The company is using Fujitsu’s new RFID Integrated Label to track up to 7,000 different components built into aircraft at four Boeing factory sites.
Jul 11, 2017—
Global aerospace company Boeing has deployed a radio frequency identification system for internal manufacturing purposes at four facilities since 2016, using recently released RFID labels from Fujitsu. Boeing’s deployment of Fujitsu’s RFIDIntegrated Label is consistent with the aircraft company’s use of passive ultrahigh-frequency (UHF) RFID technology for its own purposes, as well as those of airlines.
In 2012, Boeing first began working with Fujitsu to launch a system to tag components with RFID tags so that airlines, maintenance workers and inspectors could read and write data about each part’s history as it is used, inspected or repaired. In the meantime, Boeing has been using the same technology this year to improve its aircraft manufacturing productivity by tracking flyable parts during the final stages, such as assembly and inspection of aircrafts, as well as for shipping to a customer. The in-house solution provides component lifecycle management during assembly, thereby helping the company to reduce the costs of tracking components. Boeing is also considering an expansion of the technology to include the tracking of parts when they are received and as they move around the facility prior to assembly.
Source: Boeing Deploys RFID In-House for Assembly Management – 2017-07-11 – Page 1 – RFID Journal