EPC-based RFID technology is helping the aerospace industry to assess and address inefficient business processes in order to stabilize operations and revenues. In particular, inefficiencies in processes that support the building blocks of success: happy passengers, profitable flight times and better fleet utilization. Manufacturers, airports and airlines alike are looking to the Electronic Product Code – EPC, powered by Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) to take cost out of processes, better manage resources, and keep passengers safe and satisfied, particularly in the areas of assembly, inventory and asset management, maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO), and baggage handling.
Incorporating EPC-enabled RFID into internal processes deliver benefits in the following areas:
Aircraft Assembly
The extremely sophisticated and complex process of assembling an aircraft includes hundreds and sometimes thousands of components and subassemblies that must fit precisely together and meet stringent performance requirements. With global sourcing and the manufacturing of whole systems and subassemblies by multiple partners, it is critically important to have predictable delivery when choreographing the final assembly process. Key components that require long lead times, which if not ordered based on accurate demand signals, can thwart just-in-time production, and the lack of a simple fastener can ground promised aircraft delivery dates.
EPC enabled RFID is delivered in the form of a real-time tracking solution. As components move through the production process, EPC data is collected and monitored, which provides an accurate and complete record of quantities, movements and locations. Tracking components ensures that they are authentic, drastically reducing the likelihood of counterfeit parts. The EPC also enables more flexible and timely data collection and automatically links parts with quality control and historical data, providing a detailed, auditable history that ensures specifications are met.
Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) Operations: the Ultimate ROI
The MRO of an aircraft and its parts is of equal or higher value in an industry that depends on a long life span of an aircraft.MRO is complex and time-consuming, requiring substantial documentation and tracking to ensure the right parts are available when they are needed. EPC-enabled RFID streamlines MRO and reduces costs by automatically tracking, capturing and communicating spare part movement, locations and unique characteristics. This helps to simplify record-keeping, easily enables planned maintenance schedules, and lowers scrap rates.
In an EPC-enabled RFID solution, identification tags store information – where a part originated, where it is, where it was, how long it was there and environmental conditions it to which it was exposed. This complete parts pedigree ensures authenticity, reduces rework and ensures flight safety. It also holds complex information –maintenance and inspections performed, configuration changes –that today require excessive documentation. EPC/RFID data provides real-time alerts to irregularities in the flow of items, further improving efficiencies and inventory integrity.
Inventory and Asset Management
Securing and tracing expensive assets -- such as specialized tools -- is critical to aircraft assembly. With vast assembly facilities, it’s imperative that manufacturers have asset visibility in key areas and throughout the manufacturing complex. With an EPC solution, expensive assets are uniquely identified and made visible as they move throughout assembly environments. And airports are adopting EPC-enabled RFID solutions to track baggage and cargo.
Why Now? EPC-enabled RFID solutions transform business processes by improving the accuracy of information exchanged between suppliers, manufacturers and maintenance operations, resulting in safer aircraft, better fleet utilization, more profitable flights and reduced cycle time to solve in-service problems. Harnessing the power of EPC/RFID technology now to deliver authenticated parts smarter, faster and more effectively than ever before, will pay huge dividends far into the future.
For more information about how an EPC-enabled RFID solution can benefit your organization, please call +1 937.291.3300 or email EPCinfo@gs1us.org.
See the Aerospace Brochure.