“I’m not sure how many people were assigned to editing manuals before, but they’re a lot fewer now”
– Hjördís Ólafsdóttir, Bluebird Cargo
“Don’t be afraid to ask questions if you’re unsure of anything,” is the advice for new users of Web Manuals from one recent adopter of the Swedish system.
“Contact customer service if there’s anything you need assistance or guidance with,” said Hjördís Ólafsdóttir, supervisor, Operations Quality Control and Web Manuals administrator at Bluebird Cargo. “My experience of them is that they’re very good. Their team is always ready and available to help and they respond quickly.”
The Icelandic freight specialist began using Web Manuals in late February 2016 and has had a positive experience with the new method of digitising manuals, then keeping them up-to-date.
Previously, the Reykjavik-based airline, which operates four Boeing 737-300F and two -400F dedicated freighters on ad hoc and contract charters, as well as ACMI leases, had used Word to edit and Q.Pulse to distribute its manuals.
“I’m not sure how many people were assigned to editing manuals before, but they’re a lot fewer now,” said Ólafsdóttir. “Similarly, it’s hard to state an exact time, but every action in the old system took a lot longer due to its complexity. I’m seeing great improvements in efficiency with Web Manuals.
“We’ve not made any quantitative measurements, but I can confirm with certainty that the process from preparing to distributing is much faster than it was before.”
Electronic Flight Bag
Bluebird Cargo made the switch to the Swedish system, “Mainly because the decision was made to go into the Electronic Flight Bag environment and we needed a solid and trustworthy system that could fulfil our needs. We did research on systems that were offering this service and quickly came to the conclusion that Web Manuals would be the best fit for us. We had heard a lot of positive things about Web Manuals and customers seemed to be happy and satisfied.”
Bluebird Cargo currently has around 15 manuals in Web Manuals’ format, with roughly 75 users – frequently scattered around the world. The company adheres to EASA Air Ops, Part M and Part 145.
“The main benefit we’ve seen is the user-friendly environment of the software,” said Ólafsdóttir. “This relates both to the people working on materials and the users of the system. We’ve seen higher user satisfaction, resulting in higher user traffic.
“Web Manuals gives us an effective and efficient way to communicate changes to our team, by making the whole process faster and easier for everyone involved. Web Manuals also allows both administrators and users to make sure they are up-to-date on all relevant materials.”
Bluebird Cargo’s Implementation
Introducing the new product was relatively straightforward, she said: “Implementing a new system is always a challenge on its own, especially when replacing systems with a long history of operation.
“However, Web Manuals’ Customer Success Manager Paul Sandström and I put forward a good plan and I think we managed to make the transition smooth and with as few hiccups as possible.”