Lufthansa Successfully Speeds up Aircraft Maintenance with UPM Raflatac's RFID Tags |
(Archive News Story - Products mentioned in this Archive News Story may or may not be available from the manufacturer.)
Raflatac, Inc.
400 Broadpointe Dr.
Fletcher, NC, 28732
USA
Press release date: May 12, 2010
(UPM Raflatac, Tampere) - Lufthansa Technik, a global provider of aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services, has been successfully using RFID technology in tracking aircraft components for the past two years.
Lufthansa Technik Logistik (LTL), the logistics service provider of LHT, was one of the first companies to use RFID technology in aviation. Since 2008, LTL has been attaching RFID tags to documents accompanying components as they are removed, serviced or repaired, and reinstalled. The use of RFID technology has significantly expedited the repair-cycle process for components by reducing or eliminating the need for manual data entry. With the help of RFID tracking, LTL is also avoiding delivery errors, and automatically verifying the authenticity of parts.
LTL uses UPM Raflatac's DogBone UHF tags with 96 bits of EPC memory. The DogBone tag meets the strict requirements set by the aviation industry and complies with the EPC Gen 2 air-interface standard and ISO 180006C standard.
"Using RFID means that Lufthansa Technik no longer depends on 'line of sight' to obtain information about the identity of a part. Parts can remain packed in their transportation containers and are automatically identified at diverse gates in the supply chain", says Carsten Sowa, RFID Program Manager at Lufthansa Technik. "This provides a greater supply chain visibility in repair processes so that production planning systems get more detailed information about where a part is, how long the transportation has taken, and when the next process steps with that part can be started. This will provide additional means for prioritising the overall workflow."
"RFID technology can offer a quantum leap to previous work methods and processes", says Mikko Nikkanen, Business Development Director, UPM Raflatac, RFID. "Maintenance in the aviation industry is hectic and every minute counts. With the deployment of RFID, maintenance and service functions can gain in increased accuracy, speed and traceability, and also in cost-efficiency. Lufthansa's solution is a great example of the new and innovative RFID approach to solve well known challenges."
For further information, please contact: Mr Mikko Nikkanen, Business Development Director, UPM Raflatac, RFID, tel. +1 828 275 5162
About UPM Raflatac UPM Raflatac, part of UPM's Engineered Materials business group, is one of the world's leading suppliers of self-adhesive label materials and the world's number one producer of HF and UHF radio frequency identification (RFID) tags and inlays. UPM Raflatac has a global service network consisting of 13 factories on five continents and a broad network of sales offices and slitting and distribution terminals worldwide. UPM Raflatac employs 2,600 people and made sales of approximately EUR 0.95 billion (USD 1.3 billion) in 2009. Further information is available at www.upmrfid.com.
About Lufthansa Technik With over 30 subsidiaries and affiliated companies and a staff of more than 26,000 worldwide, Lufthansa Technik Group is one of the world's leading independent providers of aircraft-related technical services. In 2009 the company achieved total sales of 4 billion euros. Lufthansa Technik's portfolio covers the entire service spectrum of maintenance, repair, overhaul, modification and conversion, engines and components for passenger aircraft.
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