Delayed flights are the worst, especially if it’s maintenance related. Mainly because we are certain they can be avoided, and honestly they just make us nervous as hell. Luckily, Shane Ballman and Malcolm Burton have just the solution. Founded in 2012 and with four current employees, SynapseMX connects aircraft maintenance departments and creates an easier flow of information. Fortunately for us, it can even cut down the number of pesky flight delays due to unplanned maintenance.
The Pitch: SynapseMX allows airlines to reduce business disruption due to aircraft maintenance with a cloud-based solution for easily managing maintenance activity from any device with an Internet connection.
We caught up with Shane to learn more.
There are a lot of inefficiencies within the airline industry today, and many times, they are the reason for unplanned maintenance. This is where SynapseMX comes into play.
Airlines currently expend enormous amounts of time and effort to balance the maintenance needs of the aircraft against the operational need of generating revenue. In order for your flight to depart on-time, a small army of people has performed a ballet in the background so that your airplane had the right parts, people, tools, and paperwork in place for a very short maintenance window.
Today, there are a lot of inefficiencies – a heavy use of the telephone and fax, a lot of manual validation of information, even dual entry into multiple systems. Sometimes those inefficiencies result in the airline having to stop for unplanned maintenance on the aircraft during the day – right when folks want to go places!
In the US alone, over the past 5 years airlines have collectively delayed 750k flights for maintenance problems at a direct operating cost of $3.3B… and that number doesn’t even include fixing the broken planes.
SynapseMX is a single unified solution that keeps aircraft maintenance departments connected and allows data to flow seamlessly from one workgroup to another. Where we specifically add value is the optimization of the maintenance activity: because we have all the inputs already, not only are we able to project out an optimal plan ahead of time but we also can detect events that would cause business disruptions. We’re able to push notifications to teams early enough that they can be proactive instead of reactive – and for you, that means fewer announcements from your favorite airline about flight delays due to maintenance problems.
Our market is fairly fragmented, with existing solutions ranging from homemade Excel and Access tools to desktop-based client/server applications. Believe it or not, there are even console-based mainframe programs still being used today. A lot of the products out there simply aren’t able to properly address the needs of today’s cost-sensitive airlines, so there’s a lot of interest in evaluating new options – especially solutions that support real-time notifications, mobile devices, and data-driven prognostics.
Atlanta is a huge focal point for SynapseMX, who is primarily SaaS, although they also gain revenue from professional services and custom development.
Not only do we have the world’s busiest airport and the world’s largest airline, but enormous amounts of aircraft maintenance happen here every month. For us, that means a lot of people available who are willing to discuss their pains and frustrations with us.
Most of the SynapseMX team originally moved here because we worked for AirTran (who opened an ATL maintenance facility back in 2004) and it’s become home for us. Not only did we base our company here but we’ve started families here as well. The local talent pool is amazingly deep, the cost of living is low, and the community of startups is growing exponentially… what’s not to love about it?”
Currently, SynapseMX does not have an official job postings, but any intrigued developers or designers are encouraged to contact them at hello@synapsemx.com
