Troubleshooting devours a lot of time in the MRO process. In fact, "60 percent of an average repair cycle is spent on troubleshooting," said Phil D'Eon, chief executive officer of CaseBank Technologies (www.casebank.com). This is why Toronto-based CaseBank has developed SpotLight, a maintenance diagnostic software system that speeds up troubleshooting on Bombardier CRJ and Dash 8-Q400 airplanes.

What sets SpotLight apart is the system's use of case-based reasoning. It works this way: SpotLight is pre-loaded with data regarding the symptoms and causes of CRJ/Q400 problems as reported by operators worldwide. Whenever a CRJ or Dash 8-Q400 needs troubleshooting, SpotLight questions the mechanic about specific symptoms. By correlating these symptoms against its database, SpotLight can narrow down probable causes and offer efficient trouble-shooting recommendations.

"SpotLight is essentially an experienced mechanic in a box," said Doug Shockey, chief operating officer of Pinnacle Airlines. Owned by Northwest Airlines, Pinnacle operates 69 Bombardier CRJ jets out of Knoxville, Tennessee. "You can take a human mechanic anywhere in your system and connect him to SpotLight," Shockey explained. "It will walk him down the right path to get the aircraft back into service in a minimal amount of time."

Pinnacle started testing SpotLight in 2000, at the same time it acquired its first 42 CRJs. "Our people had no experience with the regional jet," Shockey said. "Yet, thanks to SpotLight, they were able to get our new aircraft up and running reliably in no time. Moreover, when problems did occur, SpotLight was able to help our technicians narrow down probable causes, which saved a lot of downtime."

A case in point: "Within a week of getting our first CRJ, the pilots heard a squeal in the cockpit, saw an ‘important warning' message, and returned for a landing," Shockey recalled. "While they were landing, our mechanic entered the problem in SpotLight. It told him that the cause was probably an unhooked service door on the aircraft. Sure enough, this proved to be the case. The mechanic went and locked the door, the CRJ took off again, and that was that."

"Had we tried to troubleshoot it ourselves, our people would have opened and then closed the service doors themselves during the process of looking for a cause, probably replacing some expensive parts" he added. "As a result, they would never have detected the true problem, because they would have unwittingly corrected it."

In June 2002, Bombardier signed a long-term partnership with CaseBank Technologies. Under the deal, the Canadian aircraft manufacturer is validating SpotLight's diagnostic information and technical references for the CRJ100, CRJ200, CRJ700, CRJ900, and Q400 models. "We are pleased to be working with CaseBank in delivering this innovative new service," said Jeff Mihalic, vice president and general manager of customer services for Bombardier Regional Aircraft. "We are convinced that SpotLight will deliver valuable and cost-effective benefits to our Bombardier CRJ and Q400 operators."

Of course, what CRJ/Q400 operators want to know is how much SpotLight costs. According to Casebank's Phil D'Eon, "the current rollout phase is being underwritten by our company and Bombardier, so it's hard to quote an exact price. However, we are looking at an annual subscription fee based on a per-tail basis for each customer. Our goal is to cost no more than the amount spent following up to two to three no fault found reports per aircraft, per year."��������

Is SpotLight worth paying for? Yes, if you listen to Doug Shockey. "SpotLight is worth its weight in gold for troubleshooting," he said. "It's like having an expert mechanic who has devoted his life to your aircraft, on call 24/7."