Narrative:

Technician working an aileron trim freezing in flight discrepancy called mcc (maintenance control center) and asked if SB27-3840 had been accomplished on the aircraft. Technician reported there is a warning note in the aircraft maintenance manual (amm) to not mix different types of grease in the trim actuators. SB27-3840 changes the type of grease used in the trim actuators and cannot be mixed with other types of grease. The technician needed to grease the aileron trim actuators to repair the discrepancy.I searched [our maintenance software] for the status of SB27-3840 on this aircraft. No status could be determined. A search of all aircraft affected by the service bulletin (sb) revealed only one aircraft had the sb signed off on it. All others neither showed complete nor open. According to the aircraft maintenance records the sb had not been accomplished on this aircraft and I instructed the technician to us the pre-sb type of grease. After I ended the phone call with the technician another maintenance controller commented he overheard my conversation with the technician about the grease and he was pretty sure all the aircraft affected by SB27-3840 had the sb complied with. Another search in the aircraft maintenance records [with our maintenance software] did not uncover any different information. I also tried to use [our older maintenance software] which is a valuable resource for this type of situation; but discovered it had been locked down again and access was denied. [Our older maintenance software] would have easily identified whether or not the sb had been accomplished prior to introduction of [current maintenance software]. There are many sbs and other critical information available in [our older maintenance software] that cannot be identified in [our current maintenance software] because much of the [older maintenance software] aircraft information and modifications or sb level status was not deemed worthy to transfer to [our current maintenance software] which has quickly and routinely proved a mistake.after researching SB27-3840 it was found that special markings were to be added to the aircraft near the trim actuators identifying the type of grease to be used when changed during the sb. The technician was then called and notified to look for the special marks applied during compliance of sb. The technician found the marks indicating the sb was complied with and he used the appropriate grease.having access to limited and incomplete aircraft information and sb compliance loaded into [our current maintenance software] has been a source of frustration only [maintenance] controllers experience.provide a system with easy access to all [maintenance] controllers with complete sb; service letters (SL) and other modifications status as [our older maintenance software] provided. [This software] is not a practical answer for accessing this information. It is not an easy or intuitive program and [maintenance] controllers do not know of its existence nor would they use it enough to become proficient with it. Mod level status of avionics components is also a sore subject and leaves [maintenance control] guessing because that is another identification not tracked in [our current maintenance software] yet [our current maintenance software] has the capabilities to record such information.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: While working a trim freezing problem on a Cessna CE-560E; Maintenance could not determine if a Service Bulletin was accomplished on this aircraft to determine which type of grease to use on the trim actuator.

Narrative: Technician working an aileron trim freezing in flight discrepancy called MCC (Maintenance Control Center) and asked if SB27-3840 had been accomplished on the aircraft. Technician reported there is a warning note in the Aircraft Maintenance Manual (AMM) to not mix different types of grease in the trim actuators. SB27-3840 changes the type of grease used in the trim actuators and cannot be mixed with other types of grease. The technician needed to grease the aileron trim actuators to repair the discrepancy.I searched [our maintenance software] for the status of SB27-3840 on this aircraft. No status could be determined. A search of all aircraft affected by the Service Bulletin (SB) revealed only one aircraft had the SB signed off on it. All others neither showed complete nor open. According to the aircraft maintenance records the SB had not been accomplished on this aircraft and I instructed the technician to us the pre-SB type of grease. After I ended the phone call with the technician another maintenance controller commented he overheard my conversation with the technician about the grease and he was pretty sure all the aircraft affected by SB27-3840 had the SB complied with. Another search in the aircraft maintenance records [with our maintenance software] did not uncover any different information. I also tried to use [our older maintenance software] which is a valuable resource for this type of situation; but discovered it had been locked down again and access was denied. [Our older maintenance software] would have easily identified whether or not the SB had been accomplished prior to introduction of [current maintenance software]. There are many SBs and other critical information available in [our older maintenance software] that cannot be identified in [our current maintenance software] because much of the [older maintenance software] aircraft information and modifications or SB level status was not deemed worthy to transfer to [our current maintenance software] which has quickly and routinely proved a mistake.After researching SB27-3840 it was found that special markings were to be added to the aircraft near the trim actuators identifying the type of grease to be used when changed during the SB. The technician was then called and notified to look for the special marks applied during compliance of SB. The technician found the marks indicating the SB was complied with and he used the appropriate grease.Having access to limited and incomplete aircraft information and SB compliance loaded into [our current maintenance software] has been a source of frustration only [Maintenance] controllers experience.Provide a system with easy access to all [Maintenance] controllers with complete SB; Service Letters (SL) and other modifications status as [our older maintenance software] provided. [This software] is not a practical answer for accessing this information. It is not an easy or intuitive program and [Maintenance] controllers do not know of its existence nor would they use it enough to become proficient with it. MOD level status of avionics components is also a sore subject and leaves [Maintenance Control] guessing because that is another identification not tracked in [our current maintenance software] yet [our current maintenance software] has the capabilities to record such information.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.