Case Studies

14/01/2003 - Britax Aircraft Interiors

Britax Aircraft Interiors recently appointed the Piper Group Plc to review and redevelop their technical documentation operation.  The first phase, the conversion of conventional documentation to SGML, has just been successfully completed.

Britax is a premium supplier of passenger aircraft cabin interior equipment to over 160 airlines worldwide, and supports this equipment with more than 1100 component maintenance manuals (CMMs).  In 2001, following Airbus directives to comply with mandatory SGML/iSpec2200 documentation requirements, Britax identified the urgent need for an SGML/XML partner.  The Piper Group Plc, who had already made speculative approaches to the Camberley, UK-based manufacturer, were invited to present a proposal.

Britax still used traditional techniques

When the two companies first met, Britax, bound by the constraints of legacy data, still used traditional cut-and-paste techniques for hard copy CMM masters and other documentation: this precluded the easy revision and multiple media capability demanded by the aerospace industry. 

After thorough documentation and systems analysis, and several high-level meetings, Britax appointed the Piper Group to update their documentation operations.  Three work phases were envisaged: the initial conversion of documentation to SGML to meet program requirements, the use of the new data for Web and Internet publishing and, eventually, the creation of a completely integrated e-commerce portal.

Successful completion of the first phase

Within a year of their appointment, the Piper Group had successfully completed the first phase, introducing an iSpec2200 Arbortext authoring application that had already been successfully deployed by world-class organisations including Airbus UK and Liebherr-Aerospace.  Indeed, such is the versatility of the Piper Group developed application that only minimal customisation was required to meet the Britax requirements.

The project, covering all aspects of the information life cycle, included thorough document and systems analysis, followed by the implementation of Arbortext Epic ‘seats’ across the company’s Camberley and Cwmbran sites.  As well as full training (including the Arbortext iSpec2200 application, Understanding SGML and XML and Authoring in Arbortext Epic) the Piper Group provides continued product support via a dedicated helpdesk.

Britax are Delighted

Nearly two years into the relationship Britax are delighted, identifying huge savings and being aware that the Piper Group has helped them, in one giant bound, enhance their competitive position.  They have already found the authoring tools easy to learn and very user friendly, greatly improving the appearance of CMMs and allowing authors to concentrate on technical content rather than document layout and formatting.

Many Benefits

Reflecting on the many benefits brought by the Piper Group, Andy Clements, Britax’s technical publications manager said:

‘ The whole project has been much more straightforward than we ever envisaged.  Above all, our productivity has gone up, with new CMM production about 25 per cent quicker and revisions about 75 per cent quicker, and the fully tagged data now in a format that can be easily adapted for future Web requirements.  Throughout implementation, the Piper Helpdesk has given brilliant support on technical matters.  We are delighted.’