Mechanic On/Off

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.

6 weeks
Tools: Figma, Miro, Notion
Team: 1 PM, 2 Engineers, Ops Manager, Design Researcher

Senior Product Designer — Led end-to-end UX for the Mechanic On/Off flow redesign

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.

PROJECT TYPE

Industry — Enterprise Aviation UX

MY ROLE

Senior Product Designer — End-to-end UX

TEAM

1 PM, 2 Engineers, Ops Manager, Design Researcher

PLATFORM

Beacon (aviation software by EmbraerX)

METHODS

Field research

On-site visits

Co-creation

Journey mapping

UI sketching

Usability testing

Performance metrics

STATUS

Shipped

• 6-week sprint

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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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.

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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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

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

Overview & Strategic Context

Research & Insights

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.

Key Research Findings‍

User Journey Pain Points‍

Problem Framing

Design Challenge

‍

Ideation & Exploration

‍Key Design Decisions‍

Final Solution

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Real-time Visual Management

Centralized Communication Hub

Outcomes & Validation

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

Quantitative Results‍

User Feedback Highlights

Usability Testing Summary

Card Evolution: From Cluttered to Clarity

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

Field Research in Action

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.

Key Learnings

01 Technical Insights

02 Process Learnings

03 Personal Growth

Key Research Findings
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User Journey Pain Points
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‍Key Design Decisions
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Quantitative Results
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