New Squadron Log Capability Helps with Flying Hour Program Management

April 6, 2023 N. W. No comments exist

For more than two decades, ITI has been solving problems with technical solutions.  One of the first such efforts was the automation of what is known as the Requirements Brochure which, back in the 1990s, was accomplished via spreadsheet.     Automation of the spreadsheet for Weapon System Programs within the Air Force was first accomplished via siloed MS Access database systems and eventually migrated to an enterprise system that would house complex business rules, enable total force e-coordination, and support multi-level collaboration on credible, validated data.  This enabled tremendous process efficiencies and greater transparency and confidence in data for decision making.

Most recently, ITI identified the opportunity to solve another problem for the DoD:  Flying Hours Program Support.  The Flying Hours Program is a significant line item in the DoD budget.  The President’s Budget for 2023 funds the USAF Flying Hour Program at 914,482 flying hours, just under the maximum executable flying hours level of 1.1 million flying hours.

Like its early predecessor, the Requirements Brochure, management of the Flying Hour Program is largely decentralized and managed in spreadsheets and across multiple disparate systems.   This presents a challenge for tracking and reporting of flying hours, as required by AFI21-103.  The ability to execute Flying Hours not only has an impact on budgets but directly impacts mission readiness of the Air Force.

To solve this,  ITI introduced the Flying Hour Program Management suite.  FHPM is an enterprise tool that helps organizations such as the Air National Guard in organizing, tracking, and managing its Flying Hours program.  FHPM is a leading indicator system that supports planning. It also tracks execution across multiple data sources and applies business rules to call out potential disconnects. FHPM allows Program Managers and Program Offices to coordinate on a single version of the truth — from the initial allocation at the start of the fiscal year, through reallocations during the Fiscal Year, and to close out.

The most recent tool to be added to the FHP suite of tools is the Squadron Log This new functionality provides the ability to:

  • Maintain AFTO 781 – Arms Aircrew/Mission Flight Data Document.
  • Facilitate audit compliance for tracking and reporting of flying hours in accordance with AFI 21-103.
  • Interface flight log records from external systems such as ARMS, Cool, Aerospace, PEX, etc.
  • Automatically validate log records with transaction records (REMIS). The validation identifies fields with disconnects or if the log record is missing from other feeder sources.
  • Generate both formatted or customized spreadsheets and reports.
  • Extract data or interface with other systems to include formats for Flying Hours On-Line (FHOL).

Customers that are using the current flying hours suite of tools are excited about this new functionality.  The automation, detection and management capabilities will help units and commands manage the millions of flying hours flown by pilots across the DoD.

Contact Infinite Technologies, Inc. for more information about Flying Hours Program Management (FHPM) or the New Squadron Log.

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