Development of a Generic Aircraft aintenance Management Database for Zambia Air Force

The aviation industry is one of the most strictly regulated industries in the world. National and international aviation regulating authorities stipulate a number of requirements for both civil and military aviation establishments. One of the areas these regulations apply to is aircraft maintenance information management. With the evident technological advancement, the aviation regulators allow the use of electronic databases in aircraft maintenance. This study was aimed at developing a generic aircraft maintenance management database for Zambia Air Force (ZAF). The results of the baseline study conducted at one aircraft maintenance unit showed that the majority (86%) of respondents use a paper based aircraft maintenance information database. According to the respondents, the lack of skills, inadequate computers and security are the reasons for the continued use of a paper-based system. Additionally, the main challenges faced using this information database based on the results are time-consuming, misplaced documents and some information is not documented. A database was developed using Microsoft Access based on the reviewed aviation regulations with regard to maintenance information records. The database has attributes of managing aircraft information, personnel information as well as material, spares and equipment information. Furthermore, the implementation results show that the database can address the challenges currently faced with the paper based system and aid maintenance managers with (1) decision making (2) maintenance planning and execution (3) spares inventory management.