Aerospace/Defense Industry Survey Indicates Many Unprepared to Meet RFID Mandate
November 15, 2004
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EL SEGUNDO, Calif.—A majority of companies have no formal plans in place to support the Jan. 1, 2005 U.S. federal government requirement to initiate use of radio frequency identification (RFID), according to the third annual Aerospace and Defense Industry Survey conducted by Computer Sciences Corp. in association with the Aerospace Industry Association and Aviation Week and Space Technology magazine.
More than 160 companies representing all major aerospace and defense segments responded to the survey. Overall business and technology topics were also included in the survey. Government initiatives continue to dominate the industry with more than 80 percent of respondents indicating they have government customers.
"A surprisingly large percentage of the companies surveyed indicated that they had no finalized plans to implement RFID," said Pete Wiese, leader of the aerospace and defense practice within CSC's Consulting Group. "However, it was encouraging to see that nearly 75 percent of the companies are aware of the requirement and have initiated dialogue."
According to the survey, most of the respondents have or will have an RFID/unique identifier requirement, but almost three quarters are unsure how they are going to pay for or use these technologies. Similarly, most respondents believe that government initiatives for more frequent program reporting or earned value management mandates do not apply to them. However, if the government does mandate more frequent program reporting, only 37 percent of respondents feel equipped to respond in a timely manner.
When asked to rank the industry forces that would affect their organizations over the next two years, 77 percent of respondents identified information security and the protection of intellectual property as having the greatest impact.
A total of 349 respondents from 160 companies completed the six-page questionnaire from May to July. The responses came from North America, primarily the United States.