In an age where climate change becomes an increasingly alarming challenge for the world to face, the aviation industry encounters the urgent need to reduce its carbon footprint. Talks of sustainable airline fuel and more efficient aircraft engines take the spotlight when it comes to where the greatest improvements can be made, but there are some less obvious aspects of maintaining an airline where steps towards sustainability can be taken. One such aspect is paper waste. With digital transformation shaping a new vision for the aviation industry, the elimination of paper waste is a simple yet effective way to go green.

Paper Waste

In an aircraft’s day-to-day routine, work orders must be signed in order for maintenance tasks to be completed in a coherent manner. Work orders are used to specify tasks which must be completed, keep tabs maintenance progress, and track billable hours for engineers and managers. These pieces of paperwork, often spanning over a hundred pages, account for loads of paper waste in the aviation industry, especially since most work orders are single-use and become of little value to the aircraft once filled.

However, work orders are necessary to comply with MRO standards. There are regulatory, legal, and financial records that must be kept in order to maintain safety and fairness within the aviation industry. Work orders always have and always will be part of the aviation industry’s day-to-day process.

This is also just one source of paper waste in the aviation industry. Flight plans, aircraft blueprints, tickets, and much more account for areas where paper waste can be eliminated.

Digital Transformation in the Aviation Industry

With digital transformation shaping the aviation industry, opting for digital records over paper ones seems like a no-brainer. Not only does switching to software help eliminate paper waste, but it can also increase the efficiency of an airline’s operations.

One of the primary concerns of switching over to a paperless system is security. When airlines communicate work orders and other sensitive pieces of information via electronic transmissions via electronic signals, the risk of data leaks increases. While this complicates matters for airlines wishing to go green, advancements in blockchain and other encryption technologies has turned the idea of going paperless into a viable one. As encryption technology continues to advance, the digitization of aviation logs will only become more secure.

Digital solutions that lead towards paperless 

Electronic TechLog

Electronic TechLog replaces paper technical log. It helps to optimize the logbook data management, reduces expensive paperlog, and eliminates any transcription and data handling errors. Electronic TechLog solutions ensure aircraft data are accurate and available in real-time wherever it is needed. 

Digital tool management software

One such software that can be used to eliminate paper waste is QOCO’s MROTools.io digital tooling software. It is developed to help airlines and MROs digitize the process of booking, returning, and tracking tools needed for aircraft maintenance and repairs. It’s a secure platform which keeps the information of its users and activities safe from theft and tampering.

In addition to increased security, MROTools.io makes the maintenance process for aircraft simpler and more efficient. One such benefit of using the platform is the ability to incorporate predictive maintenance into an aircraft, which reduces waste not only related to paper, but for everything else concerning maintenance, from man-hours to parts acquisition.

As digitization continues to transform the world of aviation, going down the paperless route seems more and more feasible. Along with reducing their carbon footprint, airlines can save on time and money that otherwise would have gone to waste. With countless other industries having already made the leap towards full digitization, it only makes sense that the aviation industry should follow suit.

‍