Elevating Aircraft Management: EliteJets' Transition to Veryon

In the world of aviation, efficiency isn't just a goal – it's a necessity. Jeff Yoder, Director of Maintenance at EliteJets, knows this all too well. With over two decades of experience in the industry, he understands the critical importance of a superior customer experience and the value of strong vendor relationships.

Jeff's journey with aviation software took a significant turn when he encountered Veryon. Initially, he had reservations about transitioning to a new platform, especially considering the stringent regulatory requirements of being a Part 135 operator. However, Veryon's persistence and compelling pitch for their Veryon Tracking platform ultimately convinced Jeff to give it a try.

Jeff is big on the benefits the leading aviation software and information services provider has given him over the years, including minimizing unnecessary time spent on the ground, maximizing aircraft utilization, increasing communication across his team, and unmatched customer service. He's also started utilizing additional solutions from Veryon, like Work Center, to have more streamlined and efficient operations. 

"I like to use this analogy. Other companies are like diesel pickup trucks. They can be awesome and have all the power, but they can also be really hard to work with at times. Veryon is like a sports car. It's got all the bells and whistles, and it does what I need it to do. So what it really comes down to is, does your aviation software give you what you need to be efficient, or do you have a lot of extra stuff that you don't really need?"

In a candid Q&A session, Jeff delves deeper into his experiences with Veryon, highlighting instances where their support and collaboration exceeded expectations. From troubleshooting technical issues to guiding optimizing system usage, Veryon's Customer Success team has been consistently outstanding.

Q: Reflecting on your aircraft's onboarding, did you have any challenges transitioning to Veryon Tracking and how did Veryon's Onboarding team support you? Any advice for organizations considering the switch?

A: My challenge was trying to get certain information and I wasn't able to, so I gave the Veryon team access, and they were able to pull it for me. 

The biggest thing for me is historical data. When you transfer from one program, it doesn't matter what platform you move from, if you have a code that's done every month, say January 1 and on February 1, you want to go back and look at something that happened in the middle of December, it's not going to be in the system. You'll have to go back to your records and research. But from January on, it's now there. Initially, this was just something that I had to get used to and was worried it would be a problem, but it's never been an issue for me.

An example for me is for every code I do, I attach all the paperwork with that code, so if I ever want to go back and look for an 8130, I can find it because it's part of the package that I scanned, and attached to every one of those codes.

Q: Can you provide an example of Veryon Tracking streamlining your processes or enhancing efficiency? Are there standout features improving daily operations?

A: Work Center has been huge for us. The ability to go from being able to invoicing from work orders is massive for us. I have to be able to look at a "Do List", then transfer those codes over into Work Center and work those items. If I have non-routines that come during those inspections, I can add them to that Work Center and see the progress of the work order as we're going through and doing the work. I can be sitting at home while my guys are working, and I can see them clicking off the items and getting them done. That also turns into a logbook entry or an invoice that I can hand over to my accounting department to send to the customer. That's massive for us. 

The older style was a little bit more cumbersome. Non-routines weren't as easily added at the time, among other things. Now, everything is right there.

Q: In your partnership with Veryon, can you highlight instances where support and collaboration exceeded expectations, contributing to your overall operational success.

A: Pretty much every time I call — and I call a lot — I have a lot of questions. You're going to have cases where you know how to do something because you're very comfortable with the program, but you have technicians that start working at it and make mistakes. It may seem like a huge mess to try to figure out, but it turns out it's an easy fix. I make a phone call and Veryon walks me through it.

A great example of this is with Work Center and maintenance items. When you do work in Work Center, it's separate from the maintenance items. Sometimes, we need something to be closed in Work Center and not on the maintenance side, but it ends up being closed on the maintenance side accidentally. When you have open work order items in Work Center, you need to close them. You can go back and make the transaction, so the whole solution just flows better than it once did.

Q: As an experienced Veryon Tracking user, what advice or tips would you offer to organizations aiming to maximize the system's value?

A: Work Center has just been so huge for us. For me, attaching all the documentation so that if I ever have to go back and get something, it's all right there, is great.

Q: From a product perspective regarding Work Center, is there anything that you would recommend or you think is missing or not readily available?

A: As I mentioned, I attach everything to every code. Let's say you pull up a 12-month code and it has 15 items and you want to attach a document. I want the ability to select them all and drop copies in every one of them with one keystroke and I can't do that. I have to individually go into each code and put that in there. The other thing I'd like would be an API for accounting to go into QuickBooks for the accountants.

Q: What would be your one top wish list item for either a new feature that Veryon doesn't have or an enhancement to an existing feature?

A: I would say as we push towards digital signatures, the problem and limitations are when I have a technician who is on the road or I have an aircraft that's on the road and breaks. That's the missing link for me. 

Right now, I have a paper logbook for the aircraft when it's on the road. We want to get to the point where we're like some of the airlines where when the FAA walks on to the flight deck and says they need to see the logbook, they hand them an iPad and it's linked to the airplane. The same kind of scenario would be nice, where it's all digital, but to do that, I have to have the ability to somehow give that guy a digital signature so he can actually make the signature.

Conclusion

Whether it's helping business aviation teams and MROs or airlines and OEMs get their aircraft more uptime, Veryon has a product or solution that can help. Challenges like unscheduled repairs, part availability, and excessive paperwork lead to too many aircraft spending too much time on the ground, which leads to needless delays, endless back and forth, and lots of wasted dollars. The key to more uptime is having a better technology platform to manage everything from maintenance and operations to manuals and diagnostics.

Are you interested in learning how Veryon can help you get more uptime? Book a demo today to see us in action.