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COMMERCIAL MRO 6 AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2016 AIRCRAFT MAINTENANCE TECHNOLOGY esigning aircraft now includes software solu- tions that will make it easier for maintainers to troubleshoot. With the development of the Boeing 737 MAX, Base2 Solutions, an engineering and software devel- opment company based in Bellevue, WA, has cre- ated a diagnostic software application that will allow mechanics to access performance diagnostics via the cockpit or a mobile device. No more taking an engine apart to see what is malfunctioning. Reading codes from sensors will speed up the maintenance process saving time and money. Whether it is checking components in the manufacturing process or when the aircraft is at the gate, maintainers will have the data they need to get the aircraft flying. Updated technology on the 737 Max disrupted the way diagnostics/testing for manufacturing and maintenance is traditionally done. The 737 MAX features new engines and components, along with updated sensor technology that changes how diag- nostics and testing are performed during manufac- turing and maintenance. On older aircraft, maintain- ers need to physically climb into the maintenance bay for manual checks of the sensors, which just like your car, light up with "check engine" message codes. They previously had to find and read the codes off multiple servers, then look up its mean- ing in a manual. BOEING NEEDED A SOLUTION Boeing gave Base2 Solutions more than 1,700 requirements to meet its project deadlines for the 737 MAX. Ron Hopkins, Base 2 Solutions president, says with the company's smoke-jumper attitude, it jumped right into the project. With the status of the project (in design stage), the software developers had to become virtual mechanics to create a simula- BOEING With the development of the Boeing 737 MAX, Base2 Solutions has built a diagnostic soware application that will allow mechanics to access performance diagnostics via the cockpit or a mobile device HOW AIRCRAFT DESIGN IS CHANGING MAINTENANCE