The Challenge: Manual Tool Control in Line Maintenance
Aircraft line maintenance environments demand strict tool accountability to avoid delays, safety incidents, and costly Foreign Object Debris (FOD). At the end of each shift, mechanics are required to perform a full inventory of their personal toolboxes to ensure no tools are left behind on the aircraft.
Traditionally performed manually, these inventory checks are time-consuming, error-prone, and labor-intensive. Tool tracking inaccuracies also impact maintenance quality, data integrity, and operational readiness.
The Vision: Seamless RFID Integration Without Changing Equipment
The project team set out to automate tool control without requiring new toolboxes or infrastructure.
The solution had to be:
Accurate – 100% reconciliation at shift handover
Fast – Inventory with a single scan
Flexible – Able to tag tools and equipment of all sizes and materials
User-Friendly – Easily adopted by frontline technicians
“We needed a solution that would deliver inventory checks with a single scan, quickly and with 100 percent accuracy,” said the Executive General Manager, Line Services. “The interface had to be easy-to-use, while the wide variety of tools to track meant we wanted the flexibility to be able to tag tools and devices of any size.”
The Solution: RFID Tool Control With Xerafy
The pilot project was launched at the company’s Hong Kong site, targeting the daily tool inventory process for over 3,200 tools used across line maintenance operations. The solution included:
Xerafy PICO series small RFID tags, rugged and compact, retrofitted on hand tools and devices using adhesives and heat-shrink protection
A mobile tool tracking app connected to the MRO’s back-office system
Handheld RFID readers for fast inventory scans
Xerafy’s proven experience in aviation tool tracking, combined with its engineering support for RFID retrofit, made it the partner of choice.
The Results: 85% Faster, 100% Accurate, Fully Automated
The RFID-based solution brought immediate and measurable results:
Tool inventory checks reduced from 20 minutes to under 3 minutes
17 minutes saved per mechanic per shift, boosting productivity
Full traceability and reconciliation, reducing the risk of FOD
Real-time inventory data available for reporting, maintenance, and forecasting
Improved tool lifecycle management, reducing losses and downtime
Looking Ahead
With the success of the project, the company is now positioned to scale automated tool control across additional MRO operations. The digitization of frontline workflows marks a key step in their broader strategy to drive safety, efficiency, and compliance in line with the growing demands of the global MRO market.
Xerafy’s RFID Tool Control solutions are designed to support aviation MRO operators in modernizing their processes, safely, efficiently, and at scale.
Xerafy is a pioneer in RFID for Tool Control, bringing to market several innovations that enable advanced tool control identification and automation capabilities.
In addition to a complete range of field-proven RFID tags available off-the-shelf, Xerafy offers Custom RFID Tags services, covering everything from a personalization service bureau to custom-design engineering capabilities.
