Features
Delta Helicopters upgrades to WinAir Version 7

Delta Helicopters will be upgrading to WinAir Version 7 after using previous versions of WinAir’s aviation-management software for the past 16 years. In late December, WinAir’s Product Implementation team visited Delta’s headquarters in St. Albert, Alberta, to complete the on-site training and go-live phase of the software implementation, which is more robust and browser-based.

Delta Helicopters was established in 1972 and now holds six bases across Alberta, employing approximately 50 staff. It offers a range of services to clients within the province and throughout Canada, such as the oil and gas industry, forestry industry, mining industry, and government. These services consist of chartering staff, equipment transportation, stand-by evacuation, fire suppression, aerial seeding, land surveying, thermal imaging, pipeline inspection, powerline inspection, search and rescue, wildlife population counts, air ambulance/medevac services, and sightseeing expeditions.

In terms of its fleet, Delta Helicopters operate with 25 light intermediate and medium-lift helicopters. This includes Bell 204B, 205A1++, 206B, 212, Airbus AStar 350BA, and AStar 350 B2 helicopters.

Delta Helicopters began working with WinAir in 2003 when the company was seeking maintenance and inventory control software to replace manual processes. It signed on with WinAir Version 4 and leveraged WinAir’s Aircraft Services team to develop aircraft templates for its Bell 206B and Airbus AS350 helicopters. After years of growth, the decision was made to upgrade to WinAir Version 5.5 in 2007.

A decade later, WinAir explains Delta’s needs changed as the company continued to expand its fleet, which resulted in the widening of its geographical operation. With the addition of these aircraft and the expansion of its operation, WinAir explains it was evident that its Web-based WinAir Version 7 maintenance software was required to harmonize processes between bases, sub-bases, and remote operations to provide instant access to inventory information, and to improve interdepartmental communication.

This upgrade includes WinAir Version 7’s new required parts workflow, again improving visibility and assisting with decision-making throughout all facets of the company. As part of this upgrade, the company commissioned WinAir to build a template import utility to accelerate the time it takes to get maintenance program information into WinAir and to simplify the process therein. This was developed based on WinAir’s data loading utility, a tool that provides users with the ability to load aircraft directly into the system via a template. With this new Maintenance Programs Data Import utility, Delta will be able to import maintenance program data from a spreadsheet into WinAir.

“WinAir Version 7 goes above and beyond our requirements for powerful browser-based software, with comprehensive reporting functionality, and the ability to manage the complex variables associated with helicopter operations,” said Harvey Wolfe, director of maintenance at Delta Helicopters. “We have a superb working relationship with the WinAir team, who remain focused on helping us improve our business and consistently exceed our expectations. We look forward to our go-live date with the software and the new Maintenance Programs utility and anticipate a formidable return on investment.”