tap portugal mtms final update

Atlanta, GA – USA – November 16-18, 2015 IATA 2nd RFID & Paperless Technical Operations Conference

Carlos QuintaTAP Information Technology

on behalf of TAP Maintenance & Engineering

MTMS – Mobile Tooling Management System

Managing GSEs and tools with RFID & barcode technology

FINAL PROGRAM RECAP & UPDATE

IATA 2nd RFID & Paperless Technical Operations ConferenceAtlanta, GA – USA

November 16 - 18, 2015


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PRESENTATION OVERVIEW

● TAP IT - who are we

● The solution implemented

● The pain points to address

● The challenges

● What we managed to achieve

● Lessons learned

● What comes next


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TAP IT - WHO ARE WE


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TAP IT - WHO ARE WETAP Group Business Processes

Sales & Marketing

Flight Operations

Ground Operations

Maintenance, Repair & Overhaul

Network Management

Airport Operations

Finance Human Resources

Logistics Audit & Legal

Health CareEnterprisePerformance

Revenue Accounting

Information Technology

Customer Experience

TAP ServiçosTAP Airline Business

Maintenance & Engineering PT

TAP, SGPS, SA

Groundforce TAP, SA PGA, SAMaintenance & Engineering BR

TAPGER, SA

TAP Information Technology

InitiativesSolution delivery

(Projects)

Solution mngmnt. & support

(service lines)


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THE SOLUTION IMPLEMENTED


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THE SOLUTION IMPLEMENTED● MTMS system went live on November 2014 comprising a mobile

and back office user interface and wireless connectivity

● Supports 5 tool stores at LIS TAP M&E premises and managesaround 20.000 tools and 700 GSEs

● Tools are barcoded (or the drawers) and GSEs are coded with 2passive UHF RFID tags Class1 Gen2 with a unique serial number

● One single tag form factor applies to all GSEs

● As a closed-loop solution, an internal EPC standard providesinteroperability with other business solutions across TAP M&E

● MC9190z handheld readers are used to collect the data (noportals and no middleware)

● Back office provides management with information captured frommobile side. It’s fully integrated with MRO legacy platform andERP platform

Scoping Project Production


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THE SOLUTION IMPLEMENTED

2’45” to be included(60 MB)



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THE PAIN POINTS TO ADDRESS


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For GSEs

● GSE movements are not registered at all . Therefore significant time is spent searching misplaced GSE

● Often equipment is not returned once booked by production

● There is no reliable / complete inventory

● Some GSE are only available in small quantities . This can occasionallycause critical path when GSEs are needed

● Storage areas are not optimally organised and consequently not fully used

● Inoperable GSE are “red labelled” and left on the hangar floor. Searching isrequired to gather them for delivery to Repair

● Is not possible to know the equipment downtime when it goes for Repair

Lack of visibility and traceability


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For Tools

● Limited visibility of tools on shop-floor

● Can have missing generic tools

● Searching can be very time-consuming

● There is limited reporting / audit capability

● Tools lent / borrowed to other hangars often not returned

Poor/Limited visiblity and traceability

Poor/Limited accuracy and reliability


With previous offline solution


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THE CHALLENGES


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THE CHALLENGES

● Getting the best performance from RFID tags on metal-rich environments (readrange vs radiated power vs tag attachment vs form factor)

● Process & physical changes (critical GSEs):• Optimizing storage areas. Each one is identified with an RFID tag• Register all movements between different storage/repair areas• Hangar support to perform more inventory checks to help reconciliation

of supposed & actual GSE storage locations• No more self-service usage

● Tools difficult to tag with RFID. Too many form factors and too many tools

● Active technology too expensive. Passive technology fits within the business case

● Providing the best Wi-Fi network coverage within the tool stores, maximizing thewireless coverage areas with many blind spots and walls:

• You should be able to read a barcode in the most concealed corner

● Make sure that everyone understands the potential benefits of RFID technologyand carefully manage user expectations:

• System might need time for fine-tuning to perform optimally• Stakeholders should be aware of the benefits that can be realistically achieved from the system



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WHAT WE MANAGED TO ACHIEVE


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WHAT WE MANAGED TO ACHIEVE (TOOLS & GSES)

● As long as everyone follows the new business rules, both technologies provideenhanced visibility and increase the availability of tools and GSEs

● At any given time is possible to track any tool or GSE, allowing management tocheck if there are tools left in use on an aircraft at the end of a hangar visit

● External monitors on tool stores provide visibility for mechanics about their toolsdelivered/received/being used

● Interface with ERP and MRO solutions automatically change the tool/GSEcondition from “unserviceable” to “serviceable” or vice-versa

● Human error still remains but at a residual level

● Findings about tools were therefore reduced by as much as 75%. Misplacedtools still remain but error diagnoses is much faster and easier


Real time visibility and traceability


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Fast search and inventory

Up to 80% less time Up to 75% less time

Inventory Search

(*) 15 wheeled stairs, 80 sq. meter area

0,00

1,00

2,00

3,00

4,00

Min

ute

sScan vs manual results (*)

Manual RFID scan Manual

WHAT WE MANAGED TO ACHIEVE (GSES ONLY)



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Quality&

Safety

FOD mitigation

Visibility

ContinuousImprovementTraceability

Readiness&

Availability

WHAT WE MANAGED TO ACHIEVEOVERALL BENEFITS OF BOTH TECHNOLOGIES


SN tool PC0000004722 has been dispatched on 15 Oct to tool store hangar 5, after being “booked in” 10 days beforeon tool store hangar 6

SN tool PC0000004722 has been dispatched on 15 Oct to tool store hangar 5, after being “booked in” 10 days beforeon tool store hangar 6


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LESSONS LEARNED


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LESSONS LEARNED● Pay special attention to change management. RFID has a learning curve:

• Involve smart people in the early stages of training and RFID adoption• Patience and hard work are essential ingredients

● Some process change is inevitable especially when dealing with metal environments,otherwise RFID technology just adds a cost

● Make sure to test different form factors and don’t rely on one single brand. Tags andantennas are permanently evolving:

• Experimentation is necessary in a test setup with the actual objects to be tagged and the actualoperating environment

● Don’t expect tags to provide the same read range as referred in the datasheet (30%to 40% reduction should be expected) but …you can always try a spacer

● RFID tags proven to be a reliable and robust choice to withstand harsh conditionsand provide accurate information. No need to replace any tag so far

● Design and prepare for Wi-Fi outage. It will happen once in a while

● RFID and BC combined proved to be trustworthy providing business value and newbenefits

Scoping ProductionProject


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WHAT COMES NEXT


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WHAT COMES NEXT

What we have done What was planned

2014A/C Tools & GSE

management

2012Engine partsinventory and

traceability

Life vestsmanagement & inspection

Chemicalproducts

Emergency equip. & Oxygen generator

Road map for TAP M&E RFID program

2015 2016 2017 2017A350 XWB

part marking

BUT ……

● TAP has currently an ongoing privatization process

● The orders for A350 XWB have been canceled

● MTMS should be extended to TAP M&E external line maintenance stations

Still … wee keep on planning


Carlos Quinta

BTA & Head of RFID Competence CenterTAP Information Technology

Headquarters at Lisbon AirportCell: +351 926 602 090

[email protected]

Thank you

tap portugal mtms final update

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