Information requirements of aircraft inspection: framework and analysis

The information environment is seen to be one of the predominant factors for effective maintenance and inspection systems in the operation of commercial aircraft. The design issues can be stated simply as decisions on what information to present, when to present this information, and how to present this information. It is desirable that in answering these questions, the designer accounts for the cognitive abilities of humans and the demands that the task requirements generate. This paper provides a framework for information design by combining the concepts from the human factors knowledge base with the specific needs of aircraft inspection. This framework captures the interaction between the inspection task and its information requirements, leading to an analysis of the information needs of aircraft inspectors, using this framework and the cognitive control categories of Skill-Rule-Knowledge based behaviors. Based on this analysis, guidelines for information systems design have been suggested.