Unlocking efficiency and compliance in Aerospace NDT with DIMATE PACS
From scattered data silos to inconsistent file formats and outdated archives, the challenges are mounting. Having accurate, accessible, and standardized NDT data is essential – but overcoming data silos and fulfilling all the technical, operational, and regulatory demands is no small feat.
The good news? Solutions like DIMATE PACS, powered by DICONDE, are built to solve these specific aerospace challenges – turning data burdens into operational advantages. Here’s how.
1. Managing and accessing ever-growing NDT data volumes
Why it matters
The rise in CT and high-resolution modalities means larger files, higher frequencies, and more demanding storage and access needs. With SME’s having to deal with, on average, 20-50 GB per CT scan and several petabytes worth of historical data, traditional systems can't keep up – let alone comply with long-term data retention and audit-readiness standards.
How DIMATE PACS helps
By archiving NDT data in the NADCAP recommended DICONDE (ASTM E2339) format and by using DICONDE network services, DIMATE PACS ensures standardization, traceability, and cloud compatibility. Data becomes easily retrievable, shareable across your operations and teams, and protected with built-in redundancy - across the full lifetime of parts and aircraft.
Use case
A leading MRO facility uses DIMATE PACS to manage terabytes of CT and X-ray data in their private cloud, making it instantly accessible to both internal teams and external auditors – enabling FAA/NADCAP compliance without manual effort.
Benefits
2. Meeting end-user expectations in real-time
Why it matters
Inspection teams expect immediate access to historical inspection results – regardless of file size or location. Yet fragmented systems often cause delays and miscommunication.
How DIMATE PACS helps
Its intuitive, structured archive ensures that teams can instantly retrieve inspection records – whether for an individual part or an entire aircraft. This not only speeds up maintenance cycles and reduces aircraft downtime, but also improves job satisfaction for engineering teams – an important factor in today’s competitive labor market.
Use case
An airline engineering team uses DIMATE PACS to quickly locate NDT images linked to a specific engine serial number, cutting hours off diagnosis and repetitive tasks, and ensuring faster return-to-service.
Benefits
Meeting NADCAP requirements isn’t just a checkbox, it’s our commitment to safety, compliance, and operational excellence.
3. Enabling AI and predictive maintenance
Why it matters
To unlock AI, machine learning, and predictive maintenance, aerospace companies need high-quality, consistent, and structured datasets. With hundreds of thousands of components per aircraft, having easily retrievable records is critical. Disparate or unstructured data slows innovation and delays ROI.
How DIMATE PACS helps
By acting as a standardized data lake, it allows seamless integration with ERP, MES, and LIMS systems – creating a unified data ecosystem that can train AI/ADR models with confidence.
Use case
An aerospace OEM integrates DIMATE PACS with SAP ERP and LabWare LIMS, enabling real-time synchronization of inspection orders and results across all systems, departments, and locations. This leads to more structured inspection data, enhancing the training of predictive analytics models with high-quality historical records. As a result, unplanned groundings are significantly reduced.
Benefits
4. Ensuring system compatibility and regulatory traceability
Why it matters
Inspection records must be traceable and tamper-proof over decades to ensure compliance with legal requirements.
How DIMATE PACS helps
The DIMATE PACS system is fully compliant with the DICONDE IT standard recommended by NADCAP for audit-proof archiving. This ensures long-term compatibility, including with historical data. DIMATE provides a DICONDE conformance statement that confirms data compatibility across various NDT methods and secure network services for IT-safe data exchange.
Use case
An SME in the aerospace industry uses DIMATE PACS to bridge the gap between internal quality systems and the customer's cloud storage, to ensure the required data security, and to enable high-performance data retrieval at all locations.
Benefits
How DIMATE PACS supports aerospace teams
DIMATE PACS is more than a data archive for data. It’s a strategic enabler for digital transformation that makes all your NDT data available anytime and anywhere for aerospace teams across your operations. From ensuring compliance and traceability to enabling AI-powered decision-making, it turns data challenges into competitive advantages.
The DICONDE conformance statement
DIMATE provides a DICONDE conformance statement to ensure full transparency. It gives clients proof that our system meets industry standards for data compatibility and interoperability. As well as providing the assurance that they are investing in a solution that supports seamless, secure, and future-proof digital workflows.
Let’s talk!
Curious to discover how DIMATE PACS can make your inspection data work smarter – for safety, uptime, and innovation. Get in touch for a tailored walkthrough.
