Lufthansa Technik is the world market leader in the Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) of commercial aircraft, their engines and components.
Lufthansa Technik recently selected Motorola's RFID solution to help Lufthansa Technik to track aircraft parts for repair and maintenance.
Motorola is world leading RFID solution provider after acquired Symbol Technology.
RFID has been in use for some time in other business sectors such as the clothing and retail industry. The high technical demands encountered in aviation, however, call for significant modifications and engineering expertise. The devices have to survive radical, short-term temperature fluctuations without damage, and must withstand rapid changes in air pressure.
The UHF RFID transponder receives and reflects ultra-high frequencies, enabling two-way communication even at a distance of 30 to 50 cm and without visual contact, including through cabin wall panels. These transponders were also modified further to work when affixed to metal housings.
The use of RFID technology greatly simplifies many routine logistical processes in the maintenance and repair of aircraft components. With the help of the RFID transponder, it is possible to locate and identify any given object and verify its modification status at all times - without having to access a central database - via the simple transmission of radio waves. Such systems always consist of at least two components: the transponder, or RFID tag, which is located in or on the object that needs to be communicated with, and a reading device to identify it. The reading device can identify any nearby device bearing a transponder. The passive UHF tag delivers its information by backscattering the emitted carrier wave, and draws the energy required to do this from the incoming radio signal. This means that the tag does not need its own power source and can thus function entirely passively.
After a successful trail at its Hamburg location, Lufthansa Technik decided to implement the Motorola RFID solution in all of its facilities, including one major maintenance centre in Frankfurt as well as maintenance stations at all of the larger German airports, as well as an additional 50 stations worldwide.
Currently it's a time-consuming task to manually record use of the parts and re-order parts. The human error of data entry could cause disruption to schedules if wrong parts are ordered or accidentally delivered. With the RFID solution, RFID UHF tags will be attached to documents with the aircraft parts. Lufthansa Technik will use Motorola MC9090-G RFID handheld readers and XR480 fixed RFID readers to read data from RFID tags. The movement and deployment of the parts can be tracked and the collection of data on the parts used and verifying their authenticity is automated. This helps to reduce the error like manual data entry and delivery errors. As a result, the total repair time can be significantly reduced, according to Lufthansa Technik.
"As well as waiting time on the runway, allowing buffer time in the repair shop and in the logistics process for MRO operations also drives up costs," says Martin Stempelmann, project head at LHT. "As a service provider, we operate in a competitive market and we need to turn around our repairs quickly, safely and efficiently to ensure that we are providing our customers with the best possible experience. With the aid of the new RFID solution, we will be able to release aircraft back to our clients faster and without compromising safety."
"Using RFID means that Lufthansa no longer depends on 'line of sight' to obtain the installation information that the mechanics require," said Michael Scheferhoff, Chairman of the Air Transportation Association (ATA), the trade association that is pushing the development of new standards and working with LHT on this project. "Today, the manual process involved in tracking and correctly moving a component following its disassembling, means that it takes, on average, several days for it to reach the workshop. Our goal is to use RFID technology to reduce this to just 24 hours."
In this first phase of implementation, Lufthansa Technik is applying an RFID tag to the documents that accompany aircraft components, with plans to streamline this process in the near future by directly tagging the parts themselves. LHT is currently in discussions with tag manufacturers in regard to selecting tags that can appropriately resist the harsh weather conditions, extreme temperatures and chemical substances that aircraft are subjected to on a regular basis.
"Market dynamics are becoming more competitive and aviation companies are increasingly turning to innovative technologies to address new industry challenges," said Joe White, vice president of RFID business development, Motorola's Enterprise Mobility business. "This implementation, at one of the world's leading aviation companies, underlines the breadth of applicability for passive RFID technology across both the logistics and manufacturing industry sectors. From baggage tracking to parts tracking and beyond, RFID solutions can help streamline operations, improve service levels and increase business value across the aviation industry. The ATA's support for the implementation further demonstrates that this has the potential to become standard practice in such information-critical sectors."
With customized programs for maintenance and state-of-the-art repair procedures, Lufthansa Technik continuously assures the reliability and availability of its customer fleets. In the spring of 2008 at Aircraft Interiors Expo, the largest world event for aircraft interior design and systems engineering, Lufthansa Technik received the Crystal Cabin Award in the 'material and components' category. The qualified product innovation, including UHF RFID transponder makes Lufthansa Technik one of the first companies to use RFID technology in aviation.
Related Links:
