# MRO Digital Records and Traceability Readiness Assessment > Source: https://netray.co/tools/part-145-station-readiness-self-assessment > Publisher: Netray (netray.co), AI and integration engineering for ERP and manufacturing systems. > Section: Free Tools ## Short answer A ten question self-assessment of how well your repair station holds traceability data across planning, stores, shop floor and finance. ## Category aerospace-defense ## Industry Aerospace MRO ## Audience - MRO manager - Quality manager - IT manager ## Tool **Kind:** assessment **Questions:** #### How are task cards and work packages issued to technicians? **Options:** ##### Paper printed and filed by hand **Score:** 0 ##### Printed from the system, signed on paper **Score:** 1 ##### Viewed on screen, signed on paper and scanned **Score:** 2 ##### Executed and signed electronically **Score:** 3 #### How is part and serial number data captured at receiving? **Options:** ##### Handwritten on a receiving form **Score:** 0 ##### Typed into a spreadsheet **Score:** 1 ##### Typed into the system with validation **Score:** 2 ##### Scanned or imported from the document into the system **Score:** 3 #### Can you trace any serialised part to the aircraft and work order it was fitted to? **Options:** ##### Only by searching paper files **Score:** 0 ##### With effort across several files and spreadsheets **Score:** 1 ##### In one system, with manual lookups **Score:** 2 ##### Yes, in minutes from one query **Score:** 3 #### How do you track shelf life and life limited items? **Options:** ##### Memory and paper labels **Score:** 0 ##### A spreadsheet checked periodically **Score:** 1 ##### System fields with manual reports **Score:** 2 ##### System alerts and automatic quarantine or blocks **Score:** 3 #### How are certifying staff authorisations and training expiry controlled? **Options:** ##### Paper files **Score:** 0 ##### A spreadsheet **Score:** 1 ##### A training system without links to work sign-off **Score:** 2 ##### System blocks sign-off if the authorisation is invalid **Score:** 3 #### How are tool calibration due dates controlled? **Options:** ##### Labels only **Score:** 0 ##### Spreadsheet register **Score:** 1 ##### Calibration system with reports **Score:** 2 ##### System-linked with tool checkout checks **Score:** 3 #### How does work order cost and labour reach finance? **Options:** ##### Re-keyed from paper into finance **Score:** 0 ##### Exported and imported by spreadsheet **Score:** 1 ##### Interface with manual correction **Score:** 2 ##### Automatic posting with reconciliation **Score:** 3 #### How good is your master data (part numbers, supersessions, interchangeables)? **Options:** ##### Duplicates and gaps are common **Score:** 0 ##### Known issues, cleaned occasionally **Score:** 1 ##### Mostly clean with an owner **Score:** 2 ##### Governed with change control and checks **Score:** 3 #### How are records backed up and retrievable for regulatory retention periods? **Options:** ##### Single copy, no tested restore **Score:** 0 ##### Backups exist but are untested **Score:** 1 ##### Tested backups and a retention schedule **Score:** 2 ##### Tested restore, access control and audit trail **Score:** 3 #### Can planners ask a question of the data without asking IT? **Options:** ##### No, every report is a request **Score:** 0 ##### A few fixed reports **Score:** 1 ##### Self service reports on core data **Score:** 2 ##### Yes, ad hoc questions across systems with role-based access **Score:** 3 **Bands:** #### Mostly manual **Min:** 0 **Max:** 29 **Verdict:** Traceability depends on people and paper, which makes audits and customer queries slow and risky. **Recommendations:** - Start with a single serialised parts register in one system - Digitise receiving data first - Put expiry dates for shelf life and calibration in one controlled list #### Partly digital **Min:** 30 **Max:** 59 **Verdict:** Some systems exist but data is split across them, so effort goes into re-keying and reconciling. **Recommendations:** - Pick one system of record per data type - Remove spreadsheets that duplicate system data - Fix part master data before adding integrations #### Largely digital **Min:** 60 **Max:** 84 **Verdict:** The core is digital. The gains now come from tying systems together and from preventing errors at the point of work. **Recommendations:** - Add system blocks for expired authorisations and tools - Automate cost posting to finance - Test retrieval of records against audit scenarios #### Well integrated **Min:** 85 **Max:** 100 **Verdict:** Traceability, control and reporting are in good shape. Focus on keeping data quality and on safe, governed access to it. **Recommendations:** - Review role-based access and audit trails - Practise restoring records from backup - Explore governed question-answering over the data ## Content **Intro:** A repair station can have good people and good procedures and still lose days finding where a part came from. This ten question assessment shows how much of your traceability and records process is digital, controlled and connected. **Sections:** #### How to use the assessment **Body:** Answer each question for how work happens today, not how it is meant to happen. If different bays or lines work differently, choose the answer for the weakest common case. The tool adds the scores and maps the result to one of four bands. Run it with people from planning, stores, quality and IT in the room, because they often disagree on how things really work, and that disagreement is useful information. **Bullets:** - Answer for actual practice - Include stores, quality and IT in the review - Repeat after six months to see progress #### What the questions measure **Body:** The questions cover five areas: how work is issued and signed, how parts are received and traced, how limits on people, tools and shelf life are enforced, how data reaches finance, and how quickly questions can be answered. A low score in the middle three areas matters most for compliance, because those are where nonconforming parts or unauthorised sign-offs can slip through. A low score in finance or reporting costs money and time but rarely creates safety exposure. #### Common mistakes **Body:** Teams sometimes buy a maintenance system before fixing their part master data, which only moves the mess into a new place. Others digitise forms without changing the process, so people still re-key information. Use the result to choose one or two improvements that remove a manual step and a risk together, such as scanning release documents at receiving. Bigger programmes are easier to approve once a first change shows measurable gains in turn time or audit preparation. **Bullets:** - Clean part master data before integrating - Digitise the process, not only the form - Measure turn time before and after **Cta:** If your result points to disconnected data, we can talk through a private, read-only question layer over your existing systems before you commit to replacing anything. **Faq:** #### Is a higher score always better? **Answer:** Not automatically. A small repair station may do well with a simple, well controlled system. The score shows how much is manual or disconnected, which you then weigh against your size, customers and regulatory exposure. #### Does this assess regulatory compliance? **Answer:** No. It assesses digital readiness and traceability practice. Compliance is judged against your regulation and approved procedures, and should be reviewed by your quality manager and authority. #### Which score range should we aim for? **Answer:** Aim to move up one band at a time. For most stations, closing gaps in traceability, expiry control and master data brings more benefit than adding new features. #### Who should take the assessment? **Answer:** Have the MRO manager, quality manager, stores lead and IT contact each answer separately, then compare. Differences between their answers point to hidden process gaps. ## Search terms mro digital transformation assessment, paperless mro readiness, aircraft part traceability system assessment, mro erp readiness, repair station records digitisation, mro software selection checklist, aviation maintenance records audit --- Talk to an engineer: https://netray.co/contact?intent=erp_ai | Machine catalog: https://netray.co/agent/catalog.json