Guide: Trip Analysis and Daily Flight Summaries BETA

Click image for larger version or to download

Introduction

Welcome to the Trip Analysis module, the cornerstone and first release in our upcoming Operational Reports solution. As part of an early access initiative, you are among the first to explore this innovative module. Trip Analysis advances asset tracking with advanced data processing, enabling more accurate monitoring of flight activities, including geo-referenced take-offs and landings, engine cycle tracking, and comprehensive fleet analysis. This functionality provides a deeper and more nuanced understanding of asset performance.

Your role in this early phase is crucial. Throughout the trial, you'll have the opportunity to evaluate the module’s impact on your own billing accuracy, observing firsthand how more precise data can refine your billing processes and uncover potential areas for revenue enhancement. Additionally, you will get a preview of how Trip Analysis can streamline maintenance scheduling and compliance reporting, offering insights into its utility even before full deployment. We deeply value your insights on how Trip Analysis adds value to your organisation, shaping its future development. This guide is designed to help you start and effectively engage with the trial, providing a 30-day, commitment-free window to experience our cutting-edge technology firsthand.

What is 'Trip Analysis’?

There are six key functionality components to Trip Analysis which together enable a clear, detailed view of asset performance. They are:

• Altitude and Speed Analysis: Displays altitude (AMSL and an industry leading AGL) and speed over time in a graphical format, crucial for safety and efficiency in diverse terrains.
• Take Off and Landing Interpretation: Go beyond just device power times. Trip Analysis automatically processes your assets activity and can infer take off and landing events from your tracking data to provide more detailed chronological overview of asset movements.
• Engine Event Analysis: Where a device is integrated with the aircraft engine (we can help with this), this feature separates engine events from basic trip data, providing critical insights of engine cycles, engine run times, and separates out specific flight activity that took place during an engine cycle for greater operational performance and asset management.
• Sub-Trip Summaries: Breaks down multi-leg journeys into individual segments, detailing the duration and distance of each part for better operational analysis.
• Daily Flight Summary: The new Daily Flight Summary dashboard shows you at a glance the daily activity for your selected assets. It instantly surfaces information such as total flights, total flight duration, distance travelled and more on one screen across multiple assets.

            Click image for larger version or to download

• Exportable Data Insights: Allows for the export of detailed insights in CSV format, supporting external analysis and documentation.
• Access to Raw Reports and Metadata: Enables a deeper dive into data for granular analysis and informed decision-making.
• Our Vision For The Future: We envision Trip Analysis, once fully deployed, as a key solution in eliminating the need for manual collection and dissemination of flight information within your operations and to end-customers. Our goal is to create an end-to-end system that not only collects and presents data for approval but also seamlessly integrates with your existing ecosystem through a robust new API. This integration capability extends to maintenance tracking, flight and duty systems, and other operational tools, effectively removing the manual data entry burden and significantly enhancing operational efficiency.

The Motivation Behind 'Trip Analysis'

The development of 'Trip Analysis' is rooted in our commitment to enhancing operational efficiency and revenue accuracy for our clients. This module is designed not just to streamline data management but also to uncover and recover potential revenue losses.

Core Motivation:

• Eliminating Inefficiencies: Central to 'Trip Analysis' is the goal to reduce the time and effort spent on manual data collection and dissemination, making operations smoother and more efficient.
• Revenue Recovery: Our early releases have revealed a crucial insight: a little over 2% of tracked flights were under-billed by more than 0.1 of an hour. By accurately capturing all flight activities, Trip Analysis helps ensure that you are billing accurately, potentially recovering thousands in otherwise missed revenue. 

How 'Trip Analysis' Works

Data Processing and Analysis

'Trip Analysis' processes tracking data from both our hardware devices and those of competitors, making it a hardware-agnostic solution. This data, traditionally used for real-time display on our advanced mapping screen, undergoes further processing in 'Trip Analysis' to extract new operational insights. Instead of merely indicating 'device on/off', it intelligently analyses asset movement to discern key activities like flying or taxiing. This enhanced processing provides a more accurate and comprehensive overview of asset activity, crucial for operational reporting.

Please note: the algorithm for this new feature can only analyse data from the 10 November 2023 onward. 

Setup with Existing Systems

Setup of Trip Analysis requires no additional setup from our customers. All data seamlessly flows into the system for enriched reporting. The basic implementation offers improved flight time accuracy through take-off and landing detection. For deeper insights, including engine utilisation, a simple configuration change, achievable by a qualified maintenance person, is needed. This level of detail enables more precise maintenance forecasting and billing accuracy.

User Interface and Interaction

Accessible through the Reporting tab on TracPlus Cloud, Trip Analysis is not available on our legacy TracPlus Pro 3 application. Users can activate and access the module via the 'Trip Analysis' section under preview reports. A user-friendly guide assists in navigating the various functionalities, is available by clicking here.

Proprietary Technology

The 'Trip Analysis' module is powered by a unique algorithm designed to interpret and analyse raw tracking data more effectively. This technology differentiates between various states of asset movement, such as flying, taxiing, or stationary periods, which traditional systems might overlook. By doing so, it can accurately infer critical operational events like take-offs and landings. This capability is significant, especially given Trip Analysis works with a range of hardware, not just our own. The result is a more detailed and accurate portrayal of asset usage, which is invaluable for operational analysis, maintenance planning, and billing accuracy. Unlike many existing systems that present data without much processing, our algorithm transforms raw data into practical, usable insights.

Please note, this algorithm works best on frequent GPS location reports. To enhance your experience with Trip Analysis, please consider a reporting rate of 15 seconds if possible on your tracking device. For the RockAir, while on Cell it already reports at this rate, however on Sat the standard aviation configuration is usually every 2 minutes. TracPlus offer a burst mode called FastTrac, which captures GPS locations every 15 seconds, groups them into one message and sends the message every 2 minutes. This minimises satellite traffic while optimising detailed tracking. If you’d like to consider this option please let us know and we’ll review your data and advice if it’s a good option for you.

API and Data Export

The future development includes a powerful API as part of the broader Operational Reports solution, enabling accurate data input into downstream systems. This functionality will facilitate the automatic transfer of post-processed data, including comprehensive insights on activities and supplementary information, to maintenance tracking, flight and duty systems, and more, thus enhancing the reliability and efficiency of these systems.

Starting the Trial

We will be rolling out this feature to select customers over the coming weeks. When available on your account you will see a Trial button appear within your TracPlus Cloud account which will initiate your trial. Once confirmed

You can initiate your trial by clicking the ‘Trial’ button when it appears in TracPlus Cloud. Please note the Administrator on your account will need to approve the trial.

What to Expect During the Trial

During your 30-day trial of 'Trip Analysis', you can anticipate:

• Regular Check-Ins: An account manager will touch base with you at key intervals – after the first week, at the two-week mark, and before the trial concludes. These check-ins aim to understand your experience, address any questions, and gather your valuable feedback.
• Resource Availability: A user guide is available. This diagram provides navigation for each component to maximise the benefits of Trip Analysis.
• Responsive Support: Should you encounter any challenges or require assistance, our support team will be readily available to offer guidance and solutions.

This trial period is an opportunity for you to explore the full capabilities of Trip Analysis to  how it enhances your operational insights. Your feedback during this phase is crucial in shaping the future of this tool.

Providing Feedback

Your is invaluable feedback will form the basis of our ongoing development process. Your thoughts on its usefulness, where it could be improved and anything else you wish to share.

Submit your feedback using the ‘Feedback’ button bottom right hand corner of the TracPlus Cloud.

Some things that would be useful for our development team include:

• Is this new feature helpful? What did you use it for?
• Does this address current challenges and issues you face in your daily operations?
• What updates would you like to see in the future?

Conclusion

As we wrap up this guide, we want to emphasise the comprehensive capabilities and potential benefits that Trip Analysis brings to your operations. From offering advanced data processing for more accurate flight activity insights to enabling seamless integration with existing systems, 'Trip Analysis' is designed to transform how you manage and analyse operational data. It stands as a significant advancement in asset tracking, providing you with detailed monitoring, intelligent data interpretation, and crucial operational insights.

Throughout your trial, you can expect dedicated support and regular interactions to ensure you make the most of Trip Analysis. Our focus is not only on delivering a technologically advanced solution but also on ensuring it is user-centric, easy to integrate, and constantly evolving based on your feedback.

In summary, Trip Analysis represents our dedication to not only improving operational efficiency but also ensuring that our clients maximise their revenue potential. It's a testament to our commitment to innovation, safety, and reliability in mission-critical operations. As you embark on this trial, know that your experience and insights are invaluable to us, and we look forward to seeing how Trip Analysis enhances and transforms your operational capabilities.

We invite you to start this journey with 'Trip Analysis' and discover the difference it can make.