CHIPS Articles: NAVAIR Pubs Now on Web
NAVAIR Pubs Now on Web
Responsible for more than 5000 manuals and technical directives, AZ2 Tammi Nolan and her co-workers at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi, Texas, are busy people. They appreciate the push the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) has made to get its more than 20,000 publications posted electronically. Nolan, who has worked with publications for the Helicopter Mine Countermeasures Squadron (HM-15) for two years, welcomes the change. "It makes my job a lot easier," she said, describing her daily tasks of filling requests for publications and updating manuals. "We used to get large bulk amounts of changes by mail - now we can download them on line," she said, adding, "The Web site relieves a lot of paperwork and the hassle of incorporating (publication) changes manually." The site she is referring to is known as the NATEC Web site - and can be found at www.natec.navy.mil. The Naval Air Technical Data and Engineering Services Command (NATEC) is part of NAVAIR, and is the central repository for all NAVAIR technical publications. As the ultimate technology provider, authority and action resource for naval aviation technologies for the warfighter, NAVAIR has made a big push toward getting all publications converted to a digital format and posted on the Web. According to Tim Ruth, NATEC Web project manager, NAVAIR has a goal of getting all 20,000 publications on line by 2007. "We have more than 8,100 manuals on our Web site and are ahead of schedule," he said. Not only is digital access to publications faster for the fleet, but it also solves a logistical paper problem. "In the past, users had a hard time stocking the (publications)," said Ruth. "A lot of our aircraft have very old publications - from the 1960s and 1970s. Copies got lost, sometimes the original is illegible, and with a constant turn-over in the fleet, it was hard to track down who actually owned the publication." According to Ruth, the NATEC Web site is addressing those issues. "Ninety-one percent of the stuff on our Web site is POD G - printable on demand," he said. "Once a manual is POD G, publication managers don't have to keep it in stock anymore - it can be looked at digitally or paper copies can be immediately requisitioned."
There are two methods Ruth and his 13-member editing and conversion team use to post publications to the Web site. The first is to scan the original paper documents, converting them to an electronic format prior to posting. The second is to receive the documents in an electronic format directly from the program offices. "We work closely with data managers throughout NAVAIR," said Ruth, who explained that more than 3000 publications are presently in the update cycle. When those updates are completed, they are sent to NATEC for posting. William Carey is the Central Technical Publications Librarian Program Manager for Sikorsky Support System, Inc. at Naval Air Station Meridian, Miss. He manages over 7900 publications utilizing the NATEC Web site on a daily basis. "The NATEC Web site provides me current and available information regarding the latest changes and IRACs (Interim Rapid Action Changes) to all my manuals," said Carey. "It informs me when our manuals become digital and placed on the NATEC Web site and makes it convenient now to order manuals or publications from the Naval Logistic Library." Carey is just one of many NATEC site users. The site has 25,000 accounts set up and averages 40,000 - 50,000 log-ins per month. "We've filled more than 105,000 POD G requisitions since early 2000," said Ruth. "We're here to serve the warfighter," Ruth continued. "He has the right to expect the best guidance, counsel, advice and support regarding any naval aviation technology - and this is one way to give him that support."
NAVAIR provides advanced warfare technology to the American warfighter. Located in eight principal sites around the country, NAVAIR provides precision naval aviation technologies in sensors, aircraft, weapons, training, launch & recovery systems, and communication. NAVAIR warfare technology is delivering transformational service to the US Navy, to all other Department of Defense services, as well as military organizations of allies around the world.
For more information about the Naval Air Systems Command, go to www.navair.navy.mil.
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