[LINK] Expert advise sought please...

[Geoffrey Ramadan]

Roger Clarke wrote:
> At 23:57 +1100 18/1/08, Geoffrey Ramadan wrote:
>> FYI. RFID solution for parts tracking being developed by Boeing.
>> http://www.rfidjournal.com/article/articleview/3850/1/1/
>> "Boeing Approves Intelleflex Chip, Weighs Higher-Memory Fujitsu Tag
>> With the silicon needed for a 64-kilobit parts tag finally ready, the
>> company is getting closer to achieving its vision for a parts-tagged 
>> plane.
>> [Also 512bit tags for things that generate limited history]
>
> Interesting, but I find the application curious.
>
> One of the important uses of parts-identifiers is and will be to 
> enable investigations into accidents (e.g. a 777 crash-landing at LHR).
>
> In many such cases, components will be missing (e.g. crashes into 
> jungles and oceans, disastrous crashes into open areas, and maybe even 
> yesterday's accident).
>
> If the component is missing, so is the data contained in a chip that's 
> integrated into the component.
>
> So it will be essential (and, to my understanding, is already a legal 
> requirement) that the operator maintain and have accessible by 
> investigators the full maintenance record of all controlled components 
> on the aircraft.
>
> So, if there's a full record outside the aircraft, what are the 
> benefits of a full record integral to the aircraft itself?
>
> Okay, maybe the aircraft is stranded in a remote location and needs 
> repairs and replacement parts.  But the telecommunications facilities 
> used to communicate the order could just as readily be used to extract 
> the repair record from the operator's central database in the first 
> place, rather than depending on an appropriate reader being available 
> at the remote location.
>
> I'm not for a moment decrying the use of RFID tags for aircraft 
> components.  But I'm querying the benefits of carrying much more than 
> an identifier.
>
Roger

The predominate use of RFID in this application is for inventory control 
and maintenance. Air safety applications are a "spin off" from this, but 
not its primary purpose.

Boeing themselves see the value as: "Information stored on the RFID tag 
will enhance parts traceability and reduce cycle time to solve 
in-service problems by improving the accuracy of information exchanged 
between customers and suppliers," said Lou Mancini, vice president and 
general manager of Boeing Commercial Aviation Services.
http://www.boeing.com/news/releases/2005/q4/nr_051003g.html
also see
http://www.boeing.com/news/frontiers/archive/2004/december/i_ca4.html

Aircraft are serviced in multi-locations, by different operators, and 
have tens of thousand of parts. Having a "central database" to track 
serial numbers back to histories is going to be difficult and complex 
and would required agreement between various parties at many levels. 
Having the service data with the part in this case makes a lot of sense.

Reg
Geoffrey Ramadan B.E.(Elec)
Chairman, Automatic Data Capture Association (www.adca.com.au)
and
Managing Director, Unique Micro Design (www.umd.com.au)