Data documentation is a critical component of the operations in the commercial aviation and defense sectors worldwide. Thankfully, S1000D has been developed to become the documentation standard that companies and government agencies can turn to as they streamline the process.
S1000D refers to the set of standards that guide the creation of technical publications. Initially developed by the Association Européenne des Constructeurs de Matériel Aérospatial (AECMA) based on the common technical interests of the aerospace industries of 15 European Union countries, it is now supported by the AeroSpace and Defence Industries of Europe (ASD), the Aerospace Industries Association of America (AIA) and the Air Transport Association (ATA).
The benefits of having these standards in place are immediately apparent, especially within a context that requires frequent regular collaboration between parties from different industries and countries. With S1000D now in place in many European countries, and gradually in America’s military and aerospace industries, partners, suppliers, customers, national and local governments, agencies and organizations can prevent duplications in their information exchange efforts. Furthermore, the documentation operations of a country’s commercial aviation industry can be evaluated and modified in accordance to the interests of the military.
The wider acceptance of S1000D as a documentation standard can be attributed to its data-centric approach, which enables publishers to update the information of technical publications by re-using content modules or authoring new content where applicable. For aerospace and defense industry applications, this concept of content-reuse means building on still-relevant information, where the goal is to produce a databank that can be useful to multiple parties across different industries throughout the world.
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