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Reducing Aircraft Downtime: Designing a Mechanic Task Flow for Speed & Clarity

Overview & Strategic Context

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Aircraft maintenance is complex, time-sensitive, and safety-critical. We discovered that mechanics struggled with logging status transitions between shifts—resulting in miscommunication, downtime, and delayed reporting. This On/Off flow redesign aligned with a Q2 initiative to streamline task turnover and reduce operational friction in aircraft maintenance facilities.

Beacon, developed by EmbraerX (Embraer's innovation and R&D subsidiary), is an aviation software platform that streamlines collaboration between airline operators, mechanics, and technicians during aircraft maintenance operations. With 80% of maintenance time spent on coordination rather than repairs, the platform addresses this critical industry challenge by enabling effective communication to minimize aircraft downtime and maximize operational efficiency.
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6 weeks
Tools: Figma, Miro, Notion
Team: 1 PM, 2 Engineers, Ops Manager, Design Researcher
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Senior Product Designer — Led end-to-end UX for the Mechanic On/Off flow redesign
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Led user research at airline maintenance facilities, owned end-to-end design process, facilitated cross-functional collaboration, conducted usability testing, and managed design implementation and QA.

Research & Insights

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As part of the research team conducting on-site visits to airline maintenance facilities, I gained crucial insights into the daily workflows and challenges faced by maintenance teams.

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Key Research Findings
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  • Through direct observation and interviews with maintenance teams across multiple sites, we discovered:
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    • Controllers manage an average of 12-15 concurrent maintenance tasks across different aircraft
    • Critical information exchanges during shift changes created significant vulnerability points
    • Mechanics needed to balance documentation requirements with hands-on repair work
    • Informal communication channels were being heavily relied upon for crucial updates

User Journey Pain Points
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  • Our field research revealed specific points of friction in the maintenance workflow:
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    • Information Handoff: Shift changes created critical communication gaps
    • Real-time Updates: Mechanics lacked efficient ways to provide status updates while working
    • Documentation Access: Technical information was difficult to access during active maintenance
    • Task Prioritization: Controllers struggled to effectively manage multiple concurrent tasks

Problem Framing

Aircraft maintenance operations rely on seamless coordination between mechanics, supervisors, and dispatchers—especially during shift transitions. However, we discovered that fragmented communication, inconsistent handoff processes, and a lack of real-time visibility were introducing avoidable delays and operational friction.
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Mechanics often struggled to log their “On” or “Off” status effectively, leading to:

  • Disjointed task ownership
  • Incomplete progress updates
  • Manual check-ins that disrupted flow

The current system created information silos, increased the cognitive load on mechanics, and limited supervisors' ability to make informed, timely resource allocation decisions.

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Design Challenge

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How might we create a quick, intuitive flow for mechanics to log their On/Off status—while reducing errors and enabling smoother shift visibility?

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case room old card
The MVP dashboard uses a grid layout with color-coded cards to display case status. While effective initially, it struggled to scale as case volume grew, leading to redesign efforts for better usability and navigation.
Aircraft Maint Case Flow
Mechanic Journey

Ideation & Exploration

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  • Co-created journey maps and UI sketches with ops team
  • Tested three status UI options
  • Prioritized accessibility and speed over dense UI complexity
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‍Key Design Decisions
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  • Adopted card-based layout for high scannability
  • Introduced color-coded status states
  • Reduced click depth from 4 → 2 taps
  • Clarified action verbs
    • "Self Assign” →
    • "Start Mainternance"→
    • “Finish Mainternance”

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Final Solution

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  • Mechanics can now toggle between case statuses in <5 seconds
  • Role-based UI shows relevant context only
  • Smart defaults auto-fill based on hangar and time of day

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    Beacon Case Progress

    Real-time Visual Management

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    • Status cards showing live task progress
    • Interactive dashboard for maintenance oversight
    • Visual alerts for priority changes and delays

    Centralized Communication Hub

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    • Threaded conversations for each maintenance task
    • Document sharing and annotation capabilities
    • Shift handover facilitation tools
    Case Room

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    Outcomes & Validation

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    We evaluated the redesigned On/Off flow through field usability testing and ongoing performance metrics to understand both business impact and user satisfaction.

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    Quantitative Results
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    • ✈️ 25% reduction in aircraft downtime by streamlining shift transitions
    • 🔧 30% increase in maintenance team productivity via improved task visibility
    • 💬 40% fewer communication errors due to standardized logging protocols
    • ⚡ 50% faster task logging observed during live testing
    • 📊 80% of users rated the new flow as “very clear” or “extremely clear”
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    User Feedback Highlights

    • “I don’t need to think about it anymore—just click and go.”
    • 85% satisfaction scores from both controllers and mechanics
    • Mechanics praised the intuitive UI for reducing stress and uncertainty
    • Controllers noted improved decision-making through real-time updates
    • Enhanced team collaboration due to unified, transparent status tracking

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    Usability Testing Summary

    • Conducted in the field with 5 mechanics across 2 hangars
    • Real-time observation + post-test interviews to validate speed and clarity
    • Resulted in final refinements to default states and button copy

    Card Evolution: From Cluttered to Clarity

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    A progressive design refinement focused on information hierarchy, scan-ability, and action clarity under time-sensitive conditions.

    • Reduced ambiguity in task state with prominent color-coded status
    • Prioritized calls-to-action and critical details like fault code + location
    • Improved scanability with simplified layout and hierarchy

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    Field Research in Action

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    As part of the research team conducting on-site visits to airline maintenance facilities, I gained crucial insights into the daily workflows and challenges faced by maintenance teams.

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    Key Learnings
    01 Technical Insights
    Simplified interactions can outperform automation in time-sensitive environments reminded me that elegant systems often come from simplifying, not adding more features.
    02 Process Learnings
    Co-creating with operators built trust—and surfaced insights early in the design cycle this reinforced the value of early co-design with users in operational environments.
    03 Personal Growth
    This project deepened my appreciation for low-ego collaboration in high-stakes operational spaces helped me grow as a design lead by balancing system constraints with real-world field empathy.
    Quotes
    The Mechanic On/Off User Flow project demonstrated how thorough user research and thoughtful design execution can transform complex operational workflows. By focusing on user needs while maintaining technical rigor, we established a new benchmark for maintenance operation efficiency in the aviation industry.
    ©Nattakarn Osborne 2025
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