Boeing and Fujitsu Develop RFID Solutions for Aircraft Maintenance

Jan. 4, 2011
Boeing and Fujitsu have established a strategic alliance to develop a service that will enable greater efficiency in aircraft maintenance operations

Aerospace giant Boeing and Fujitsu, a provider of information and communication technology, have established a strategic alliance to develop a service that will enable greater efficiency in aircraft maintenance operations. The partnership will employ tools such as radio frequency identification (RFID) devices and contact memory buttons to allow customers to use these technologies without needing to retrofit their own fleets. Airlines can reduce costs by reducing inventory and manual data entry errors without having to create new processes.

Under the new alliance, Fujitsu will provide Boeing with a globally-shared platform that includes automated identification technology devices, device readers, software applications and a system integration and deployment service. Boeing will tailor solutions for each customer's needs, integrate those solutions into the customer's operational environment and establish a long-range plan that will expand automated identification technology solutions across the customer's enterprise.

Boeing plans to launch this service (with a formal name) for airlines in the first quarter of 2012. The service will be available for Boeing and non-Boeing fleets and will be rapidly adaptable to any customer.

"We have been working with Boeing for more than five years to promote RFID implementation in the aviation industry and we are very excited to start this project jointly," says Mitsutoshi Hirono, corporate vice president, Fujitsu Limited.

The Boeing Transformation Service will be designed to enable customers to better manage aircraft components, equipment and materials by retrofitting them with automated identification technology devices, allowing automated data management and highly visible supply chain related maintenance processes. Prior to the launch of the new service in early 2012, the service will undergo three phases of beta testing through deployment with a launch customer.