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ComplianceAD & SB tracking

AD & SB tracking

Airworthiness Directives and Service Bulletins drive real work in an aftermarket shop — inspections, modifications, paperwork on affected part numbers. APEX handles that work with its existing tools today.

A dedicated AD/SB workspace — directives by part and serial, with due dates and alerts — is the planned Compliance module (the Coming soon sidebar entry). Until it ships, use the practices on this page.

Filing directive paperwork

The document taxonomy includes an AD / SB type, shown with an amber badge so it stands out from routine paper. Attach the directive PDF where it is most findable:

  1. Open the record the directive touches — the vendor who supplies the affected part number, the customer whose fleet it applies to, or the purchase / repair order covering the affected units.
  2. In the Documents panel, click + Add document, pick the file, and set the type to AD / SB.
  3. Put the directive reference (for example AD 2026-08-12) in the file name — it keeps the reference visible on the tile.

Running directive work

Directive compliance on a unit is a job — run it as a work order:

  1. Create a work order of type INSPECTION or MODIFICATION — see Creating a work order.
  2. State the directive in the Work scope field, reference and revision included. The scope prints on the work order PDF, so the traveler carries the directive on paper.
  3. Attach the directive text and the compliance evidence to the related order records as AD / SB documents (the work order’s own table is read-only — see Release documents).
  4. Waiting on the service bulletin text or engineering data? Place an AWAITING_TECH_DATA hold so the delay is visible on the Hold Board with a reason.

Watching the horizon

APEX does not yet show a directive due-date board. Until the Compliance module ships:

  • Keep your directive applicability list in your QA system of record, and file each directive’s paperwork in APEX as above, so the evidence is attached to the affected records.
  • Use work orders as the compliance ledger: one directive job per unit gives you the stage history, labor, and documents an auditor wants — see The audit trail.

Roles: Anyone who can create work orders and upload documents can run directive work. Which records a member sees still follows their data scopes.

Release documentsVendor compliance