One-of-a-kind Data Extraction Project Scanning Through a Pilot's Log Books

The Client - A Retired Pilot with Years of Knowledge to Share

Based in the US, the client is a retired pilot with many years of experience and millions of hours clocked in the air. A Long career serving at various private and commercial airlines has earned a name in the highest point of our society so to speak.

Through traveling around the world, the client has built an in-depth knowledge in the industry of flying including all of the trials and tribulations that come with it.

Requirements for The Data Entry Project

Data Entry Outsourced was approached with an interesting project that required extraction of information from flight log books and data entry of that information into a database with a structured approach. The client required a team of data entry specialists to go through the handwritten flight log books for many years and do the data entry. The objective was to allow other pilots to access years of knowledge and learning with the simple click of a button.

Challenges Faced by Our Data Entry Team

While working on this project, the main challenges we faced were the quality of the notes as they were hand-written and the level of accuracy the client needed. We struggled to read a lot of what had been written and in dealing with 400 records, day progress was slow at times. Couple this with the data input rules that apply to Excel (Capitals/ decimals/formatting /special characters transcription). This led to a lot of the work has to be put in manually. The client also made special requests which were to take priority, and this somewhat changed our normal course of action.

However, after completing a few of the logs, we became more acquainted with the various handwritings and were able to decipher most of them at a much quicker pace. This led our team to complete the task within the agreed timeline.

Data Entry Process Followed to Extract Information from the Log Books

The team approached this task in an ordered and logical fashion. We completed a trial test of 20 rows of data in one business day and then moved on to the rest of the work once the client was confident in our ability. Below were the steps are taken:

  • We started the process by scanning the numerous handwritten log books into a digitized version.
  • Secondly, we transferred the scanned log books through to Google drive; the logbooks were in different formats and from different pilots.
  • The team then transcribed the log books into Excel.
  • Finally, we transferred the completed excel sheets back to the client via email.
  • If there was any information, we couldn't transcribe we were instructed to highlight that column for special reference.
  • After receiving the Excel sheets, the client did the final check, and on approval from the client, the project was closed.

Project Takeaways

The client appreciated the outcome of the project. The work was completed according to the provided specifications; we saved the client time and money. In doing so, we had another satisfied client who promptly requested more projects to be handled by us. The final digitized logs were easy to access and contained the core of a lifetime of experience. In the end, many people have and will benefit from this endeavor, and we are confident that the client will continue to work with us in the future.

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