Daher Aviation applies UHF RFID technology to assembly lines

Daher Aerospace, a British aviation manufacturing and logistics company, is using RFID technology to manage recycled shipping boxes, and the solution provider is Waer Systems Ltd. The solution includes passive EPC Gen2 UHF RFID tags attached to the shipping boxes, fixed readers installed in the shipping box channels, and cloud software to manage the data.

Daher's supply chain recycling project includes 22,000 shipping boxes (of which 16,000 are in use). These shipping boxes are mainly used to transport engine parts to the assembly line, and then return the empty shipping boxes to Daher for maintenance and cleaning. use.

The Daher supply chain recycling project includes 22,000 shipping boxes used to transport engine parts to the assembly line.

In order to accommodate various types of engine parts, the company provides transport boxes of different sizes and materials, such as metal, plastic or wood. Engine parts providers require specific types of shipping boxes to meet different customer orders, and if there is a problem with the shipping box, the work of the assembly line will be restricted.

The previous RFID system tracked each transport box entering and leaving the maintenance office, and recorded the usage status of the transport box by reading and storing data. The low-frequency tags used in the solution can only be recognized by Daher's own system, and Microsoft Excel is used to manage the RFID data. The entire process is time-consuming and laborious.

Later, Daher updated the original solution, using passive EPC Gen 2 UHF RFID tags and fixed readers. The reading of the tags is not affected by the material of the shipping box (whether it is metal, plastic or wood). The labels used in this solution have higher requirements than previous labels, being able to withstand clean environments and need to be resistant to water washing and pressure water vapor environments.

In 2007, Waer provided Waerlinx warehouse management solutions to Daher Company. Three years later, Waer installed passive EPC Gen 2 UHF RFID solutions for several Daher customers to monitor Daher's assembly packaging services, with approximately 2,000 Daher trolleys tracked in the process. Ultimately, Daher chose UHF systems instead of low-frequency systems to manage all of the recycled shipping boxes.

When the company tests the RFID system, the relevant data read is Stored on the cloud server. Until the end of 2013, a detailed inspection of the software and hardware was conducted before the solution was officially installed and deployed.

First, attach the Smartrac DogBone tag to the outside of the box. The unique ID code in the tag is associated with the box's serial number.

When Daher receives an empty shipping box from the assembly line, it reads the tag data and updates the status of the shipping box to "in". If a shipping box needs to enter quarantine, the tag is read again and the status is updated to Special Repair Status. In addition, cleaning and maintenance processes also require reading of tags, which are read using Motorola Solutions FX7400 readers.

If necessary, tag reading locations can be added at any time. Waer software not only displays the location of shipping boxes, but also ensures that parts are shipped appropriately. When the aircraft parts supplier prepares to transport the parts assembly to the maintenance office, through the RFID Reader, if there is any loss, the system will issue a warning.

In November last year, a new ultra-high frequency RFID system was launched. Daher standardizes operations and data related to shipping status of shipping boxes. The system reduces human error and enables data sharing between Daher, customers and suppliers to ensure shipping boxes are in the location they expect.

In the future, Daher plans to install a touch screen at the tag reading station to facilitate on-site confirmation of the number of shipping boxes and the reading process.