Part 145 Document Management Software: Requirements and Workflow

Build a jurisdiction and approval matrix

A dual-release work order may require more evidence and certification logic than a domestic component job. Configure by rule and scope; do not rely on staff memory.

Control current maintenance data

Under 14 CFR 145.109, an FAA repair station must maintain current and accessible documents and data needed for the work, including applicable ADs, instructions for continued airworthiness, manuals, service bulletins, and other accepted or approved data. EASA Part-145 likewise controls applicable maintenance data.

The software should:

• Identify the controlling publication and revision for every task.
• Show effectivity and applicability before work begins.
• Prevent unintentional use of superseded data and route any exceptional use through the applicable approved or accepted process.
• Capture the revision actually used in the work record.
• Control customer-supplied and locally stored data.
• Record temporary revisions and technical queries.
• Preserve evidence of data review and distribution.
• Work at the point of maintenance, including degraded-connectivity procedures.

A PDF library with search is useful, but it is not revision control unless users can prove which data governed the accomplished work.

Create the work record as work happens

The work order should connect:

1. Customer request and contracted scope.
2. Article identity, incoming condition, and eligibility.
3. Planning, data, parts, tools, and personnel requirements.
4. Task accomplishment and independent inspections where required.
5. Findings, non-routines, approved repairs, and scope changes.
6. Parts removed and installed, with trace and release documents.
7. Measurements, test results, and calibrated equipment.
8. Deferred or excluded work communicated to the customer.
9. Final review and authorized release.
10. Customer records package and retained copy.

Keep signed source evidence at task level. A billing summary or high-level work-order close screen cannot replace the details needed to demonstrate what was done.

Protect certification and electronic signatures

An electronic signature must be attributable to the authorized person and bound to the exact record signed. A mature design includes:

• Unique identity and strong authentication.
• Role and authorization checks at signing time.
• Meaning of the signature: perform, inspect, supervise, or release.
• Timestamp and record version.
• Protection against reuse or repudiation.
• Visible changes after signature and controlled re-signing.
• Audit trail for failed, withdrawn, and superseded signatures.
• Emergency and system-outage procedures.

FAA AC 120-78B provides an acceptable, non-exclusive means for electronic signatures, records, and manuals under applicable U.S. rules. The organization still needs the procedures and acceptance appropriate to its operation.

Configure retention by record class

Do not set one deletion rule for everything.

The system should calculate the trigger correctly, document any longer controlling period, place holds, and prove destruction approval. Never infer that the repair station’s minimum retention period tells the aircraft owner how long to keep its separate continuing-airworthiness records.

Deliver a complete customer package

For an FAA repair station, 14 CFR 145.219 requires a copy of the maintenance release to the owner or operator. EASA 145.A.55 requires the release plus copies of detailed records necessary to demonstrate the relevant continuing-airworthiness requirements.

Define the package for each work type:

• Certificate or approval for return to service.
• Signed task cards and inspection evidence.
• Findings and corrective actions.
• Component release and trace documents.
• Approved repair or modification data references.
• Measurements, test results, and status changes.
• Updated configuration, weight and balance, or ICA material where applicable.
• Open work, exclusions, and customer notifications.

Generate a package manifest. Reconcile expected and delivered documents, obtain receipt, and retain exactly what was transmitted.

Control personnel, authorizations, and permissions

The system should not allow a valid login to imply unlimited certification privilege. Model:

• Approval and location.
• Product, rating, task, and aircraft type.
• Perform, inspect, support, and certify roles.
• Training, experience, continuation, and recency.
• Authorization issue, restriction, suspension, and expiry.
• Temporary, contracted, and agency personnel.

At the work step, evaluate the authorization effective at that time. Preserve historic privileges so an auditor can reconstruct why a signature was allowed.

Build quality and safety evidence into the system

Document management also supports:

• Internal audits and findings.
• Corrective actions and effectiveness reviews.
• Occurrence and voluntary reporting.
• Supplier, subcontractor, and contracted-maintenance control.
• Capability-list changes.
• Tool calibration and shelf-life control.
• Manual revision and staff acknowledgement.
• Human-factors and recurrent training.

Keep sensitive safety and personnel information partitioned from broad customer access. “One source of truth” does not mean every user can see or change every record.

Software evaluation scorecard

Run live scenarios, not slideware demos:

• [ ] A planner can prove the manual revision used.
• [ ] An expired authorization blocks the relevant signature.
• [ ] A non-routine preserves the finding, approval, work, and inspection chain.
• [ ] A serialized part connects to its release and installation record.
• [ ] A customer package exports with a reconciled manifest.
• [ ] A signed task changed after release is visibly controlled.
• [ ] An auditor can retrieve a two-year-old record promptly.
• [ ] A site outage follows a tested continuity process.
• [ ] Access termination removes privileges without erasing history.
• [ ] Migration preserves versions, signatures, links, and audit trails.

Score configuration effort, offline operation, API access, export, portability, backup, recovery, cyber controls, and vendor exit alongside features.

Implementation and validation workflow

1. Inventory approvals, manuals, forms, interfaces, and record classes.
2. Convert requirements into traceable system controls.
3. Clean identity, authorization, publication, customer, and asset master data.
4. Configure one representative workstream.
5. Test normal, exception, outage, and audit scenarios.
6. Obtain required internal and authority acceptance.
7. Train by role and verify proficiency.
8. Run parallel controls for a defined period.
9. Reconcile migrated records and customer exports.
10. Monitor control performance after launch.

Acceptance testing should include maintenance, quality, records, IT security, and actual certifying personnel. A technically successful import can still fail if reviewers cannot retrieve the source evidence during an audit.

Sources and further reading

• 14 CFR 145.109, Equipment, materials, and data requirements
• 14 CFR 145.209, Repair station manual contents
• 14 CFR 145.219, Recordkeeping
• FAA AC 145-9A, Repair Station and Quality Control Manuals
• EASA Easy Access Rules for Continuing Airworthiness, Part-145