Thursday, September 12, 2013

WIP Transparency: One Reason Aerospace and Defense Firms Are Adopting RFID

An article in this month's issue of Manufacturing Engineering, 5 Trends Driving RFID Adoption in Aerospace and Defense, outlines why the complexity of A&D operations makes it a good fit for RFID process automation.
Sept 2013 Manufacturing Engineering Article

WIP Transparency is one of the key trends driving adoption of RFID in A&D.

End customers are increasingly requesting visibility into Work-in-Process, well before a product is scheduled for final assembly and delivery.  

With a customer facing process, there’s nothing to hide – for an aircraft manufacturer who provides custom variations (like protective options for law enforcement, or specialized avionics, there’s no component substitution. 

RFID tracking helps keep work orders on schedule, locating and pre-staging raw materials, components, tooling and conveyances prior to each process step, and providing WIP visibility to the end-customer.   



Here's a typical WIP tracking process automated with RFID:
Automating Work-in-Process Tracking with RFID


Customer-facing processes get attention from the highest levels.  Many manufacturers are justifying RFID automation with improved on-time delivery percentages and cost savings from rework, expedite fees, discounting and contract fines.
 

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