The impact of RFID utilization: A case study in a engineering and maintenance company

Abstract

The maintenance costs of aircrafts represent a very large amount of its operating cost, not only because of the maintenance process itself but also because of the losses of having the aircraft out-of-service. Therefore, RFID has sparked the interest of aircraft maintenance companies for its ability to uniquely identify objects, increasing the efficiency of the complex maintenance procedures. The present study aims to analyse the impact of utilizing RFID in an aircraft maintenance company. Simultaneously we intend to understand how this technology affects the stakeholders and the way the users perception of the quality of the system influences its utilization. With these goals in mind, TAP Maintenance and Engineering (M&E) was chosen as the unit of analysis. M&E implemented an RFID system to improve the identification and search of components from commercial aircraft engines within its facility. Several interviews were performed with the users of this system and with the project manager (PM) in order to gather information from different stakeholders of the project. The interviews with the stakeholders allowed the identification of some benefits that RFID brought not only to M&E but also its employees. Additionally, it was possible to gain an insight of the development and implementation processes. With the analysis of the gathered information and the conclusions presented on this study, the author intends to promote and improve the utilization of RFID, as well as encourage the creation of frameworks for the development and implementation of RFID systems.