CHC Helicopter's newest H175 will become the first Airbus helicopter to be delivered with digital logcards. This makes Airbus Helicopters, the OEM claims, the first helicopter manufacturer on the market to transform paper-based logcards into easy-to-use digital data.

“A logcard is a document that tracks the entire history of critical helicopter parts from manufacture all along their in-service lives. There are around 2.5 million logcards already in circulation throughout the world today, with some 80,000 new ones being produced each year,” says executive vice president of customer support and services at Airbus Helicopters Matthieu Louvot. “Over time the paper logcard ages, gets misplaced, becomes hard to read and more difficult to use. Our new digital version stores the content in a secured cloud while preserving the existing template, using the same process and stakeholder roles and responsibilities as the paper version, meaning no additional workload.”

CHC Helicopters took delivery of its fourth H175 in January and will convert its paper logcards to the electronic format in April. “The digital logcards allow us to take better care of ourselves and our customers,” adds CHC Helicopter director of global maintenance and engineering Sean Toth. “Thanks to them, we can better ensure overall compliance while our staff improves productivity as our logcards are updated in real time.”

CHC currently operates H175s in the North Sea with one based in Norwich, England, and three in Aberdeen, Scotland.

The digital logcard is the latest demonstration of how Airbus is committed to developing fully digital solutions for its customers that make processes more efficient and that contribute to quality and safety. They are the result of a collaborative effort involving Airbus customers and repair centres, who were consulted during development and acted as early adopters by participating in a year-long pilot phase.

“The feedback we received from our pilot users indicates that digital logcards meet our objectives of delivering better data quality, smoother processes, time savings, reliability and data confidentiality,” says Stephanie Bonnefoy-Fourie, who leads Airbus Helicopters' connected services business.

New functionalities not possible with paper logcards include the ability to attach documents, archive, search and immediately transfer a selection of logcards. Future applications include the ability to synchronise data between the digital system and customers' maintenance information systems, or to build new analytics around the collected data.

Airbus' digital logcards are to be rolled out worldwide from April 2019, and all customers taking delivery of a new civil helicopter can opt to receive digital logcards at no additional cost. Operators with existing paper versions can also opt to convert theirs to the digital format. Digital logcards can also be tracked online via the Airbus Keycopter customer portal.