Story ID: 489 Web Manuals 
Web Manuals Touts Digitized Doc Management 
By: James Wynbrandt
Caption: Norwegian firm’s electronic libraries track all aviation publication revisions, keeping clients up to date and compliant
Word Count: 433
Web Manuals (Booth C8709), developer of digital documentation services for the aviation industry, is here at NBAA 2017 highlighting the benefits of digital document management. The subscription service solves the vexing problem of managing the ever-changing library of documents that aviation requires to operate safely and meet regulatory compliance—whether for pilots, maintenance or other operational personnel. With the constant revision and updating of regulatory and procedural information, simply knowing whether the version in hand is current, or what has changed in it, can be difficult. Web Manuals tracks all relevant aviation information sources and publications, and continuously updates its electronic library, informing clients when revisions occur and what has changed. Martin Lidgard, the company’s founder and CEO, calls Web Manuals “basically Google Docs on steroids.”

The Swedish firm arrives here in Las Vegas following a growth spurt that has seen its U.S. customer base—which includes Tradewind Aviation—double to 20 in the last six months. “During last year’s conference, we forecasted 2017 to be a very strong year for us,” said Lidgard, noting the most recent customers include five Fortune 500 companies with Part 91 flight operations.

Here at the show, the company is debuting Web Manuals 6.2 and a new version of its iPad app, both with a number of features the company is eager to show attendees. Lidgard believes “any operator that is striving to work actively on improving safety knowledge and compliance will see very clearly the benefits in using our tools.”

Indeed, half its clients are registered to the International Standard for Business Aircraft Operations (IS-BAO), a voluntary code of best practices developed by the International Business Aviation Council (IBAC) and its member associations, emphasizing high levels of safety and professionalism. IS-BAO operators—numbering more than 700 worldwide—establish their own aviation manuals and operational documentation, making Web Manuals an ideal solution to their document management needs, Lidgard said. “Our software application significantly reduces the associated conformance workload by easing the digitization, authoring and distribution of documents, and automatically cross-referencing them against the standard.”

IBAC’s IS-BAO and IS-BAH standards are available to Web Manuals’ customers as integrated Compliance Libraries within the Web Manuals application. Like Web Manuals’ EASA and FAA Compliance Libraries, these resources automatically alert subscribing users to the sections of their manuals that require amendment to maintain compliance with IBAC standards. Following a review of document digitization services, IBAC itself became a Web Manuals customer. The organization selected Web Manuals, said Kurt Edwards, IBAC director general, “for its version control, revision management, approval workflows and unique operational adaptability.”