ARINC formed a working group to produce guidelines for Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags that will help develop “a single solution” for the airline industry, the group’s chairman said yesterday.

Michael Scheferhoff, RFID program manager with Lufthansa Technik, said at least six airlines defined preferred requirements for RFID at an exploratory meeting held in January. Scheferhoff and Daryl Remily, Boeing technical principal, described wider progress toward adopting RFID during the AMC symposium in Minneapolis.

RFID uses radio frequency waves to transfer data between a reader and components affixed with “smart labels,” each containing a microchip and antenna. The tags are seen as having wide application for identifying and tracking parts.

Scheferhoff said Lufthansa Technik, which has been evaluating RFID in its maintenance and logistics operations since 2005, has achieved a 50-percent reduction in time during a “same-day logistics” project for removing and replacing aircraft components. Boeing and FedEx completed pilot programs using RFID in 2004.

A regulatory framework now exists in the form of FAA AC20-162, issued last September, that addresses passive, active and battery-assisted passive RFID tags. Other relevant documents are SAE AS5678, a requirements document for passive-only RFID tags for aerospace; and ATA Spec 2000 Chapter 9, describing data formats.

Scheferhoff said Airbus and Boeing have settled on UHF-RFID in the 860 to 960 MHz range as their preferred tagging technology. With the standards and technology now available, he said, the focus is on developing one new parts marking technology that can serve the entire industry.

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