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Understanding How Meter Readings (Aircraft Times) Affect Aircraft

This article explains where meter readings show up, how they impact the system, and how to interpret common warnings.

Meter Readings — often referred to as Aircraft Times — are critical to how EBIS tracks maintenance, schedules inspections, calculates compliance, and generates documentation. Understanding where these readings appear and how they’re used throughout the system will help ensure your records remain accurate, auditable, and up-to-date.

This article explains where readings show up, how they impact the system, and how to interpret common warnings.

 

Viewing Meter Readings on an Invoice or Estimate

Meter Readings appear at the top of customer-facing printouts like Invoices and Estimates to reflect the aircraft’s usage at the time of Work Order completion or estimate creation. These values provide critical context for compliance, billing, and customer reporting.

Where to See It:

  • Invoice/Estimate Header: Meter values are printed near the top section of the document.

What Drives It:

  • By default, the values shown are those entered in the Readings tab of the Work Order.
  • To override this, go to the Config & Billing tab and set a specific Meter Display Date.

If you set a Meter Display Date:

  • EBIS will pull meter values from that specific date (from the Aircraft’s meter history)
  • This gives you control over which snapshot of readings appears on the final printout

📘 If no Meter Display Date is set, the values from the Work Order’s readings tab will be used automatically.

 

Viewing Meter Readings on a Log Book Entry

Logbook entries also display Aircraft Times, but they are tied to a different mechanism: the Display Date within the Log Books tab of the Work Order. This allows users to control which historical readings are embedded in the official logbook PDF.

Where to See It:

  • Top of the Log Book PDF
  • Display Date field in the Log Books tab of the Work Order

How It Works:

  • The Display Date determines which set of readings (based on date) gets pulled into the logbook
  • EBIS pulls the Aircraft Times as they existed on that date
  • If the Display Date differs from the date set in the Work Order’s readings tab, the values in the logbook may not match what was entered when the Work Order was performed

⚠️ Warning message: If the Display Date does not match the Meter Display Date, EBIS will show a message like: “The meter display date is set to [DATE] (change in Config & Billing)” 

This ensures regulatory accuracy and clarity in case aircraft times were updated after the Work Order was performed.

Tip: To ensure consistency, always align the Display Date with the original meter readings date unless there’s a clear reason to reference a later snapshot.

 

Updating the Compliance Module (Maintenance Tracking)

Compliance items in EBIS rely heavily on current Meter Readings to determine:

  • Which items are due now
  • When the next due event is projected
  • How usage intervals affect time- or cycle-based maintenance

How Meter Readings Interact:

  • EBIS calculates Next Due by comparing current readings with the configured interval values.
  • If Meter Readings are out-of-date, Compliance projections will be incorrect.

🔍 Tip: Always verify meter accuracy before closing Work Orders, printing logbooks, or running compliance reports.

 

Summary: Why This Matters

Accurate Meter Readings affect:

  • Maintenance due dates and forecasting
  • Logbook and invoice timestamps
  • Compliance scheduling and regulatory adherence

Even small errors can lead to missed inspections, over-servicing, or incorrect billing. That’s why EBIS allows multiple paths to view and update readings — which are covered in detail in the next sections.

 

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Keywords: Meter Readings, Aircraft Times, EBIS Compliance, Logbooks, Invoices, Forecasting Audience: Maintenance Coordinators, Logbook Managers, Inspectors, Admins Article Type: Conceptual / Reference