot of the feedback that we have given to make the program better for all.

USER TESTIMONIALS

In all areas of the operation, MISA has been an advancement, a benefit and rewarding in many areas. And in fact, what better way to demonstrate that than with user testimonials, explaining how MISA has affected them and their daily use. So here, in the following videos, are a couple of people from King Aerospace to tell you about their experience of using MISA in their work.