The WebOPSS system has four primary functions:

• To generate regulatory and policy templates used to create operator-specific Authorizing Documents
• To generate and manage operator-specific Authorizing Documents
• To aid in the collection of non-regulatory, operator-specific data
• To provide a reporting capability on data and metadata elements contained within the system.

This WebOPSS User Guide provides information on the use of each application function within the Web Enabled Business Operations Safety System (WebOPSS) that a Certificate Holding District Office (CHDO) or the Headquarters (HQ) needs to use in order to fulfill the functions listed in the “WebOPSS Functions” section above. The processes in this guide are directed towards field users, System Administrators, Flight Standards Service Subject Matter Experts (AFS SMEs), Flight Standards Service Headquarters (AFS HQ) Administrators, Aviation Safety Inspectors (ASI), Aviation Safety Assistants (ASA), and Aviation Safety Technicians (AST).

This guide is structured as context-sensitive help so that the relevant information is available for the sections currently accessed by the user. Certain headings, such as Inbox or Headquarters, cannot be directly accessed, but all topics contain links to their related heading; the heading pages are designed to provide more overarching context for the items listed under each heading.

For the purpose of this document, the following terminology will be used:

• User: this term will be used to identify any person accessing the WebOPSS system. Users are made up of all FAA Field, ASI, ASA, AST, and Administration individuals.
• Designator: this term will be used to identify Certificate Holders/operators.
• Authorizing Documents: this term will be used in reference to OpSpecs, MSpecs, TSpecs, LOAs, and Waivers. (For more information on Authorizing Documents, see Authorizing Documents Management.)

While it is not necessary to read this guide from beginning to end, it has been structured to introduce simple concepts and building block processes early and proceed to more complex procedures. Therefore, it may be helpful to read the introduction and scan preceding sections before attempting the operations of later sections.

WebOPSS is designed as a roles-based system, meaning that a variety of standard Roles exist that have certain Permissions associated with each of them. Though the name of the specific roles available are not relevant for the purpose of this document, there are generic actions associated with the different user levels in the system:

• Field users: have a wide range of capabilities in WebOPSS. They essentially have full access to all CHDO functionality, but cannot Issue Authorizing Documents or change Inspectors.
• ASI users: have full access to all CHDO functionality.
• ASA and AST users: have a similar range of capabilities as the Field user, but cannot sign or issue Authorizing Documents.
• HQ users: usually have full access to all CHDO functionality, as well as various parts of the HQ functionality.
• System Administrators: have the widest range of capabilities in WebOPSS. They have full access to all CHDO functionality and HQ functionality.

WebOPSS is a Web application completely compatible with Internet Explorer Version 8 or higher.  While WebOPSS may operate to some extent with other versions of Internet Explorer and other browsers, it is only guaranteed to work with Internet Explorer Version 8.  The following is the minimum recommended system configuration for a workstation running WebOPSS in an Internet Explorer Version 8 browser:

• PC with 1.5 gigahertz or higher processor clock speed recommended; 1 GHz minimum required (single or dual processor system); Intel Pentium/Celeron family, or AMD K6/Athlon/Duron family, or compatible processor recommended
• 128 megabytes (MB) of RAM or higher recommended (64 MB minimum supported; may limit performance and some features)
• 1.5 gigabytes (GB) of available hard disk space
• Super VGA (800 x 600) or higher-resolution video adapter and monitor
• Keyboard and Microsoft Mouse or compatible pointing device

For Field Users, WebOPSS is now compatible with Internet Explorer 9.

It is recommended that Compatibility View be turned ON if using IE 9 to view WebOPSS. Some pages may not display correctly if Compatibility View is OFF.

To turn Compatibility View on in IE 9, click the Compatibility View button in the address bar to make the page icon change from an outline to a solid color .

For HQ Users, all functions except Template Development are now compatible with Internet Explorer 9. Template Development compatibility with IE 9 will be added in a future release.

WebOPSS is a web application, meaning all capabilities are available through a web browser.  While most of the capabilities of the system will work on any browser, the system is only tested for compatibility with Internet Explorer.

In order to access WebOPSS, you will need either an active FAA domain account or a WebOPSS account.  To request a WebOPSS account, contact the WebOPSS administrator at AFS-WebOPSS@faa.gov.

To Access WebOPSS:

1. In the Internet Explorer address bar, type “http://webopss.avs.faa.gov” and press Enter. The FAA Log in screen appears:

Figure 2.1: FAA Log In

2. In the User Name text box, type in the user name provided by the WebOPSS administrator.
3. In the Password text box, type in the password provided by the WebOPSS administrator.
4. Click Log In.
5. The WebOPSS home page appears:

Figure 2.3: WebOPSS Home

The current WebOPSS timeout setting is approximately 90 minutes.  If a user is inactive within WebOPSS for a period of time, the first thing to do prior to resuming work is refresh the browser page (F5).  This will prevent the loss of any data prior to the next action, which will trigger a Timeout message.  It is recommended that users save their work at regular intervals, prior to any periods of inactivity and prior to stepping away from their workstation.

You can maximize the content area by minimizing the header and left navigation.  Though this will hide both of these, they may be redisplayed at any time.  Once hidden, they will remain so for the remainder of the session or until the user chooses otherwise.

To Hide the Left Navigation:

• To hide the left navigation, click the arrow icon () at the top of the left navigation area.

Figure 2.15: Collapsing Left Navigation

To Display the Left Navigation:

• To display the left navigation, click the arrow icon () at the top left corner of the page.

On the right hand side of the header area, click Logout.

If you have questions or require assistance with WebOPSS, technical support is available. For phone help, call (844) 322-6948. To email the WebOPSS Help Desk, contact the WebOPSS Administrator at AFS-WebOPSS@faa.gov.

WebOPSS is a web-based application, meaning that it is accessed via the internet. This allows for users to access the system wherever they are, provided they have internet access. To open WebOPSS, users must first open their web browser, a software program designed to allow people to access the internet; Internet Explorer, Netscape Navigator, or Firefox are some examples of popular internet browsers. Once the browser is opened, in a screen called a “window,” users can access WebOPSS by typing the appropriate URL. The URL is the specific address of a web page and is entered in the address bar of the browser—in the figure below, the URL is “http://faa.gov/:”

Figure 2.3: Internet Explorer Browser Window Address Bar

Once you have logged into the system, the WebOPSS home page appears: 

Figure 2.4: WebOPSS Home

While the contents of this page may vary depending on the privileges the user has been granted in the system, upon first presentation, the same three general areas appear. These areas are:

1. The Header: this area contains the FAA logo.
2. The Left Navigation: this area contains all the menu options to initiate the various WebOPSS operations.
3. The Content Area: this area changes the controls displayed depending on the operation selected and displays the breadcrumb path (the WebOPSS Home link in the figure above) and a link to context-sensitive Help topics.

Hyperlinks (also called simply “links”) are commonly used throughout the WebOPSS system. Hyperlinks are blue, underlined words or phrases that serve as a navigation element to another section of the WebOPSS system. By clicking on the hyperlink, users quickly access other relevant areas of the system. Once used, the hyperlink color changes from blue to brown to help users identify which links have been previously-accessed. However, hyperlinks have unlimited reference usage and can be used at any time they are present. For example, by clicking on the Help hyperlink, users are instantly able to access context-sensitive information relating to the area of WebOPSS that is being currently accessed:

Figure 2.5: Hyperlink

The WebOPSS breadcrumb consists of hyperlinks that appear horizontally across the top of the content area below the header. This provides links back to each previous topic or subtopic page that the user navigated through in order to get to the current page. Breadcrumbs are a handy “shortcut” that users can use to get back to previously-visited pages:

Figure 2.6: Breadcrumb Path

Users will encounter many action buttons throughout the WebOPSS system. While some buttons are area-specific depending on where the user is in the system, there are several common buttons that they will encounter:

• Add: this option allows the user to add a new item to a page/table.
• Edit: this option allows the user to edit, or change, an existing item or data in a page/table.
• Delete: this option allows users to permanently remove an existing item or data in a page/table.
• Export: this option allows users to access a table’s contents in a non-web-related manner, such as in a spreadsheet using Microsoft Excel or in a document using Microsoft Word. Once accessed, the data can be printed or saved to a specific location on the user’s local computer.
• Back: this option allows users to return to the previous screen viewed or the main “home” page for the selected area.
• Save: this option allows users to save any data that has been entered or modified in a form or table.

In addition to action buttons, users will also encounter a number of user interface widgets that require user input. There are several common interface items in WebOPSS:

• Radio Buttons: these appear as small, round circles next to a text option. These are designed so that users may only select one option out of the list available:

Figure 2.7: Radio Buttons

• Check Boxes: these appear as small, square boxes next to a text option. These are designed so that users may select several options out of the list available:

Figure 2.8: Check Boxes

• Dropdown Lists: these appear as rectangular boxes with an arrow at one end.  When users click the arrow, the dropdown menu extends to display the options available:

Figure 2.9: Dropdown List

• Regular Text Fields: these appear as rectangular boxes of varying sizes that users can enter editable text into.  When users click inside the box, a blinking cursor appears and text can be entered:

Figure 2.10: Text Field

NOTE: Red asterisks behind any text field in WebOPSS indicates that the field is a required field (as shown in the figure above).  Required fields must have data entered in them before the user is allowed to Save or move on to another page. 

One of the common actions that WebOPSS users will encounter is searching for an item.  In most of the WebOPSS search filters throughout the system, users can not only enter specific information to search for, but can also select a button at the top of most table columns to select the search parameters.

To Select the Search Criteria:

1. Click the button at the top of the table column (usually either or ).  The search criteria drop-down list appears:

Figure 2.11: Select Search Criteria

2. Select one of the following search criteria:
• Equals (): this means that the filter will search for all entries containing only the search text.
• Starts With (): this means that the filter will search for all entries that start with the search text.
• Ends With (): this means that the filter will search for all entries that end with the search text.
• Contains ( ): this means that the filter will search for all entries that contain all or part of the search text.

To Enter Search Text:

1. Double-click in the blank area to the right of the search criteria button, once the desired search criteria is selected:

Figure 2.12: Enter Search Text

2. Enter the search text in any of the search fields above a column, and press Enter on the computer keyboard.  The search results appear in the table below the search field.

HINT: While viewing table information, the first click on any column heading displays the records in ascending (0-9, A-Z) order and the second click on any column heading reverses the order (Z-A, 9-0). 

To provide users with immediate help while using WebOPSS, context-sensitive help is provided.  Using CSH allows users to get immediate help without having to take the time to hunt through a 100+ page manual to find the applicable information.  No matter where users are in the system, the Help hyperlink always exists in the upper right corner of the content area: 

Figure 2.13: Context-sensitive Help Link

By clicking on the Help hyperlink, users are instantly able to access context-sensitive information relating to the area of WebOPSS that is being currently accessed:

Figure 2.14: Context-sensitive Help

For example, if users are working in the Operator—Address area of WebOPSS and wish for instant information on how to add an Address, they can click the CSH Help link, and the CSH opens to the Operator—Address information without any other navigation required by the users.