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The role of RFID in the aviation industry
Eloy Leal, Director of Engineering and Operations, EAM Worldwide, discusses how RFID Technology breathes “new life” into aviation industry
Technology is often in need of an upgrade or advancement almost as soon as it becomes available. Consumers and companies need it bigger, faster, and better just to keep up with the ever-evolving landscape of communication and the way to do business. There is, however, one kind of technology
01
reader, which is a transceiver and an antenna. Each identified asset is equipped with an RFID chip (tag) that stores the birth record of the product. There are a variety of different tags available depending upon the type of product, packaging and durability need. Through the use of the handheld scanner or fixed reader, the real-time information including inventory location, expiration dates and serial numbers is recorded without performing individual physical counts and generating manual documentation. Saving incredible time and money, this simple equipment can scan an entire warehouse, container or other area in minutes – even seconds – for accurate data. Most businesses use RFID for inventory control, asset tracking and even security measures, making it a natural fit for the aviation industry. It may seem surprising that an inventory-rich and inspection-critical industry such as aviation has not implemented such technology to reduce or eliminate manual documentation in previous years. However, this is not due to the lack of acceptance of such technology, but rather a lack of awareness and limited offering of such a service – until now. Technology companies and divisions have now turned their sites to the aviation industry to bring this invaluable resource to help save time and money. One of the first areas that RFID technology could
01. RFID Trackable Assets
that even in its simplicity has remained a continuing resource of innovation and management: radio frequency identification (RFID). This is not to say that RFID technology has not evolved over the course of its decades of use. However, at its fundamental level, RFID has withstood the test of time as an invaluable component to operational efficiency and has dramatically expanded its applications from its first use during World War II. The first modern use of RFID was created and patented by Mario Cardullo in 1973 as a passive radio transponder. Almost 40 years later, RFID is vastly used in commercial and consumer applications around the world in the most complex systems as well as daily operations. An RFID System is designed with two basic parts – a transponder tag that is attached to the inventory asset, and a
proactively assist airlines is by incorporating the technology onto assets that need to be manually-inspected before every flight. As mandated by the FAA, assets like life vests, seat belts and preparation cards need to be available for every single passenger. As airliners attempt to turn around their planes for the next flight as quickly and safely as possible, RFID could dramatically reduce the time spent on inspection with a simple click of the handheld reader. An entire airplane could be scanned in a matter of minutes with the documentation immediately uploaded into the company’s database. In addition to asset tracking and verification, another area where RFID could be beneficial is by providing special alerts when an asset is expired, due for routine maintenance or if it has been tampered with. RFID could also help reduce the theft of certain assets by continuously scanning a high traffic situation – the exiting of a plane by passengers or the transport of assets from the plane to a warehouse – and alerting personnel if necessary. The uses of RFID technology in the aviation industry have only begun to scratch the surface.
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