How to Set Up and Manage a Drone Maintenance Program

How to Set Up and Manage a Drone Maintenance Program

Proactive maintenance is critical for ensuring the safety, reliability, and longevity of your drone fleet. The AirHub Maintenance feature provides a comprehensive system to create scheduled maintenance programs, track asset usage against set intervals, and maintain a detailed service history for every asset. This helps you move from reactive repairs to a proactive maintenance culture, reducing downtime and ensuring regulatory compliance.

Proactive maintenance is critical for ensuring the safety, reliability, and longevity of your drone fleet. The AirHub Maintenance feature provides a comprehensive system to create scheduled maintenance programs, track asset usage against set intervals, and maintain a detailed service history for every asset. This helps you move from reactive repairs to a proactive maintenance culture, reducing downtime and ensuring regulatory compliance.

Written By: Michiel Froling

Last Updated on March 16, 2024

Note: The features described in this article require administrative permissions within the organizational workspace.

How to Create a Maintenance Program

This is the foundational step where you define a recurring maintenance task and its triggers.

  1. First, ensure you have selected your Admin workspace from the Workspace switcher.

  2. Navigate to the Manage section in the sidebar and click on Maintenance.

  3. Click on the + New button in the header.

  4. A form will open. Fill in the following information:

    • Inspection Name: The title of the program (e.g., "100-Hour Airframe Inspection," "Annual Battery Health Check").

    • Select Asset(s): Apply this program to one or more specific assets (drones, batteries, etc.) from your fleet.

    • Select Technician: Assign a responsible member from your workspace.

    • Location: Specify the place where the maintenance should be performed.

    • Notes: Add any specific instructions or details for the technician.

    • Select a Checklist: Attach a pre-made checklist to ensure a standardized procedure is followed. Learn how to create a checklist in this article

    • Behavior (Triggers): Specify the conditions that will make maintenance due. The first condition to be met will trigger the due status.

      • Timeframe: Due after a set period (e.g., every 12 months).

      • Usage in flights: Due after a certain number of flights.

      • Usage in hours: Due after a certain number of flight hours.

      • Battery cycles: (For batteries) Due after a set number of charge cycles.

  5. Click Save to create the maintenance program.

How to Monitor Maintenance Status

The main maintenance dashboard gives you an at-a-glance overview of your fleet's health.

  1. Navigate to the Manage section and click on Maintenance.

  2. You will find an overview of all your maintenance programs. The overall status is indicated by a color:

    • Green: No assets are currently due for this maintenance.

    • Yellow: One or more assets are approaching their maintenance interval.

    • Red: One or more assets are overdue for maintenance.

    • Grey: No behavior or trigger has been set for the program.

  3. Click on a maintenance program to open its details and see the specific due status of each individual asset assigned to it.

How to Log a Maintenance Completion

When an asset has undergone maintenance, an admin must log the completion to keep records accurate and reset the usage counters. There are two ways to do this.

Method 1: Via the Maintenance Program
  1. Navigate to Manage > Maintenance and open the related maintenance program.

  2. Go to the Assets tab and find the asset that was serviced.

  3. Click the plus (+) button next to the asset to add a completion.

  4. A form will open where you can add notes, the cost of the maintenance, and the date it was executed.

  5. If a checklist is attached to the program, a Next button will appear, allowing you to run through the checklist. Otherwise, click the Complete button to finalize the entry.

Method 2: Via the Asset's Detail Page
  1. Navigate to the Assets section in the sidebar.

  2. Select the asset type (e.g., Drones) and click on the specific asset you want to update.

  3. Go to the Maintenance tab and find the relevant maintenance program.

  4. Click the plus (+) button to add a completion.

  5. A form will open where you can add notes, the cost of the maintenance, and the date it was executed.

  6. If a checklist is attached to the program, a Next button will appear, allowing you to run through the checklist. Otherwise, click the Complete button to finalize the entry.

How to View an Asset's Maintenance History

  1. Navigate to Manage > Maintenance and open the related maintenance program.

  2. Go to the Assets tab and find the relevant asset.

  3. Click the History button.

  4. A dialog will open with a list of all maintenance completions for that asset under this program. Click on any entry to view its notes and the executed checklist.

Understanding Notifications

The system will automatically send email reminders to ensure maintenance is not missed. An email will be sent to the address associated with your account if one of the following criteria is met:

  • When the maintenance is 7 days away from its time-based due date.

  • When the asset has reached the last 20% of its allowed flying hours.

  • When the asset has reached the last 20% of its allowed number of flights.