Microsoft® Collaboration Customer Solution Case Study

Federal Agency Accelerates Aviation Rulemaking with Global Knowledge Management Network

Overview “In the twenty years that I’ve been in the FAA, Country or Region: United States these are the most important tools we have ever Industry: Federal Agency been given.” Customer Profile Lynn Pierce, Aviation Safety Inspector and Maintenance Review Board Chairman, Federal The 48,000 employees of the Federal Aviation Administration Aviation Administration (FAA) are responsible for ensuring the safety of U.S. air travelers through civil air The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Aircraft Evaluation regulations, inspections, incident response, and the air traffic control Groups (AEG) establish operational safety criteria for new and system. modified aircraft and manage aircraft suitability safety

Business Situation processes. In preparation for ISO certification, the AEG needed The FAA’s regional Aircraft Evaluation to accelerate airworthiness reviews and streamline external Groups (AEG) needed to accelerate and streamline operations, increase industry collaboration on aircraft maintenance and certification. corporate knowledge security, reduce The FAA deployed Knowledge Services Network (KSN), a costs, and prepare for new ISO process measurement standards. comprehensive Web-based knowledge management solution

built on Microsoft® collaboration technologies. This network Solution The FAA deployed Knowledge Services serves 21,000 employees in the FAA with a powerful, user- Network (KSN), one of the largest friendly collaborative work environment that is revolutionizing its electronic information networks in the Federal government built on Microsoft® business processes. Benefits of KSN include accelerated collaboration technologies. airworthiness and operational reviews, improved process

Benefits accountability, more secure intellectual assets, and estimated  Faster review and document approvals annual cost avoidance across the FAA of U.S.$20 million.  Improved process accountability  Streamlined industry collaboration  More secure intellectual assets  U.S.$20 million potential cost avoidance/yr “For the public’s sake, once an accident has Situation is issued by the FAA when it finds that an The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) unsafe condition exists and that it is likely occurred, we must find is responsible for ensuring the safety of to exist or develop in other products of the out what caused it— U.S. air travelers. The FAA’s 48,000 same type. ADs may specify mandatory employees control approximately 200,000 inspections, limit operating conditions, or and make sure it never takeoffs and landings per day and move require other actions needed to resolve an happens again.” nearly 700 million commercial air unsafe condition. passengers per year. The agency’s Lynn Pierce, Aviation Safety Inspector and responsibilities include civil air regulations, External Collaboration Scenarios Maintenance Review Board Chairman, incident response, and the air traffic control While rule-making remains proprietary, Federal Aviation Administration system. The FAA’s Flight Standards there are processes in which external Service comprises five regional Aircraft collaboration is necessary. For example, Evaluation Groups (AEG), with 60 highly the Maintenance Review Board (MRB) experienced technical professionals. AEG requires a methodical assessment of all offices in Boston, Fort Worth, Kansas City, maintenance requirements for all newly Table 1. FAA Boards and Documents Long Beach, and Seattle establish certified aircraft. Pierce currently chairs an Acronym Primary Responsibilities operating criteria for new and modified MRB for the Boeing 777 and will co-chair MRB Development, aircraft and develop maintenance the Boeing 787 MRB. In one typical MRB (Maintenance acceptance, and procedures and other regulations process, the aviation safety Maintenance Review Board) revision of initial mandated by FAA regulations. Steering Group 3 (MSG-3, a collaboration minimum maintenance among manufacturers, airlines, and the and inspection Working out of the Seattle AEG, Lynn FAA) develops detailed documents requirements for Pierce has over 20 years’ experience as an covering all aspects of aircraft inspection derivative and newly aviation safety inspector. FAA and maintenance. certified transport professionals like Pierce have an category aircraft and extraordinary passion for accident Process Measurement and Accountability power plants. prevention and a relentless drive for hard AEG employees previously relied on FSB Establishing or revising data. “For the public’s sake, once an traditional communication—paper, e-mail, (Flight crew qualification accident has occurred, we must find out telephone, and centralized meetings—to Standardi- requirements (training, what caused it—and make sure it never manage its business processes. These zation Board) checking, currency, and happens again,” he explains. processes contain complex workflows type ratings for new or involving thousands of documents and variant aircraft). Proprietary Business Processes many contributors. Beginning in early 2006, Much of the Administration’s proprietary the AEG will have five of these workflows FOEB Development and (Flight revision of master rule-making and certification work proceeds certified to comply with ISO standards. Operations minimum equipment according to strictly defined business (ISO, the Geneva-based International Evaluation lists (MMEL) prior to processes within FAA boards (see Table 1 Organization for Standardization, is a Board) aircraft certification. for examples). Instructions for Continued global network of international committees Airworthiness (ICAs) and Airworthiness that issue standards for hundreds of ICAs Documentation that Directives (ADs) are legally enforceable business and technical activities.) ISO (Instructions gives instructions and documents that apply to aircraft, engines, requires formal records of objectives, for Continued requirements for propellers, and internal components. timelines, and accomplishments—for Airworthiness) maintenance essential Similar to automobile recalls, an ICA or AD example, a summary of the work each AEG to the continued airworthiness of an aircraft, engine, or propeller. accomplishes in a specific time period. This achieve their objectives without requiring information was buried in paper form or frequent travel. “We started looking at electronic databases kept by each options for virtual meetings and online individual AEG office. There were no document reviews several years ago,” says interconnections among them, and no Pierce. “We believed we could realize centralized reporting tools existed. “We had substantial savings in time and money, no easy way to measure how productive while also increasing our productivity.” we really were as a standards organization,” says Pierce. “This impacted Solution “We had no easy way our ability to comply with upcoming ISO With assistance from Applied Knowledge to measure how standards, and to compete successfully for Group (AKG), a Reston, Virginia-based FAA resources.” Microsoft® Certified Partner, the FAA productive we really deployed one of the largest collaboration were as a standards Safeguarding Corporate Knowledge networks in the Federal Government. FAA employees process vast amounts of Based on Microsoft collaboration organization.” information. AEG alone generates and technologies, the FAA’s Web-based reviews thousands of documents annually. Knowledge Services Network (KSN) has Lynn Pierce, Aviation Safety Inspector and The accumulated knowledge base grown to over 21,000 FAA members in just Maintenance Review Board Chairman, represents decades of time and thousands three years. Designed to provide strong, Federal Aviation Administration of man-hours of effort. Managing and consistent integration of people, processes, safeguarding this priceless corporate and technology, KSN is now used in a knowledge relied heavily on paper-driven number of government agencies. processes, including centralized file rooms and off-site document repositories. AEG Central Thousands of document pages each year In addition to his aviation credentials, were generated and copied to paper. Pierce has extensive information These records were costly to distribute and technology experience. Working closely prone to physical damage or loss. Once with AKG and the FAA’s Ronald Simmons distributed, keeping the information (who is a leading knowledge management updated was difficult. “We had a set of thick expert and principal developer of KSN), manuals sitting in every office,” explains Pierce created a home site, AEG Central, Pierce. “It is virtually impossible to ensure and 100 associated team sites linking the complete sharing and updating of so many five regional AEG offices (Figure 1). These paper records.” virtual workspaces are available 24 hours a day, from any location, through a secure Increasing Costs Internet connection. While the FAA’s budget (U.S.$13.8 billion in FY2005) is expected to shrink by about 1 Employees easily navigate from AEG percent in FY2006, the workload and cost Central to information needed for their daily of operations continue to increase. The work. Depending on a site’s purpose and FAA needed to consolidate and streamline intended audience, access may be limited operations wherever possible. For to authorized FAA employees or expanded example, AEG boards needed ways to to external collaborators. The following Maintaining electronic AD and ICA records helps the AEG offices comply with upcoming ISO certification requirements. Lists and Web Parts enable quick reporting of work in progress and accomplishments to date. Using pull-down menus to filter results, lists of ADs can be generated according to aircraft type, manufacturer, state of completion, or other attributes. In a few mouse clicks, Pierce is able to categorize 414 ADs reviewed this year by all AEG offices nationwide, and determine that 311 of them were done by the Seattle office. “We now have a true process measurement,” says Pierce. “For the first time, we can easily analyze how many ADs we have reviewed in a given time period, what aircraft were covered, and where our resources are being concentrated. This is an invaluable tool for resource Figure 1. AEG Central is a home page management and budgeting.” where FAA employees can access their examples illustrate how KSN team sites are work environment 24 hours a day MRB Extranet through a secure Internet connection. helping to streamline AEG’s business The FAA’s numerous Maintenance Review processes. Boards (one for each transport category aircraft type) are now managed Airworthiness Directives electronically. MRB sites (Figure 2) are Specialized team sites are accelerating accessible to FAA board members and review and tracking of Airworthiness authorized industry representatives. In a Directives. All documents are posted in transformation similar to that for shared document libraries and in AEG’s Airworthiness Directives, paper-driven ISO-compliant databases. Authorized MRB processes have been displaced with individuals review and track the draft AD in more efficient electronic equivalents. For a structured procedure that saves time and example, the Maintenance Review Board reduces complexity compared to paper- Industry Steering Committee (MRB/ISC) driven processes. When a document is collaborates on developing maintenance updated, team members subscribing to an procedures for a new aircraft. With KSN, Alerts feature receive an e-mail reminder the MRB/ISC and all subordinate working that there has been a change. An groups have electronic team sites on which electronic record of approvals and members can participate in technical authorizations keeps AEG managers discussions, develop meeting agendas, informed of the status of each project. create action items, and assign responsibility for follow-up. MRB/ISC Preparing for ISO document libraries help ensure both accountability and continuity.”

Benefits Improved Accountability Business processes being readied for ISO certification—including those of AD, ICA, MRB, FSB, and FOEB—are more transparent under KSN. Each AEG office can now objectively report its accomplishments by different criteria— cases completed and in process, time-to- results, manpower used, and others. This enables managers to assess accountability for tasks and to create defensible budget forecasts. Says Pierce: “Under ISO standards, we must specify a process, assign tasks, and define how we measure success. KSN allows us to have a window into accountability and process measurement that we simply did not have before.” meetings take place several times annually prior to introduction of a new plane, and Accelerated Operations once per year after the aircraft is certified. Virtual workspaces, centralized document All documents—presentations, position libraries, and streamlined document papers, meeting minutes, attendee lists, creation enable groups like the AD board and supporting data—are stored in and MRB to complete their work faster. An document libraries on the team site. In average regulation requires seven years to addition to providing a convenient develop and become law. In some cases, workspace, these team sites capture the the FAA must issue policy, technical entire history of an aircraft’s maintenance guidance, and direction very quickly to rules in a searchable electronic format that react to extreme safety issues. With KSN, is much more easily secured than paper all contributors to the process, regardless records. These records must be preserved of their location, can be connected with a for the certified lifetime of an aircraft, which team site and begin work in a matter of usually extends beyond the tenures of hours, rather than days previously required original board members. “Even though to convene a committee. This enables the individuals may be reassigned or retired, AEG to review Telegraph ADs and other the committees remain in place, and they technical safety issues on the same day. need all the accumulated experience This aggressive turnaround time was previous members contributed,” explains difficult to meet and required huge Pierce. “The electronic workspaces and resources before KSN. In the field, FAA inspectors routinely save hours or even units like AEG revealed cost avoidance of days of time by accessing the latest over $3 million in travel expenses and $4 documents online rather than calling an million through centralized access to AEG office or ordering a paper copy. electronic documents. These savings represented average annual savings of 7 Retained Corporate Knowledge percent per business unit. Usage of KSN One of the KSN solution’s most powerful has more than tripled since 2003 to 21,000 and far-reaching benefits is improved members, with potential estimated annual corporate knowledge retention. Properly cost avoidance attributable to the use of managed electronic records are inherently virtual workspaces of more than $20 safer than paper documents. “This is one of million. the most significant benefits we have realized with KSN,” says Pierce. “Paper Knowledge Management: A Culture Change documents can be lost or destroyed. With The benefits of Microsoft collaboration KSN, all the work we do today will be technologies—improved accountability, available to future generations at the FAA.” accelerated workflows, ISO compliance, cost avoidance, and more secure Industry Benefits stewardship of intellectual property—signify Process efficiencies enable the FAA to fundamental changes at the FAA. Lynn close transactions with the airline industry Pierce reflects on the impact of KSN: “The Figure 2. Team sites enable Maintenance more quickly. For example, ICAs for FAA is entering a new world of electronic Review Board members from the FAA supplemental type certificates (STC) knowledge management and collaboration. and industry to collaborate on inspection represent legal permission to place into In the twenty years that I’ve been in the and maintenance requirements for every service an aircraft that deviates from its FAA, these are the most important tools we type of civil aircraft certified by the FAA. original type certificate. Hundreds of STCs, have ever been given. Once organizations which may be thousands of pages each, start using a collaborative environment like are submitted by airline manufacturers KSN, they can never go back to paper each year in response to request from their processes again.” Pierce is quick to point customers. Delays in aircraft delivery or out that the benefits are not the software STC approval can cost tens of thousands tools themselves, but how they empower of dollars a day or jeopardize a contract organizations. “These technologies simply worth millions of dollars. Under KSN, make people more effective in their work. tracking approval of STC ICAs has That’s not just handling data—it’s correctly accelerated to 30 days or less with reduced managing the organization’s knowledge so variability. These metrics, rarely achieved that everyone flies more safely.” with paper-based processes, are now routinely reached, reducing the risk of delivery penalties to manufacturers and STC holders.

Cost Avoidance Starting in 2003 with 6,000 KSN users, internal FAA studies across 16 business For More Information Microsoft Office System For more information about Microsoft Microsoft Office is the business world's products and services, call the Microsoft chosen environment for information work Sales Information Center at (800) 426- that provides the software, servers, and 9400. In Canada, call the Microsoft services that help you succeed by Canada Information Centre at (877) 568- transforming information into impact. For 2495. Customers who are deaf or hard- more information about the Microsoft Office of-hearing can reach Microsoft text System, go to: telephone (TTY/TDD) services at (800) www.microsoft.com/ ‌office / 892-5234 in the United States or (905) 568-9641 in Canada. Outside the 50 Microsoft Windows SharePoint United States and Canada, please Services contact your local Microsoft subsidiary. Microsoft Windows® SharePoint® Services To access information using the World allows teams to create Web sites for Wide Web, go to: www.microsoft.com information sharing and document collaboration, benefits that help increase For more information about Applied individual and team productivity. Windows Knowledge Group products and services, SharePoint Services is a component of the call (703) 860-1145 or visit the Web site Microsoft Windows Server™ 2003 at: operating system and provides team www.akgroup.com/index.html services and sites to the Microsoft Office System and other desktop programs. It For more information about Federal also serves as a platform for application Aviation Administration products and development. Windows SharePoint services, call (866) 835-5322 or visit the Services enables users to locate distributed Web site at: information quickly and efficiently, as well www.faa.gov as connect to and work with others more productively.

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Software and Services Hardware  Microsoft Windows Server System™  2 Windows SharePoint Services servers − Microsoft Windows Server 2003  1 computer running SQL Server Enterprise Edition  1 SAN server − Microsoft SQL Server™ 2000  Internally hosted at two FAA data © 2005 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.  Services centers This case study is for informational purposes only. Microsoft Windows SharePoint MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR − IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY. Services Partner Microsoft, SharePoint, Windows, Windows Server, and  Applied Knowledge Group, Inc. Windows Server System are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.

Document published November 2005