Building an Integrated Maintenance and Ordering System Using XML

June 26, 1998

The Business Problem
The Role of XML
Solving the Problem with Enigma INSIGHT and XML
   Situation Overview
   User Scenario
   Behind the Curtain
XML Example
Information Flow Diagram

The Business Problem

An airline currently suffers from excessive equipment down time and high maintenance costs caused by manual and non-integrated information processes. Service engineers have to separately search and manually integrate data from flat files, relational databases, and remote supplier parts catalogs. This is cumbersome and time-consuming because first they have to identify the problem using data from various sources, and then access a separate system to find inventory data and a third system to process an order for new parts from the supplier. Furthermore, the ordering process is manual.

Because this information is not linked or intelligent, it results in:

A long order replenishment and servicing cycle, which results in excessive aircraft down time.
A manual order and fulfillment process, which results in high administrative overhead.
Inconsistent information and higher shop floor overhead costs due to manual integration.

The Role of XML

Airlines and airplane manufacturers are transitioning from a world of "deliver read-only data" to a world of "integrate data and deliver." This shift enables the airline to effectively add customized parts information to manufacturer parts catalogs, creating an intelligent business commerce system, rather than islands of disparate information.

XML is used as the means of communicating between these data sources, enabling intelligent information to be delivered directly to the browser desktop of the end-user. For example, because a parts list is delivered in XML format with a part number tag (<PART-NUM>), the INSIGHT product from Enigma (http://www.enigmainc.com/ ) can automatically launch a search in the company's materials database, and can also order the part directly from the manufacturer if it is not available. The display and actions performed depend upon the content of the tags and the needs of the particular user.

Since XML is the meta-data standard for both the company's various databases and for the supplier catalog, the user has access to intelligent maintenance data, and the parts fulfillment process becomes automated. In addition, the on-going compilation of multiple maintenance reference data is automated.

Solving the Problem with Enigma INSIGHT and XML

Situation Overview

This scenario describes a system built with Enigma's INSIGHT that gives maintenance engineers simultaneous access to all relevant data and an automated ordering system. XML data is used to intelligently link various sources of reference data, suppliers' parts catalogs, and ordering processes. INSIGHT integrates the data and delivers it to the appropriate destinations, including the commerce system for ordering and execution. Thus productivity is increased; ordering is done on a timely basis; and aircraft down times are decreased.

User Scenario

A service engineer for Airline X discovers that a seat support on the aircraft is broken. From her browser she searches for all information about "seat support" by focusing her search on "PART-NAME". The information (a combination of text, graphics, and numeric data) is retrieved immediately.

Clicking on a picture of the part brings up a dynamic "document" showing all the relevant information available at this specific time. The service engineer sees the part description, installation instructions, a series of cautions about installing the part in particular planes, and a button to get inventory and pricing information.

The engineer now clicks an "inventory check" button, which shows that the part is in bin 242. Since it is the last one in stock, the system recommends that more stock be ordered from the manufacturer. She walks over and gets the part and then initiates an order.

She then clicks a button to initiate an order directly from the airplane supplier. She is presented with a form, which she fills out and submits. Confirmation is returned that her order has been received.

If the part is not in stock, she clicks on the pricing and is shown pricing information, delivery times and whether or not the part has changed since it was last ordered. She then has the option of ordering it through a form as in (5).

Behind the Curtain

Information display and manipulation

All information is displayed to the end-user within the Microsoft® Internet Explorer browser. Information is sent to the browser from an Internet Information Server (IIS) server in XML format. This data is formatted using Dynamic HTML generated by Data Source Object (DSO) scripting on the client side. The user can alternate between a view of the task information and the inventory information without generating a new connection with any server.

Data sources

The Enigma INSIGHT database contains a parts catalog and customized maintenance data from both the supplier and the airline. The supplier data is delivered in XML format to the airline. The airline adds additional customized data in a variety of formats including Microsoft Word, XML, and PDF, originating from flat file documents on a server. When the data is loaded into the INSIGHT database, INSIGHT automatically maps all structure in the Word documents to XML tags, including styles within the document as well as document summary information. It also adds meta-data to PDF files.
* The airline's on-line inventory database contains parts availability information maintained in a relational database on the airline's LAN network. INSIGHT receives requests from the browser client and generates an SQL query to the database server, communicating via ODBC. INSIGHT receives the results table and maps it into XML on the middle tier.

Searching and navigation

The user performs focused searches within the XML database using INSIGHT's search capabilities. XML tags enable the user to define precise search criteria. The XML is also used to enable table of contents navigation. Full-text search is performed on non-XML data.

Data integration and communicating with the supplier

When the query is initiated, INSIGHT reads the part number from the data in the INSIGHT database and queries the inventory database. If the part is in stock, the information about its physical location on the shop floor is integrated with the information from the INSIGHT database on the middle tier and displayed on the browser automatically, as described above.
If the part is not in stock, INSIGHT automatically generates a query to the parts catalog data to determine pricing, delivery times, and whether the part has changed in any way. That information is integrated with the previous information and displayed. Clicking on the part generates an XML ordering form that the maintenance engineer can fill out to initiate an order. The client browser generates the XML order using DSO scripting and transfers it to the supplier.
The order is automatically sent to the supplier, where it is processed. The supplier, in this case, uses Commerce Server and is capable of receiving electronic orders marked up as XML data. Confirmation is returned to the client and displayed to the user. The supplier also sends a notice to the inventory database to say that the part has been ordered.

XML Example: Parts Information

Part information

<?xml version="1.0"?>
<PART>
  <PARTLIST>
   <PART-NUM>12983</PART-NUM>
   <PART-NAME>SEAT SUPPORT</PART-NAME>
   <UNITS-PER-ASSEMBLY>1</UNITS-PER-ASSEMBLY>
  </PARTLIST>
  <INSTALL-INFO>
     <SUPPLIER-NOTE>The installation of the seat support should be performed
     only after the entire seat unit is removed from the floor base.
     </SUPPLIER-NOTE>
     <AIRLINE-CAUTION> Airline X has personal TV's in every seat back, so
     be sure to disconnect the TV wiring prior to removing
     the broken support.
     </AIRLINE-CAUTION>
  </INSTALL-INFO>
</PART>

Inventory Information

<?xml version="1.0"?>
<INVENTORY>
   <PART-NUM>12983</PART-NUM>
   <PART-NAME>SEAT SUPPORT</PART-NAME>
   <LOCAL-INVENTORY>
        <AVAILABLE>1</AVAILABLE>
        <LOCATION>BIN 242</LOCATION>
   </LOCAL-INVENTORY>
     <SUPPLIER>
        <NAME>General Aerospace</NAME>
        <COMMERCE-SERVER-URL>http://commerce.general-aerospace.com
        </COMMERCE-SERVER-URL>
     </SUPPLIER>
</INVENTORY>
</PART>