Nov 12, 2012In July 2009, Airbus became the first commercial aircraft manufacturer to announce plans to employ permanent radio frequency identification tags on parts for its A350 XWB aircraft (see Airbus Issues RFID Requirements, Expands RFID Usage). Approximately 3,000 serialized, replaceable, repairable parts with a limited lifespan were covered. To date, the company has received and successfully tested its RFID tagged parts as the first A350 XWB aircraft make their way through the production process.
Now, Airbus is the first aircraft manufacturer to expand the permanent tagging of selected parts across its entire fleet. Speaking at RFID Journal LIVE! Europe—Scandinavia, in Oslo, Norway, on Oct. 25, Carlo Nizam, Airbus' head of value-chain visibility and auto-ID, explained that all seats and life vests on new A320, A330 and A380 aircraft being produced would be progressively tagged with permanent RFID tags, starting in 2013.
The annual volume of RFID part marking conducted under this expansion is estimated to reach 160,000 RFID tags—roughly 120,000 life vests and 40,000 seats for all aircraft families. This is in addition to the annual volume of 400,000 tags used for the A350 XWB when at full production.
"RFID part marking is another example of non-stop innovation at Airbus, and will enable the automation of multiple operational processes up and down the value chain," Nizam stated. "It's a benefit for all involved in managing components during their lifecycle: vendor, integrator, airline and MRO [maintenance, repair and overhaul] service provider."
The scope of efficiency savings that can be achieved via permanent RFID part marking is substantial. For example, in the past, each of several hundred life jackets and seats within an airplane's cabin would need to be manually checked and noted, necessitating lengthy manual data entry. But as each Airbus aircraft will soon come pre-equipped with RFID tags, a single individual will be able to read the tags within a few minutes using a lightweight handheld reader.
"The manual process used to take 14 hours," Nizam explained. "Now, thanks to a more automated process enabled by RFID, it takes 26 minutes. These types of benefits are also available to our airline customers, MRO and supply chain partners."
Nizam also updated the audience about the deployment progress of the A350 XWB RFID part-marking initiative. "We have received aircraft components with permanent RFID tags from our suppliers for our first two A350 XWB aircraft and successfully tested them," he said. "We are continuing to work with and support our supply chain partners to make sure all the RFID system components (tags, readers and software) are interoperable for all actors in the value chain."
Airbus has created a new, state-of-the-art set of operational processes that cover the lifecycle of the aircraft, using RFID for such as tasks as supply chain logistics, tooling management and work-in-process (WIP) management. According to Nizam, the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co. (EADS), Airbus' parent company, and other units within the EADS group—including Eurocopter (a helicopter manufacturer), Cassidian (EADS' defense and security division) and Astrium (a provider of satellites and other space-industry equipment)—are also building on the RFID-enabled process portfolio. For example, he said, Eurocopter is utilizing warehouse logistics and work-order tracking. "Astrium is using container tracking and tooling management," he added, "and Cassidian is looking at logistics management."
Airbus is working closely with its airline customers, as well as its supply chain and MRO partners, Nizam reported, in order to answer questions, share its experiences and provide early-adopter support. "The more airlines, MROs and suppliers benefit from this," he said, "the better it is for the industry as a whole, because this is all about improving processes and killing waste."
