KEEPING THE HELICOPTERS FLYING - USING A KNOWLEDGE-BASED TASK SUPPORT SYSTEM TO MANAGE MAINTENANCE

We used knowledge-based and object-oriented techniques to create the intelligent maintenance management system (IMMS). We developed IMMS to support maintenance officers in scheduling helicopters for maintenance at an air national guard base. Before the implementation of IMMS, maintenance officers were using a manual system to manage the scheduling process. However, they were encountering many scheduling problems. Solving these problems at the base pointed to a computer-based system. However, researchers have observed that computer-based systems have limitations in supporting decision makers in complex tasks. IMMS is a first attempt to overcome some of these limitations in a practical system. The system provides data, information, and decision-making assistance to the maintenance staff. IMMS is used on a daily basis and has proven to solve many of the management problems that the staff was having.