QUESTIONS FROM BOOK

Q 1. What are the drivers of the RFID project? Ans: The case mentions that the Airbus looks for the opportunity that helps its productivity, lowers the price in terms of economy, and paces its efficiency in both manufacturing and maintenance of airplanes and at the same time competes with other manufactures for high the quality and lesser price, this led to the introduction of RFID technology in Airbus. RFID tags were expected to generate productivity benefits in supply chain management and improved asset, parts and tools allocation through faster information flow and better inventory management. Airbus signed a multimillion-dollar, multiyear deal to use RFID to streamline its supply chain and manufacturing operations. RFID allows Airbus to see what is going on much faster so that they can make proper decisions faster which makes it better for them in the long run. Airbus tags shipping containers, paperwork orders, shipping labels and production tooling. This use of RFID is saving Airbus millions of Euros per year by reducing the cost of gathering information and also by increasing the level of information that we have. This process of gathering information at a lower cost was a great move for Airbus and it has greatly helped them in tracking their aircraft parts. In general RFID improves: Speed and accuracy: RFID has a greater potential of speed than barcodes because applications may require less human intervention, to the extent that appropriate middleware applications and high capacity data handling software and hardware applications are available and implemented. Visibility: Supply chain participants can benefit from the ability of RFID tags to hold more information about an item rather than existing barcode technology such as tracking lot numbers, serial numbers, expiration dates and other pertinent information. Information accrual: Some RFID tags are writeable, and as they go through various stages of the product life cycle, information can be added to the tag; for example, for food traceability. They may also be equipped with sensors to detect temperature, humidity etc. Q 2. What information technologies are sited here and are related to implementation? Ans: Information technologies used in this project are RFID cards: It serves the same purpose as a bar code or a magnetic strip on the back of a credit card or ATM card; it provides a unique identifier for that object. And, just as a bar code or magnetic strip must be scanned to get the information, the RFID device must be scanned to retrieve the identifying information.It makes works to get done easy and fast so it is important for manufacturing. RFID readers: It converts the radio waves reflected back from the RFID tag into digital information that can then be passed on to computers that can make use of it. Thus, the information collected by RFID reader helps system to exchange information.

RFID software infrastructure: It helps to build and manage RFID deployments more quickly and efficiently. It has effect for improving productivity, and also it gives a big opportunity for saving money.

Q 3. What categories of people will be supported by RFID? Ans: RFID is a useful system that used for sending out the identity of an object or a person through wireless by using the radio waves .The system will support both suppliers and those that work internally with inventory. For example, It can be used for vehicle tracking. Asset tracking: It is used to track parts for helicopters, aircraft and satellites (as well as tools and other assets). In order to improve efficiency and reduce the amount of employee labour required to manufacture them. Supply chain management: responsible for negotiating, contracting, procuring and managing all the equipment, materials and services needed for the assembly of aircraft, on time, on costs and on quality. In terms of business this can be useful to for sending data through that wave. The warehouse workers of Airbus will be supported by the implementation of RFID. Membership admission/access control. Work in Progress (WIP).

Q 4. What managerial levels and tasks will be supported by the RFID? Ans: Airbus has a strong communication with the technical companies and with the RFID industries. The airbus has business which is divided in two categories- Nonflyable and Flyable. Nonflyable is which consists of the supply chain, logistics, manufacturing, and transportation and some others. The flyable consists of operational, maintenance, payload tracking applications and some others.

Q 5. What are the performance management implications? (in relation to the model in book). Ans: One of the things Airbus wanted to accomplish is performance management. Performance management usually is done in a four-step cyclical process. Step one is to decide on desired performance levels and step two is to determine how to attain the performance levels. Third, periodically assess where the organization stands with respect to its goals. The last step is to adjust performance and goals. In the first step they try to provide quick tracking of where items are and their location in real time. They also try to be efficient to find the information, such as inventory or supply chain. Second step, the Airbus Company wants to know how to get there? Usually it started from name brand stores in malls, and for Airbus, they track parts of tools which are scattered over a large area. Third, how are they doing? It is fifty cents to fifty dollars per tag, and it depends on different types of tags. So, Airbus uses them only on high-cost parts. In the last step, the Airbus Company needs to look back on their performance. After they value the performance, they can determine if it is good or bad themselves.

OTHER QUESTIONS
Ques: Types of business & other types of pressures and challenges experienced by Airbus in terms of applying the new technology. Ans: Airbus modern and comprehensive product line comprises highly successful families of aircraft ranging from 100 to more than 500 seats: the single-aisle A320 Family, including the A320neo product line, which is the fastest-selling aircraft in aviation history the wide body, long-range A330/A340, all-new next generation A350 XWB Family and the double-deck A380 Family. The company also continues to broaden its scope and product range by applying its expertise to the military market. It is as well extending its portfolio of freighter aircraft that will set new standards in the general and express freight market sectors. Implementing a successful RFID strategy takes time and effort, and so was the case with Airbus. Implementing a full-fledged system in such a large manufacturing company required a massive capital. The implementation challenges and pressures face by Airbus were >Fundamental: High capital costs, challenges in finding the drivers for adoption >Technical: Lack of in-house experts to implement RFID, Uncertainty about the role of middle-ware > Security: Concerns regarding security of data storage and physical storage at site, compromise of data loss during transmission. Ques: Describe the case: Its Introduction and background. Ans: Airbus is an aircraft (commercial airlines) manufacturing division of Airbus Group, based in France and significant activity throughout Europe. The company is the worlds leading aircraft manufacturers, capturing half or more of all orders for airliners. Their mission is to provide the aircraft best suited for the markets needs and to support them with the highest quality service. This was in order to stay on par with Boeing in constant competition. For this, it was decided to use RFID

in manufacturing and maintenance of its places to increase productivity, reduce costs, and streamline its supply chain and manufacturing operations. The RFID technology enabled Airbus to track thousands of components and parts for aircraft models, and allowed to figure out what was going on, much faster so that they could make proper decisions faster which fostered processimprovement. Airbus tagged shipping containers, paperwork orders, shipping labels and production tooling. This use saved millions of Euros per year by reducing the cost of gathering information and also by increasing the level of information. Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) is a form of Automatic Identification (Auto-ID) that uses a small wireless device that can be attached to objects or parts. It provides an accurate, automatic and a fast way to record and collect information about the objects or parts business activities. We can automatically track the confirmation of deliveries into a warehouse, data can be written and stored onto the device in large quantities if required, and then can be read automatically from a distance with an RFID reader. Ques: Innovations in Information Technology being used by Airbus: Ans: An innovator in aircraft design, Airbus uses this same pioneering spirit to increase its overall environmental performance and develop new technologies aimed at reducing the fuel consumption and CO2 emissions of its airliners. More than 90 per cent of Airbus research and technology initiatives are for the benefit of the environment. These investments go mainly to the development of new aircraft technologies, to the implementation of sustainable aviation fuel value chains and to the development of a modern air traffic management system which focuses on combining aircraft traffic growth while reducing the overall environmental impact. Airbus is proud of its track record for innovation, which includes the introduction of fly-by-wire technology into civil airliners, as well as the reduction of aircraft weight and subsequent fuel consumption through the development of composite aerostructures and the use of advanced materials and aerodynamics. Following are the innovation in Information Technology used by Airbus recently. 1) EASA certified Runway Overrun Prevention System: Airbus has achieved initial EASA certification of its innovative Runway Overrun Prevention System (ROPS) technology on A320ceo Family aircraft. This on-board cockpit technology, which Airbus has pioneered over several years and is now in service on the A380, increases pilots situational awareness during landing, reduces exposure to runway excursion risk, and if necessary, provides active protection. In March this year American Airlines selected ROPS to equip its A320 Family fleet. This EASA certification of ROPS on the A320ceo is the next step in making ROPS available for line-fit and retrofit to other Airbus models including very soon the A320ceo with Sharklets, the A330 Family, and also the A320neo. ROPS was first approved by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) on the A380 in October 2009 and to date is currently in service or ordered on most of the A380 fleet. ROPS is also part of the A350 XWBs basic configuration.

ROPS is the result of years of continuing research by Airbus. This initial EASA certification for ROPS on the A320 Family is an important new step to offering the enhanced safety benefits across all aircraft and for the aviation industry. Runway excursion meaning either an aircraft veering off the side of the runway, or overrunning at the very end has become the primary cause of civil airliner hull losses in recent years, particularly as other formerly prevalent categories of aircraft accidents have now largely been eliminated. Furthermore, various industry bodies including the EASA, NTSB, Eurocontrol and FAA recognize this and are fully behind the introduction of effective measures by commercial aviation stakeholders to not only mitigate, but eliminate the risk of runway excursions. In line with this, Airbus is working to make ROPS commercially available for aircraft from other manufacturers. The system will be coupled to the mandatory Terrain Avoidance Warning System already fitted and will utilize an enhanced and specially developed version of its worldwide runway database. The Airbus-patented ROPS computes minimum realistic in-flight landing and on-ground stopping distances while comparing them to available landing distances in real time. The analyses take into account factors such as runway topography, runway condition, aircraft weight and configuration, wind and temperature. The resulting outcome produces audio callouts and alerts for pilots, making ROPS an awareness tool to assist the crew in the go-around decision making process and also the timely application of retardation/stopping means on touchdown. To regularly enhance the A320 Familys capabilities and performance, Airbus invests approximately 300 million euros annually in keeping the aircraft highly competitive and efficient. More than 9,600 A320 Family aircraft have been ordered and over 5,600 delivered to operators worldwide. With a record backlog of over 4,000 aircraft, the A320 Family reaffirms its position as the worlds best selling single-aisle aircraft Family. 2) Enhanced awareness: The A380's main instrument panel incorporates eight identical and interchangeable Liquid Crystal Display Units, providing a primary flight display, navigation display, two multi-function displays, an engine warning display and a systems display. A key A380 innovation is the use of an electronic library to largely replace the traditional paper documentation used by pilots. This library allows flight and maintenance crews to easily locate relevant operational information in the various flight manuals, lists and logbooks, while enabling an optimisation of performance and weight-and-balance computations. 3) Speaking the right language: Airbus explores innovative voice-recognition technology for the air transport industry: The Airbus Corporate Innovation Team is investigating the use of voicerecognition software to help pilots and airline crews manage operation, underscoring the companys focus on innovation for its customers benefit. Incorporating aviation specific information and accent recognition technology, a software prototype has been developed in collaboration with Uniphore, adapting this India-based companys off-theshelf Nuance Dragon product, which captures voice messages and displays them as text. To ensure end-users can easily recognize data, Uniphore also designed a digital interface that imitates the layout pilots currently use for on-paper ATIS recordings.

With constantly checking with potential end-users pilots and airline crews to understand their requirements and interest in this technology, so we can develop a relevant solution for them. 4) The digital tool set: The A350 XWB's revolutionary Digital Mock-up is a game-changer: Airbus has created a bridge between the virtual and real worlds with its A350 XWB Digital Mock-Up, which provides a high-definition representation of the aircraft right down to the smallest parts on computer screens. It also reinforces Airbus role as an integrator, and capitalises on the companys decades of experience from previous programmes. This very realistic digital version of the A350 XWB has literally changed the way aircraft are conceived, as it allows an accurate visualisation of where systems are located during design, how they are installed in production and what access is available for maintenance during the jetliners operational lifetime.

By opening this Digital Mock-Up to the thousands of A350 XWB designers and engineers at Airbus and its key suppliers, the tool provides shared real-time access to a rich database with highly detailed information. 5) Smarter systems: The onboard systems of Airbus A350 XWB were designed with maximum reliability, operability and simplicity in mind. Integrated modular avionics (IMA) and multiplexed buses (AFDX) also are derived from the A380, with enriched functionalities such as remote data concentrators spread all along the fuselage to reduce wiring length and response time. Airbus uses solid-state power control technology on the A350 XWB, providing a modern method of power control management throughout the aircraft that eliminates the need for individual circuit breakers in the cockpit, cabin and electronics bay. 6) Avionics Full DupleX Switched Ethernet AFDX: The Avionics Full DupleX Switched Ethernet (AFDX) backbone network technology enables safe and secure data transfer. It is ideal for demanding applications, and enables the simplification of data exchange compared to previous protocols. Applications: Aerospace, defence, automotive and transportation. Value-added benefits: The AFDX protocol provides homogeneous end-to-end communication, allowing for the removal of gateways and exotic technologies while also enabling the simplification of data exchange compared to previous protocolsStatus

Flight-proven, in service with a growing number of applications world. Ques: When and why was Airbus was honoured with the RFID award? Ans: Airbus won the best company radio frequency identification (RFID) implementation award at the 2008 U.S. RFID Journal LIVE! Conference, held April 16-18 in Las Vegas, Nevada. This selection was made by an independent panel of judges who chose Airbus from over 100 entrants, including the U.S. Department of Defense and the Metro Group. The judges were impressed with Airbus' comprehensive approach to deploying RFID company-wide, its pilot and implementation results, and its focus on delivering quick value to the company and its value chain partners. Ques: Describing about Airbus and its technology partners. Ans: Airbus has been in contact with various technology partners at various points of time. Though all of them cannot be listed here but a few are presents below: Airbus Agreement with Massachusetts Institute of Technology Airbus has signed a research agreement with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to explore the use of digital manufacturing in aerospace. Working with Neil Gershenfeld, director of MITs Center for Bits and Atoms (CBA) and his team, the aircraft manufacturer will evaluate how the digital material concepts being developed at MIT can potentially be applied to the design and construction of aerospace vehicles. Airbus and Polish technology partners signed MoU for joint research & technology projects Leading aircraft manufacturer Airbus, and major Polish applied research group, Technology Partners, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on aeronautics research and technology projects. The agreement is an opportunity for Polish scientists and industrialists to work hand in hand with Airbus to develop and create innovative aeronautic solutions using the latest technology. Partnership Between Airbus & Parametric Technology Corporation The partnership between Airbus and Parametric Technology Corporation (PTC) dates to the beginning of the 1990's. This collaboration is even closer today, whether in the scope of the Airbus Extended Enterprise program (the collaboration between Airbus and its subcontractors) or in the perspective of the Power8 plan, which is leading to the deployment of an industrial organization founded on the optimization and the reduction of development cycles for aircraft programs. Industrial performance is built on confidence. On this subject, the PTC-Airbus partnership has proven for over fifteen years the pertinence of the concept of PLM: Product Lifecycle Management. In practical terms, their collaboration was initiated at the beginning of the 1990's and has been reinforced since 1995 with the signature of a strategic partnership on the utilization of PTC technologies in support of the Concurrent Engineering initiative.

Patev: European Technology Licensing Partner of Airbus PATEV is a European leader for intellectual property management services. Founded in 2001, PATEV audits, evaluates and shapes patent portfolios, lends the right design to technologies and inventions, provides consulting support in corporate processes associated with patents and in making use of patents, and the search for licensees and licensors around the world. PATEV has made a decisive contribution to the further development of the valuation and commercialization of intellectual property rights.

Survitec Ships First Rfid-Enabled Life Vests To Airbus Survitec Group, a manufacturer of high safety and survival equipment for the aviation and defense industries, has started shipping RFID-tagged life vests to Airbus to comply with the aircraft manufacturers RFID mandate. Survitec sent its first shipment of tagged life vests in late August. The company has a capacity to manufacture up to 2,000 life vests per week at its facility in Belfast, Ireland. While only a portion of that product goes to Airbus, the company has decided to tag all of the life vests that it produces.

CONCLUSION: There are many uses of RFID. RFID is used in various applications, such as mobile speed pass systems, auto immobilizer systems, fast-lane and E-Z pass road toll systems, secure Entry cards, animal ID...etc. The biggest competition for Airbus is Boeing, so Airbus is looking for every opportunity to increase productivity, reduce costs, and make its production process more efficient. Most importantly, they focus on tracking how and where tools are used for manufacturing and maintenance. The technology improves the efficiency of inventory tracking, and finding extensive information about the items, increase ongoing supply chain process improvements, saving money by reducing time spent for searching, and improving productivity. In conclusion, it is important to investigate the business value created by the technology. RFID not only can improve in-stock position, but also show the benefit of RFID for promotional items. Lots of research has proved the impact of RFID, as we will see the importance of inventory accuracy for a business because it is one of the keys to efficient and effective supply chain. The software also manages data from bar codes, which remain an important part of Airbus supply chain. Airbus is exactly using RFID technology to improve their company, and it is the best and most successful example of RFID. RFID is very useful in every kind of business, not only for Airbus to track their part of tools but also for using in manufactories, retails, and professional companies. The biggest improvement for business is usually spending time to track selling products or tools for work. Now, we not only save time but we also improve productivity and qualities.