1. Central Modules

Customer Management with contacts and addresses in a hierarchical tree approach. This module offers the following highlights:

• hierarchical tree for holdings, companies, locations, divisions etc.
• any number of contact persons per hierarchy level
• any number of different addresses per hierarchy level
• easy overview on organisations or persons via manual or automated “tagging” of classification information
• custom (free definable) attributes assigned to a person or organisation
• “single source” principle for persons and organisations
• shows where information is used within EMPIC-EAP modules (GDPR-relevant)
• integrated document management or external DMS interface
• detailed historical record keeping
• bookmarks for fast access to important objects
• “announcement” to allow users to request changes of address, name etc. to a central organisation unit
• master data definition for many areas like city lookup tables and catalogues

Administration of user accounts and permissions for all modules. This module offers the following highlights:

• unlimited number of registered user accounts
• decentralised user group management
• users can be structured by groups and/or roles
• role-based permission management
• collection of roles in groups
• permissions for various use cases and functional areas in all modules
• permissions for: reading, writing, viewing, creating, deleting, administrative tasks
• statistics about login activities
• history log of user activities searchable using various criteria
• definition of password rules and validities
• management of failed login trials
• permissions of external WEB users (in case of EMPIC® WEB)

A case reflects a sequence of activities required to achieve an objective (e.g. a certificate acquisition, occurrence investigation, pilot licence renewal, aircraft registration etc). Cases can be linked to various EAP objects such as organizations, persons, certificates, licence holders, aircrafts, occurrences etc. Depending on the complexity of the case worksheet, the required steps can be arranged as a tree structure or as a flat list.

A separate feature enables privileged users to pre-define worksheet and case templates which outline the steps required in different scenarios. You can always create a case from scratch. Or, with the template feature activated, you can also create a case from a case template (including worksheet, required team member functions, predefined workflows, etc.) or use one or more individual worksheet templates to design a case worksheet.

Case Management may be used to support ICAO 5 phases (gates) and have a checklist to follow. The case also shows the progress made and notifies users when due dates are passed. Case data queried can be in the Query Synthesizer module to generate statistics, internal / external e-mail notifications etc.

Our Case component is quite flexible. It can be used as a project management tool or as a “container” to collect all relevant steps and their official clearance. Documents (see Document Folders), file notes, audits etc. that occur in a lengthy certification process are well organized to guarantee traceability and transparency. In combination with the Workflow feature, a workflow can create a case and a case can start workflows during specific case steps.

EMPIC-EAP® comes with an integrated, lightweight document management solution. Any document which is related to an organization, person, aircraft, license, etc. can be managed in various document folders. The document folder is accessible only if the user has the appropriate permissions. At some objects, more than one document folder is available.

For example:

• an OAS organization has an additional document folder for each exposition revision assigned.
• a surveillance activity in OAS has an additional document folder per finding.
• an OAS certificate has additional document folders for enforcements and deviations.

In many cases, the documents created at child objects are displayed in the document folder of the parent object, too, for example:

• documents of visits are displayed in the parent organization’s document folder.
• documents of findings are displayed in the surveillance activity’s document folder.
• printouts of certificates or surveillance activity reports are displayed in the parent organization’s document folder.
• printouts of deviations and enforcements are displayed in the parent certificate’s document folder.

Documents can either be added by the user or created by the system or a print action. The documents are listed in a separate table. Each document may include several files, for example one file which contains data and an attached cover letter.

Documents can be classified to indicate their content and purpose.

If the Web Service Interface to DMS is configured, the files are physically stored in an external DMS system, and they are still available within EMPIC-EAP®.

This module is integrated into AR, OAS and RPBO. It is relevant for all surveillance activities. Any kind of laws or regulations can be uploaded and handled with the system. EMPIC® SL provides easy planning and conducting of surveillance activities including the assignment of required participants, checklist planning based on different criteria, documentation of findings and observations, as well as the tracking of finding due dates and corrective action plans.

Elements of SL:

• repository for background information such as regulation texts, handbooks (hierarchical regulation trees, exposition and topic structures) and questionnaires, organized in reusable requirement sets
• management of “hidden regulations”. This allows the surveillance of airport security (airport security check) as another field of application.
• pre-defining text blocks for surveillance outcomes linked to regulations
• linking configurable taxonomy (hierarchical ratings/classification systems) to regulations
• creating question catalogues linked to regulations
• configuration of finding level, due dates, functions, phases, finding data, taxonomy etc. for different contexts
• surveillance cycles and periods
• templates for re-using surveillance checklists
• agenda management
• handling of internal and external participants (function- and location-oriented)
• planning based on combinations of regulations, topics, taxonomy, previous surveillance activities and their outcomes and content scopes (comparative approach) is possible
• integrated surveillance activity calendar shows the consolidated annual plan covering all inspectors in all departments at a glance
• combined surveillance activity with compliance-based (CBO) and performance-based oversight (PBO) elements
• surveillance activity-specific checklist generation (can be synchronized to EMPIC® mobileSL)
• supports time zones, location information, planned/carried-out dates
• full text of regulation articles and paragraphs, manual chapters, expositions or topic-based classifications are available during an assessment of the checklist without leaving the assessment view
• finding documentation with responsibility, level, dates, risk classification, root cause analysis, corrective action, corrective action plan, preventative action etc.
• “ad-hoc” questions can be added
• configurable classification systems (taxonomy) for findings
• multiple findings per article; one finding per multiple articles
• configurable finding levels
• configurable risk classification / categorization system (taxonomy)
• warning for due dates
• EMPIC® WEB supports the external stakeholder in uploading and release process of corrective actions, e.g. corrective action plan (CAP) and closing of findings
• handling of observations
• handling of evidence
• synchronisation of planned dates to calendar applications

A separate online / offline application (EMPIC® mobileSL) is also available. This helps authority members to perform surveillance activities with checklists and allows documentation of the findings. Later on, the user can synchronize the data to the main system.

Online / offline surveillance client optimized for Microsoft Windows laptops and tablets that supports auditors / inspectors during surveillance activities:

• synchronizes planned audits / inspections to the device
• checklists and regulations are available offline
• designed for touchscreen and mouse / keyboard
• evidence documentation (compliance / findings)
• predefined finding texts
• use of integrated camera and annotations to pictures possible
• a separate document folder per finding
• surveillance activity report can be signed with pen or mouse (storage of uploaded signatures is also possible)
• offline printing of preliminary audit report (using a specific template synchronised from server) incl. pictures and signatures
• synchronizing all findings / documents etc. with the central server
• supports team audits on several devices / consolidation on the EMPIC-EAP® server
• supports CBO (compliance-based) and PBO (performance-based oversight)
• supports ad-hoc creation of surveillance activities, e.g. ramp inspections
• checklist view can be structured as flat list, grouped hierarchy, or agenda items
• search and download of closed surveillance activities for historical views
• encryption between device and EMPIC-EAP® server, based on web service Interface

A tool for database queries across modules, fully integrated into EMPIC-EAP®.

QS enhances the functionality of all modules because:

• it provides a graphical user interface to browse through the complete database structure
• an administrator can configure queries (reports) for end users and share them in other EMPIC modules
• power users can run complex ad-hoc queries
• query results are only displayed to users who have appropriate permissions (link to EMPIC® SEC module)
• queries can be run in the background via timer job
• query results can be mailed automatically to internal / external e-mail recipients determined in the result list (individualised serial e-mails based on query results)
• Query results can be used to trigger workflow tasks, where further activities are carried out
• QS can use print templates (such as MS-Excel, Jaspersoft) to beautify the output in graphs
• QS can export the results in various formats
• Web Service QS lets 3rd party systems access queries and returns results
• the tool supports aggregation functions (sum, max, etc.) and also dynamic expressions (today, + 6 months, etc.), enabling end users to create powerful statistics / reports
• users are supported during query design by hints to possible data combination and know-how documentation with sample queries.

Supports different languages as well as different character sets (some in parallel),
e.g., to issue bi-lingual licenses. Address data and the licence holder’s name may be shown in Latin and Thai characters, for example.

Our workflow tool set consists of a graphical workflow editor to design templates for business processes assigned to users or teams and the workflow engine to execute dedicated workflow jobs.

The graphical interface enables even casual users to design complex workflow templates – no specialist knowledge or programming skills required. Workflow templates are directly executable, no additional implementations by EMPIC needed.

EMPIC® WF is completely integrated throughout EMPIC-EAP® and may also be configured to integrate with EMPIC® WEB. Workflows can also interface with external systems using a web service. Workflow jobs can be triggered by users, by a system event, an external API call or by an incoming form. With EMPIC® Workflow installed, rest assured that documents don’t go astray, progress can be tracked, processes and procedures are respected and that eventual outcomes follow suit to whatever conditions the authority has configured.

Some highlights:

• workflows support decision-making based on user’s input or data constellation
• exclusive, inclusive and parallel gateways can be defined to mirror OR and AND conditions
• workflows can use underlying EMPIC-EAP® data
• sub-workflows allow for nested structures
• easy modelling of e-mail notifications to internal / external users
• supports data definitions and automatic generation of online forms used in the EMPIC® WEB client
• users can easily skip from a workflow task to the objects referenced therein (such as licence holder ratings, customer data, documents etc.)
• permits automated storage of data and documents as well as transactions in the backend system (i.e. the workflow engine renews a license in the backend system as the user confirms the renewal in the workflow process)
• uploading a PDF form may trigger the start of one or more workflow jobs, bringing along the data submitted in the form
• supports due dates and escalation
• users can search, sort, filter, etc. pending and completed workflows
• users may actively pull tasks or be assigned
• Swimlanes are supported
• tasks can be postponed, re-assigned, or prioritized
• workflows are fully historized, with a possibility to generate KPIs (key performance indicators)
• the workflow template editor features a validation tool

The alert functionality allows you to add critical alerts regarding an object in EAP. This may be a person or an organisation, a registration, or a licence holder. An alert may contain information regarding credit management, or critical information to be saved at the current object.

An active alert entered at a person or organisation shows up in EMPIC-EAP® wherever this object’s data is available, for example at the person’s data in a licence module, or at an organisation in OAS.

Competency Management tracks skills, educational attainment, experience, etc. to identify and manage training needs.

The roles of many staff working within the regulatory sector are extremely complex and demand high levels of competency within their designated fields. The Competency Management module provides the tool to track skills, qualifications, attainment, training, outcomes, currency etc. from the moment an officer is recruited throughout their subsequent career. The module (integrated into CM) will demonstrate to ICAO / EASA how the authority oversees the competencies of their staff.

The EMPIC-EAP® modules for Personnel Licensing, Organisation Approvals and Aircraft Registration offer a basic function for “suspension”. The Enforcement Register will make specific types of enforcement prominently visible throughout the EMPIC system without exposing sensitive data.

For those with suitable authorisation, the module allows the management of enforcement action against an actor in the system, (individual or company) and may eventually lead to revocation (rather than suspension) of a permission that the authority had granted.

The module captures information about a trigger event (inspection report, citizen concern, accident / incident investigation) and then manages the full case life cycle of investigation, collection of evidence, response, appeal etc. leading to various possible outcomes such as:

• suspension (also partial suspension, or limitation)
• revocation
• grounding
• prosecution
• penalty

Today, risk-based and performance-based analysis has a huge impact on areas where minimizing risk and maximizing performance is needed to get results that are safe, top-quality, and most efficient regarding the use of resources.

This module helps NAAs with their task of measuring the performance and risk potential of service providers. To be as flexible as possible, EMPIC has created a framework that can be configured to meet current requirements but is adaptable to future requirements as well.

The system’s task is to help the inspectors gather various information from service providers. Usually, this information is collected during audits, but data can be added manually, therefore any source is possible. In combination with our central module QS, different data which is already gathered in the software and may be relevant for profiling of service providers, can be extracted and fed into RPBO automatically.

Using these sources, performance-based as well as risk-based information is collected and made available to the system, so various analyses can be conducted. Based on these analyses, NAAs can make their decisions regarding service providers, such as the frequency of audits, the depth of audits, or which areas might have the most risk reduction potential for a service provider.

In conclusion, the software will help to speed up audits and ensure inspectors invest their time in the most efficient way so that those service providers with the highest risk potential and lowest performance are handled as a top priority. The system is flexible, so other goals could be considered by changing the focus of the analysis.

Our surveillance layer (EMPIC® SL) allows the combination of compliance-based oversight (CBO) and PBO (performance-based oversight) in one combined checklist (also available on EMPIC® mobileSL).

EMPIC provides JasperReports® Server as server-based print engine and embedded analytics and business intelligence reporting module for EMIC-EAP®.

Some highlights:

• a collection of interactive BI reports, charts, input controls, and web content in a single integrated view (dashboard)
• ability to create sophisticated business intelligence report layouts containing charts, images, sub reports, crosstabs, etc.
• Java-based reporting library that uses data from any data source to compile and render pixel-perfect documents that can be viewed, printed, or exported in HTML, PDF, Excel, OpenOffice, and Word
• a lightweight, web-based data integration and replication engine with capabilities to transform and schedule data output
• Drag&drop report and dashboard designer for non-technical users
• advanced JavaScript framework used to embed and quickly and easily control the look, feel, and interactive behaviour of BI data visualisations and reports inside applications
• interactive reports and charts including on-the-fly sorting, filtering, and formatting of column values and headers
• Data integration through extraction of data from various sources, transforming the data based on defined business rules, and loading into a centralized data warehouse
• virtual view of a data source (metadata layer) for business users, which makes it easy for them to understand, and ultimately create their own reports, dashboards, and analyses
• multi-tenant BI to quickly and securely identify users, roles and reports in one environment.

The JasperReports® Server BI reports and dashboards are already embedded in various EMPIC-EAP® modules enabling the end user to easily drill-down to a particular area in the dashboard, showing a business entity like surveillance, certificate, organization, etc. directly in an EMPIC-EAP® module.

Clients can also design and use JasperReports® Server BI reports and dashboards for their own BI requirements by connecting various data sources in the JasperReports® Server and integrating the dashboards / reports within an EMPIC-EAP® module or displaying in a WEB browser.

Please see docs.tibco.com/products/tibco-jaspersoft for more details.

Integrated 2-factor authentication solution combined with a mobile app for internal and external stakeholders. Using a 3rd party “authenticator” app for iOS or Android will establish high security when accessing the EMPIC applications. Before entering the application, a random 6-digit number is created by the individual mobile app as a one-time password.