TAG Fleet Online is First to Streamline Critical Influence Parts Tracking for GE and CFMI Engines

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MEDIA CONTACT:

Walter Andrushenko

The Aircraft Group

Office: 602-244-1500

wally@theaircraftgroup.com

www.theaircraftgroup.aero

The Aircraft Group’s TAG Fleet Online is First to Streamline Critical Influence Parts Tracking for GE and CFMI Engines

Phoenix, Arizona – January 7, 2013 – The Aircraft Group’s TAG Fleet Online system offers an immediate solution for the management of Critical Influencing Parts and DER repairs for GE and CFMI manufactured engines. Building on its existing GE TRUEngine program contract, TAG Fleet Online, the preeminent aircraft and engine portfolio management product, is now able to automate the identification of unknown PMA parts and DER engine repairs, streamlining the labor-intensive process and automating ongoing engine records management. Recently, GE emphasized the significance of Critical Influencing Parts on GE/CFMI products announcing that the company cannot support, evaluate, or maintain parts that were not manufactured by GE. Verification of critical engine part history is now required placing a tremendous administrative burden on the aviation industry. The Aircraft Group, as a veteran in the aviation industry and specialists in aircraft portfolio management, has an immediate solution with its TAG Fleet Online product.

As a web-based solution, TAG Fleet Online can identify, track, and report an entire historical trail on engine repairs and parts in a matter of minutes, anywhere in the world. “The Aircraft Group has been specializing in aircraft portfolio management for more than 20 years. Providing immediate access to engine parts data is part of our core business so offering more in-depth information instantaneously is a natural progression,” says Walter Andrushenko, president of The Aircraft Group. “We have seen the entire industry moving in this direction and have been preparing for it for some time.” The Aircraft Group sees GE’s request for engine verification extending to other manufacturers in the near future.

As the complexity of propulsion manufacturing has increased, reliability on all parts, LLPs and Critical Influencing Parts, has become more critical. According to GE, the impact of PMA parts and DER repairs may inadvertently cause premature failure in some Life-Limited Parts (LLP). Recognizing this, GE is the first to implement the need to verify and track all Critical Influencing Parts that are, and have been, associated with an LLP during its period of use.

GE has established a comprehensive database identifying the LLPs along with hundreds of critical parts associated with them. Although this database is meant to assist in engine verification, reviewing historical engine repairs and tracking LLPs and all associated Critical Influencing Parts is a monumental task. Just tracing one LLP for an example, a T1 disk, results in 285 associated Critical Parts and that is with a single shop visit. If that extends to additional shop visits and 20 or more LLPs, the task increases exponentially. Standard solutions to complete this task would take weeks or more to complete. With TAG Fleet Online, the project can be completed in a few hours or less per engine.

TAG Fleet Online is able to provide detailed documentation and records management of engine repairs throughout its lifecycle, as well as each of the LLPs and associated Critical parts. Currently, The Aircraft Group is identifying PMA/DER parts and repairs through GE’s TRUEngine program contract. The Aircraft Group is now expanding on this process to filter those findings to match Critical Influencing Parts to their respective LLPs. The Company’s goal is to allow for automated searches that will match any PMA findings to a specific part within an engine followed by ALL previous shop visits creating a complete historical trail for the engine and its integral parts. With TAG Fleet Online a manual task that would take weeks can be done in a matter of hours with more accuracy and ongoing efficiencies.

The Aircraft Group

With more than 20 years in business, The Aircraft Group has revolutionized aircraft/engine portfolio management with its patented product TAG Fleet Online, the only Internet-based aircraft portfolio management system of its kind. Headquartered in Phoenix, The Aircraft Group manages global projects specializing in asset and technical management for the aviation trading community. To date, the Aircraft Group has assisted more than 80 airlines, 65 financial institutions in 35 countries throughout North America, South America, Europe and Asia. For more information, visit www.theaircraftgroup.aero.

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CFM Expands TRUEngine Program with Unique Content Assurance Guarantee for Subsequent Buyers

·         Contracts with The Aircraft Group for engine records verification

WEST CHESTER, Ohio – 10 September 2012 — CFM International has continued to evolve its highly successful TRUEngine program by most recently creating a unique Content Assurance Guarantee (CAG) for subsequent buyers of qualified CFM56 engines.

The CAG was launched in response to customer requests for more assurance of asset value upon the sale of a qualified CFM56 engine.  With this guarantee, customers who purchase a qualified CFM56 engine are entitled to a 50 percent credit on replacement parts if, at the first shop visit after transfer of ownership, any parts or repairs found in the engine are not original CFM parts or CFM-authorized repairs.

“We have had great success with the TRUEngine program since we launched it and the CAG is a great example of how customers have worked with us to make the program even better,” said Jean-Paul Ebanga, president and CEO of CFM International.  “This guarantee gives customers added peace of mind that, when they purchase a used CFM56 engine qualified for TRUEngine status, it will contain only original CFM parts and repairs.  If it doesn’t, CFM will help them bring that asset up to TRUEngine standards.”

In addition to launching the CAG, CFM has also contracted with The Aircraft Group to validate submitted engine records as part of the TRUEngine qualification process.  To qualify, a customer submits engine serial numbers, along with the required maintenance records to substantiate that the engine content, overhaul practices, and repairs are consistent with CFM recommendations for that engine model.  The Aircraft Group will streamline the evaluation process and improve the reliability of information through its proprietary TAG Fleet Online software.

“We like the idea of bringing another expert into the qualification process,” said Ebanga.  “Not only does it help us keep pace with demand, but it also brings another level of expertise to the process.  The Aircraft Group is highly respected in the industry and brings more than 20 years of engine evaluation experience to the TRUEngine qualification process.”

The TRUEngine designation serves as a method for identifying engines with CFM-approved content and facilitates product support of the engine system.  Moreover, industry stakeholders can use the knowledge of engine content to evaluate engine value and re-marketability.  

The TRUEngine program has continued to achieve broad-based industry acceptance.  Currently, more than 7,300 of the nearly 18,000 CFM56 engines in service have been qualified for the TRUEngine program with nearly 75 operators worldwide.

WHY TAG FLEET ONLINE® SOFTWARE?

The Aircraft Group® and TAG Fleet® Teams are a unique combination of aircraft technical expertise, records auditing adeptness, asset management know-how, software design skills and airline experience. By drawing upon this varied staff of experts, TAG Fleet became a software solution designed to simplify and improve not only aircraft records management, but too, aircraft portfolio management. The development of TAG Fleet, we felt was not only a logical next step forward for The Aircraft Group as a company, but for the Aviation Community as well.

Increasingly, we receive calls, from a variety of parties involved in the aircraft trading business, each with a common, urgent request - document recovery. All have been asked to provide documentation, usually with pace in this industry, to support and complete a transaction. There can be no more sinking a feeling, whether for a Lessee, Operator or Maintenance Facility, when critical documentation winds up unaccounted for, untraceable or altogether missing. Slow retrieval or failed document recovery can be ultimately disastrous for all manner of aircraft transactions. The resulting deal can end at best impeded and costly, at worst incomplete and in deficit.

Enter TAG Fleet Online®, our internet-based software product. In addition to addressing just such document recovery dilemmas, it is the only all-inclusive Aircraft Portfolio Management system available today. Research and distribute documents with the click of a mouse and in record time with our advanced search features. Connect anytime, from anywhere to update, manage and evaluate your entire fleet.

No internet, no problem! DocuSearch™ is the CD or DVD software version in the TAG Fleet Suite family of products. Focused on the searchable records archiving features found in TAG Fleet Online, it is independent of internet connectivity. Much more than a document archive, DocuSearch is the ultimate, portable records research toolkit.

Recently, we found ourselves in a position to assist another client, who, while in the midst of a Lease Return was asked to provide select, customary documentation. After exhausting all recovery outlets and options, they had reached a state of crisis and recovery mode. Were these critical documents purged in error? The unfortunate discovery was that the sought after documents were simply lost and untraceable. Was it possible that the TAG Fleet system housed the data safely in archive?

In times when a burdensome and costly record tracking expedition, or worse an unrecoverable data dilemma could have had especially uncertain financial repercussions for our client, the TAG Fleet Team was eager to help!. With one click of the mouse TAG Fleet was able to step in and recover the securely archived data, thus salvaging the deal.

With just one call, the TAG Fleet Team can be your reassurance factor. More than a data archive, TAG Fleet software is secure, comprehensive aircraft portfolio management. What may appear to be a simple Pre-purchase, Lease Return or Due Diligence Inspection, can quickly escalate into a paper trail nightmare. Take back control with TAG Fleet Online!

PROGRESSIVE COMPANY – INNOVATIVE SOFTWARE

The Aircraft Group® is the Technical Services leader for the Aviation Trading Community. Known for all-inclusive expertise in each facet of Aircraft Asset Management, we have gained a singular awareness of the progressively more complex issues facing Major financial institutions, operators and airlines. Backed by two decades of veteran insight into the intricacies of aircraft and records management, The Aircraft Group Team is comprised of a diverse group of Aircraft Industry Specialists.

Our global reach and varied industry experience has highlighted for us the critical importance of an efficient, organized approach to the retention, management and accessibility of aircraft documents. The focal point of any technical service we provide to our clientele invariably cycles back to and is reliant upon addressing these document management points. This in mind, our Team evolved into a varied and exceptional blend of industry expertise.

We have the personnel, knowledge and proficiency to navigate the maze of ever-changing regulations. Our years and experience in the aircraft industry have given us an intimate understanding of compliance requirements. We know the Industry and we know aircraft records.

Taming the seemingly endless quantities of aircraft and maintenance documents is central to any asset management equation. With the introduction of TAG Fleet Online® and DocuSearch™, The Aircraft Group boasted innovative, technology-driven improvements to aircraft record keeping methods and overall asset management. A proven product in the Aviation Industry for nearly a decade, the TAG Fleet® Suite of software products is designed expressly for Aircraft and Aircraft Records Management.

TAG Fleet Online, our internet-based offering is the most advanced method for efficient, comprehensive Aircraft Portfolio Management. DocuSearch is the CD or DVD version of the searchable records archiving software and is independent of internet connectivity. Portable, yet powered by the same cutting-edge search features, it can be an invaluable tool in times where internet access is unavoidably absent. Whether to carry out a Lease Return or routine data purge requirements, designated Users are provided with secure access to straightforward menus within the system to effortlessly manage all documents.

TAG Fleet efficiently manages the mountains of data inextricably tied to the maintenance and therefore the value of each aircraft. Deliver an Aircraft over the internet? Yes we can! Yes we have! TAG Fleet made it possible, and we have saved our clients thousands of dollars in the process. The TAG Fleet Team is a phone call away and we would welcome the opportunity to showcase TAG Fleet Online!