EasyJet Implements New FOD Technology

Foreign object damage (FOD) is a such an immense danger to the MRO industry that all facilities must adopt procedures to track the daily use of maintenance tools. There are many systems a company can choose to mitigate the likelihood of FOD, including custom boxes, electronic scanners and old-fashioned paper system of signing out tools.  

This last year, the EasyJet’s hangar at Luton airport is in the process of moving from a ‘sign-in/sign-out’ paper system to a high-tech tagging protocol. Using the CribMaster Inventory Management System, the hangar now has an automated way to track tools that allows workers to be digitally identified and assigned tools simply by walking through a machine.

The tool management works through a tagging system in which all tools have unique codes that are recognized by the CribMaster system. When a worker walks out of the tool supplies area, not only does the machine verbally identify the worker, it also tracks what tools he/she is carrying out into the hangar.

At anytime, employees can see how many tools are out on the floor and who has signed out the equipment. To return the tools, employees step on the CribMaster mat to activate the tool portal, swipe their EasyJet ID cards and are able to check the screen to see the tooling they are returning. At the end of each shift, the system creates a report showing tooling status of the hangar.