Honeywell Uses Blockchain To Digitize Aircraft Records

For decades, aerospace companies and their customers have drowned in cumbersome documentation processes and storage mechanisms. Honeywell is solving those problems by fully integrating aircraft record generation into its digital blockchain ledger.

This provides Honeywell's customers with an easy way to search and retrieve scattered data through a simple user interface, creating a level of speed and efficiency never before available in the aerospace industry.

Quick and easy access to this data is critical for airlines because most use dozens of repair facilities, and the paperwork from each is not integrated.

Additionally, airlines and operators commonly deal with lost, printed paperwork associated with a part. This paperwork, or "trace documents," are critical to maintaining the value of a part's worth.

Honeywell's blockchain is a secure, decentralized database crowd-sourced by all its authorized users.

Each user that Honeywell allows has a copy of the database and knows its contents in real time. Instead of storing only PDF documents or a reference to the digital aircraft record, Honeywell now stores the actual form data "on chain."

This data is used to re-construct aircraft records, including records that prove the Aviation Administrator has certified that aircraft parts are safe to fly.

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These records can be accessed by customers, and in the case where paperwork is missing, customers can simply input the part number and serial number and the user interface will retrieve the data from the blockchain and "rebuild" the missing document.

Lisa Butters, general manager for Honeywell's GoDirect Trade and applications owner for blockchain technologies said: "Honeywell manufactures and repairs thousands of aerospace parts each day, and now all of those events, including the generated air worthiness certificates, go on chain.

"In aerospace, this is a game-changing technology that will simplify and transform recordkeeping for aircraft owners and airlines around the world."

In its purest form, blockchain technology creates trust between all parties on the chain through digital transparency.

The goal of the company is not to be the only aerospace company creating unified aircraft records on chain, but rather to collaborate and be an implementation partner so others can leverage the same technology.

Honeywell first implemented blockchain technology with the launch of GoDirect Trade in late 2018.

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