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Lufthansa Technik Selects RFID Solution From Motorola to Accelerate Aircraft Repairs

Written by thomas · Filed Under Aeronautics News 

June 23, 2008

thomas

Attaching EPC-UHF smart labels to accompanying aircraft parts documentation
reduces manual data entry and significantly accelerates the work process

HOLTSVILLE, N.Y., June 23 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Lufthansa Technik
AG (LHT), one of the leading providers of MRO (Maintenance, Repair and
Overhaul) services for civilian aircraft, has selected Motorola Inc. (NYSE:
MOT) to provide RFID solutions in its Lufthansa Technik Logistik area for
tracking aircraft components. Attaching EPC UHF tags to documents that
accompany the parts, Lufthansa Technik will be able to track their movement
and deployment using handheld and stationary RFID readers from Motorola. As
a result, the company expects to reduce, or even eliminate, the need for
manual data entry, avoid delivery errors and significantly accelerate the
repair process.

“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.”

The decision to implement the Motorola RFID solution in all of its
facilities in Germany follows a successful trial at its maintenance centre
in Hamburg. LHT has another centre in Frankfurt as well as maintenance
stations at all of the larger German airports, as well as an additional 50
stations worldwide. Motorola MC9090-G RFID handheld readers and XR480 fixed
RFID readers are being deployed as part of the ongoing solution rollout.

With the RFID solution, collecting data on the parts used and verifying
their authenticity is automated, relieving the team of the time-consuming
task of manually recording use and re-ordering parts. The system is
designed to reduce the scope for human error, which can cause disruption to
schedules if the wrong part is accidentally delivered.

“Using RFID means that Lufthansa no longer depends on ‘line of sight’
to obtain the installation information that the mechanics require,”
explains 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, LHT 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.”

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