Airbus Issues RFID Requirements, Expands RFID Usage

For the RFID trial, Airbus placed EPC Gen 2 tags on cabin items such as seats and life vests, and also tagged locations on the airplane. Airbus then associated the bill of material (that is, the items' part and serial numbers) to specific locations on the aircraft.

According to Nizam, his company was able to collect information regarding the in-cabin items using RFID much faster than it did previously using paper.

"Based on the industrial tests, we found some very good results, and determined a net payback period of less than 12 months," Nizam states. "As a result, we've taken a decision to add RFID tags to seats in the short term, to access those benefits during the attestation process." After the plane has been outfitted with seats, Airbus will remove their tags before handing the plane over to a customer.

The project is currently being implemented, and is expected to be completed by the end of this year. The company expects to utilize roughly 23,000 tags annually, as well as 20 handheld interrogators, at the A330/340 final assembly line in Toulouse. Airbus will begin by tagging seats on the A330 and A340 long-range planes, Nizam notes, but eventually plans to ask its seat and life-vest suppliers to add the RFID tags before shipping such items to Airbus. It also expects to later expand the RFID application to other aircraft assembly lines.

"We're improving the speed, efficiency and accuracy of the attestation process," Nizam says. "Given the positive results of the test, Airbus has already distributed requirements to its A350 suppliers for RFID tagging of a selection of parts. In the near future on the A350, items will come already tagged with RFID." The requirements, he notes, will cover some cabin items, including life vests and seats.