Narrative:

Here's everything that's wrong with the log history: it says this is the last 14 days of history. This is incorrect. It's actually the last 20 items of history; and it only goes back 2 days. It should say 'last 20 items' and not 'last 14 days' like it usually does in this instance. 13 of these items are passenger seat video screen write-ups. 2 are 'aircraft released from repair station' entries. 2 are oil quantity checks. 2 are ETOPS checks. And finally; 1 is a crew oxygen service. So out of these 20 items; either 1 or 3 items (depending on what you consider important) constitute useful information. The rest are junk that doesn't need to be here and actually prevents important information from being displayed. Since this log history was essentially useless; I called maintenance control and had him go through the history on every major aircraft system for the prior 7 days. Of note; there was a problem with one of the packs and there was a problem with unwanted fuel transfer. Maintenance control also told me that these video screen write-ups that are clogging up the history came from the flight attendant maintenance application. On this flight we actually encountered an unwanted fuel transfer; and it was very useful to know that this issue had history because we knew to watch out for it. I would not have known this had I not called maintenance control and asked him to read the history verbally; because the log history as presented to us in the flight paperwork is broken.conclusions: the electronic log book (elb) project is not complete; regardless of what the company says. The log history logic is broken; and the short term vs. Long term cf logic is broken. See numerous prior reports with examples of this. Pilot access to the web application has been removed. Had I been able to access it; I would not have had to call maintenance control for a verbal log history briefing. The application provides a backup to the broken printed log history; and our access to this important application should be restored immediately. It's crazy that the company could remove access to a tool that enhances safety without any sort of communication. The number one; most important rule in any new technology rollout is not to break anything that currently works. The fact that a flight attendant can enter a bunch of video screen write-ups that prevent pilots from seeing log history about critical aircraft systems is unconscionable; irresponsible; and has a negative effect on safety. Providing pilots with a useful and relevant log history is mandatory -- providing flight attendants with a way to enter cabin write-ups is not. The flight attendant write-up tool is a convenience; not an far requirement. Until the log history can be correctly and consistently filtered to display relevant information; the flight attendant write-up tool should be disabled. Splitting the log history in to 'cabin' and 'non-cabin' sections is totally useless unless it's filtered correctly every time. Issuing a pilot bulletin to explain that the filtering doesn't work is a poor excuse for a system that's not ready yet and negatively affects safety. Just get the technology correct before turning it on. Don't rush the rollout of things that don't work. And finally; what is it going to take for the company to make it a high priority to give pilots the maintenance information they need; correctly and consistently? After submitting numerous reports on this subject; I get the feeling that there are some managers who don't have any practical experience with a fully-functioning elb and thus don't have an adequate frame of reference for what is acceptable and what is not. How do we solve this problem?

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: B757 Captain reported the current use of the Electronic Logbook (ELB) makes it difficult to look back at the aircraft's history; therefore the current process compromises safety.

Narrative: Here's everything that's wrong with the log history: It says this is the last 14 days of history. This is incorrect. It's actually the last 20 items of history; and it only goes back 2 days. It should say 'last 20 items' and not 'last 14 days' like it usually does in this instance. 13 of these items are passenger seat video screen write-ups. 2 are 'aircraft released from repair station' entries. 2 are oil quantity checks. 2 are ETOPS checks. And finally; 1 is a crew oxygen service. So out of these 20 items; either 1 or 3 items (depending on what you consider important) constitute useful information. The rest are junk that doesn't need to be here and actually prevents important information from being displayed. Since this log history was essentially useless; I called Maintenance Control and had him go through the history on every major aircraft system for the prior 7 days. Of note; there was a problem with one of the packs and there was a problem with unwanted fuel transfer. Maintenance Control also told me that these video screen write-ups that are clogging up the history came from the Flight Attendant maintenance application. On this flight we actually encountered an unwanted fuel transfer; and it was very useful to know that this issue had history because we knew to watch out for it. I would not have known this had I not called Maintenance Control and asked him to read the history verbally; because the log history as presented to us in the flight paperwork is broken.Conclusions: The Electronic Log Book (ELB) project is not complete; regardless of what the company says. The log history logic is broken; and the short term vs. long term CF logic is broken. See numerous prior reports with examples of this. Pilot access to the Web application has been removed. Had I been able to access it; I would not have had to call Maintenance Control for a verbal log history briefing. The application provides a backup to the broken printed log history; and our access to this important application should be restored immediately. It's crazy that the company could remove access to a tool that enhances safety without any sort of communication. The number one; most important rule in any new technology rollout is not to break anything that currently works. The fact that a Flight Attendant can enter a bunch of video screen write-ups that prevent pilots from seeing log history about critical aircraft systems is unconscionable; irresponsible; and has a negative effect on safety. Providing pilots with a useful and relevant log history is mandatory -- providing flight attendants with a way to enter cabin write-ups is not. The Flight Attendant write-up tool is a convenience; not an FAR requirement. Until the log history can be correctly and consistently filtered to display relevant information; the Flight Attendant write-up tool should be disabled. Splitting the log history in to 'cabin' and 'non-cabin' sections is totally useless unless it's filtered correctly every time. Issuing a Pilot Bulletin to explain that the filtering doesn't work is a poor excuse for a system that's not ready yet and negatively affects safety. Just get the technology correct before turning it on. Don't rush the rollout of things that don't work. And finally; what is it going to take for the company to make it a high priority to give pilots the maintenance information they need; correctly and consistently? After submitting numerous reports on this subject; I get the feeling that there are some managers who don't have any practical experience with a fully-functioning ELB and thus don't have an adequate frame of reference for what is acceptable and what is not. How do we solve this problem?

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.