RFID Takes to the Sky
For those in the RFID industry, this is the week for big announcements. New RFID applications across a broad range of industries are being introduced. OATsystems, a division of Checkpoint Systems, Inc, is among the latest to release big news. The company revealed that its recent ATA Spec 2000 RFID solution will be included in part marking package for suppliers of Airbus A350XWB aircraft. The supplier package will track and trace A350 XWB aircraft components across their entire lifecycle.
Airbus is using OAT’s software suite as part of its award-winning Value Chain Visibility (VCV) programme, an Auto-ID inspired business transformation program that develops innovative, streamlined business processes across the value chain through increased visibility and measurability. It includes the entire Airbus value chain: from suppliers to Airbus and the full spectrum of industrial processes between global manufacturing sites and onto its airline customers and in-service partners.
The A350 XWB Supplier Package for RFID Part Marking
Airbus was the first aircraft manufacturer to issue requests to suppliers asking them to add permanent RFID tags to roughly 3000 parts on each of its new A350 XWB aircraft back in 2008. The RFID tags remain with the parts for their entire life. The RFID tags digitally store the full maintenance history, aiding in the enhancement of process automation and visibility for everyone involved in the lifecycle.
CSC and OAT are jointly taking the supplier package to market and offering it to A350 XWB suppliers to help them meet Airbus’ RFID part marking requirements for the A350 XWB aircraft. Multiple Tier 1 global suppliers have already licensed the solution for tagging and tracking major component parts and subassemblies.
“We are excited to partner with Airbus and CSC and believe that what we have learned over the past years building manufacturing and logistics solutions from the ground up will be of tremendous value to the aerospace community,” said Prasad Putta, general manager, OATSystems, and executive vice president, Merchandise Visibility Solutions, Checkpoint Systems.
The packaged solutions cover use cases such as birth record creation and repair maintenance history updates and include RFID software, readers, training and support, and offer multiple deployment options for Airbus A350 XWB suppliers based on component type, production volume and enterprise systems. Mobile packages include handheld readers (such as Motorola) with additional options for fixed portals or smart tables.
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