Get Manual Authoring Help While Gaining Control of Documentation

More Options for Manual Authoring

Web Manuals has a first-row seat to observe the range of solutions to aviation documentation management. We talk to prospects and customers about manual authoring, template manuals, and managed manuals. A lot.

Our observations show two big categories of how to solve documentation authoring needs. There are the organizations that outsource the work to consultancy companies that take care of everything from standardized wording, adding the company-specific details and specifying how the documentation ties into the relevant regulatory requirements.

The other big category contains the organizations that author their own documentation and maintain it as regulations and operations change.

Both of these approaches of manual authoring pose challenges for the organizations. Outsourcing leads to a lack of agility and control over the documentation. This is a typical chain of events:

1. Changes introduced that affect operations and need to be reflected in documentation.
2. Information sent to consultancy agency.
3. Consultancy agency makes changes to documentation.
4. Documentation sent back to the organization.
5. Documentation sent on for approval by relevant postholders.
6. Changes communicated back to the consultancy agency.
7. Consultancy agency makes changes.
8. Manual sent back and approved.

As one can observe in the above workflow, this does not make for the fastest response time.

The upside of contracting manual authoring services is that the consultants are very well-versed in the industry and the regulatory requirements. The organization itself might not have the level of experience needed to achieve high-quality documentation. It might also not have the time to spend on the documentation. Managing all documentation in-house can lead to important parts being left out or updates to the documentation being pushed in time due to time constraints.

At Web Manuals, we see that the resources available, the knowledge level and the preferences differ within the aviation industry. Our customers range from family-owned businesses all the way up to larger airlines, and the specific needs are almost as many as the number of customers.

Paying attention to this range of needs, we want to offer the possibility to find the right level of control over your documentation. Our goal is to increase our network of consultancy service providers that can complement the in-house control that the Web Manuals Suite offers.

Template Manuals for Manual Authoring

When purchasing a template manual from one of Web Manuals’ Partners, the manual is delivered directly in Web Manuals’ native document format. The Partner has translated their knowledge and experience into a document that reflects regulatory requirements. The customer is then free to make revisions to the manual within their own editing interface – the Partner is not involved anymore after delivering the document. Having the manual within Web Manuals will allow the organization to make controlled revisions and make full use of the automated modules such as List of Effective Pages, Record of Revision and Abbreviations.

Managed Manuals for Manual Authoring

If there is a greater need for outside assistance, the customer can choose to subscribe to a managed manual. The manual will still be delivered on the customer’s site and editable, but the Partner organization will be able to update content and push it into the document when there are, for example, changes to requirements. The customer then simply needs to accept the alterations made by the Partner.

The process of managed manual subscription means being able to avoid sending emails with PDF and Word files back and forth, but still gives all the benefits of having an external party there to support the organization with knowledge and time.

Watch our webinar about manual authoring to learn more about your need for template manuals versus managed manuals.

Now Available for Purchase

We are continuously growing our offering of services provided by our Partners.

French aviation consultancy agency and manual authoring experts Time To Fly currently offer the following manuals in English and French:

• Operations Manual Part A and D
• EFB Manual
• CAME
• Management System Manual
• MEL
• Maintenance Control Flight Manual
• Emergency Response Plan
• Security Manual
• Aircraft Maintenance Program
• NCC Operations Manual

For US/Canadian customers, there is also a wide range of customized managed MEL and documentation related to flight operations available.

Do you want to know more about manual authoring with templates and managed manuals?

Visit Web Manuals Store or contact cs@webmanuals.aero.