Automatically analyzing massive amounts of hand-written data may provide the early warning that airlines need to avoid product failures that delay flights and force some passengers to rebook flights. An innovative solution from Teradata Corporation and business partner Clarabridge, Inc. thoroughly examines the detailed aircraft maintenance logs kept by pilots to detect problems. Log content is read and parsed for meaning using text analytics software from Clarabridge and then loaded into a Teradata Data Warehouse Appliance, where it is further analyzed for early indications of possible problems with certain airline equipment. The paid test is being conducted for B/E Aerospace and was begun in January. It is expected to conclude by fall.

“Clarabridge software sifts through pilot aircraft maintenance logs – unstructured data - to quickly identify potential product failures, and where the root cause is not known or well-understood, performs root-cause analysis,” said Sid Banerjee, chief executive officer at Clarabridge. “By working with Teradata to provide continuous access to in-depth analytics that are communicated quickly and to the right person, B/E Aerospace can fix problems immediately, before they negatively impact daily airline operations and ultimately the passengers.”

B/E Aerospace makes and distributes interior products such as seating, lighting and galley refrigeration systems for the commercial, business and military aerospace industries.

Vice President of Product Support, Wynn Parrish, B/E Aerospace, said, “Our expertise is in improving the touch points between the airplane and the passenger. By detecting the need for repairs or replacements earlier, we can potentially eliminate aircraft maintenance delays.

“With today’s tightly scheduled and fully booked planes, any single delay can quickly cascade to impact hundreds of passengers in multiple airports. Running sophisticated text analytics on the Teradata Data Warehouse Appliance brings advance notification capabilities to manufacturers at a price that is affordable and on a platform that is easily implemented,” said Ted Senemar, vice president of mid-market, Americas region, Teradata Corporation.

SOURCE: Teradata and Clarabridge Examine Airline Passenger Issues