AF unit gets long-awaited mobile access to manuals

 

Connecting state and local government leaders

After 13 years of trying, the Air Mobility Command finally has a system that lets flight-line technicians read manuals on their mobile terminals. "This is the first time we've been able to field it across AMC," said Capt. Stan Griffis, chief of logistics integration initiatives for the Air Mobility Command at Scott Air Force Base, Ill. Previous systems provided data or voice access at only one point, Griffis said.

After 13 years of trying, the Air Mobility Command finally has a system that lets
flight-line technicians read manuals on their mobile terminals.


“This is the first time we’ve been able to field it across AMC,” said
Capt. Stan Griffis, chief of logistics integration initiatives for the Air Mobility
Command at Scott Air Force Base, Ill. Previous systems provided data or voice access at
only one point, Griffis said.


A spread-spectrum radio network gives AMC technicians full network connectivity so they
can order parts and consult technical manuals stored on mainframes and servers, Griffis
said.


The technicians carry MobilePads from Telos Corp. of Ashburn, Va. The 3.4-pound
wireless terminals connect to the network via Microsoft Windows NT Server 3.51 as modified
by Cruise Technologies Inc. of Arlington Heights, Ill.


The MobilePads run WinFrame clients from Citrix Systems Inc. of Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
They have no individual processing power but merely present graphical views of the server
sessions, Griffis said.


“It cuts down on the amount of time technicians spend looking for
information,” he said.


A single aircraft might have as many as 200 technical manuals covering different
systems. A year ago, one AMC facility found that an inspection requiring 2,100 hours with
pencil and paper took 1,800 hours with a MobilePad.


Once technicians complete repairs, they send immediate updates through their
MobilePads, streamlining the workflow for teams. “If it doesn’t change the way
we do our work, then I’m not doing my job,” Griffis said.


The first four bases using the MobilePads are Charleston Air Force Base, S.C., Dover
Air Force Base, Del., McCord Air Force Base, Wash., and Travis Air Force Base, Calif. By
the end of September, AMC will have spent $1.2 million installing as many as 200
MobilePads at the four bases, Griffis said.


Within three years, the command’s 13 base sites will have about 2,000 of the
units. “There have been no problems that I wouldn’t consider normal for this
kind of system,” Griffis said.


Except for the servers, bought through Telos’ Army Small Multiuser Computer II
contract, AMC bought all products and services through Telos’ General Services
Administration Information Technology Schedule contract, Griffis said.


The command chose several server brands. All have at least two 200-MHz Pentium
processors, 10M of RAM per mobile client—usually 500M total—and 4G to 6G hard
drives, Griffis said. Each base has one server, and many of the technical documents reside
on separate CD-ROM servers on LANs running Novell NetWare.


The MobilePads have color or monochrome 81'2-inch displays. Technicians can plug in
keyboards as peripherals or touch software keys on screen, Griffis said.  

NEXT STORY: LAB NOTES

X
This website uses cookies to enhance user experience and to analyze performance and traffic on our website. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. Learn More / Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Accept Cookies
X
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Do Not Sell My Personal Information

When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. However, you can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of our First Party Strictly Necessary Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). For more information about the First and Third Party Cookies used please follow this link.

Allow All Cookies

Manage Consent Preferences

Strictly Necessary Cookies - Always Active

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data, Targeting & Social Media Cookies

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties. These cookies collect information for analytics and to personalize your experience with targeted ads. You may exercise your right to opt out of the sale of personal information by using this toggle switch. If you opt out we will not be able to offer you personalised ads and will not hand over your personal information to any third parties. Additionally, you may contact our legal department for further clarification about your rights as a California consumer by using this Exercise My Rights link

If you have enabled privacy controls on your browser (such as a plugin), we have to take that as a valid request to opt-out. Therefore we would not be able to track your activity through the web. This may affect our ability to personalize ads according to your preferences.

Targeting cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.

Social media cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.

If you want to opt out of all of our lead reports and lists, please submit a privacy request at our Do Not Sell page.

Save Settings
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Cookie List

A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website – when visited by a user – asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies – which are cookies from a domain different than the domain of the website you are visiting – for our advertising and marketing efforts. More specifically, we use cookies and other tracking technologies for the following purposes:

Strictly Necessary Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Functional Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Performance Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Social Media Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Targeting Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.