Boeing, in partnership with Southwest Airlines and Aeroxchange, has completed what they say is the aerospace industry’s first parts shipment accompanied by a digital 8130-3 certificate (an electronic version of the FAA-governed 8130-3 Authorized Release Certificate).
Boeing says this electronic certificate can improve supply chain security by preventing unapproved spare parts from entering the aerospace aftermarket.
“Together with Southwest Airlines and Aeroxchange, we are transforming how the industry ensures part authenticity and supply chain security,” said William Ampofo, senior vice president, parts & distribution and supply chain, at Boeing Global Services.
The FAA Form 8130-3 certifies the airworthiness of aircraft parts, components and articles. The digital 8130 certificate replaces the traditional paper certificate with a secure, encrypted file that authenticates the authorised signer’s identity in order to ensure document integrity.
Boeing led a pilot project to generate and gain authorisation for this digital solution. Recently, a battery serviced at Boeing’s product repair services centre in Davie, Florida, was the first part shipped using the electronic form, transmitted using the Aeroxchange eARC platform. Southwest Airlines received the battery at its Dallas facility, verifying its authenticity and airworthiness through the new digital process.
“The security benefit of electronic forms aligns to Southwest’s value of a safety-first culture and will be of significant benefit in the aviation industry,” said Landon Nitschke, senior vice president, technical operations, Southwest Airlines.
Leveraging X.509 security protocols, public/private key encryption, and blockchain-ready formats, the digital 8130 certificate is designed to create an immutable, verifiable record of part authenticity throughout its lifecycle.
“Aeroxchange is honoured to have partnered with Boeing and Southwest Airlines to transmit this first-ever eARC document providing a highly secure, verifiable digital record of the Authorized Release Certificate, Form 8130-3,” said Al Koszarek, president and CEO of Aeroxchange. “This landmark event is a milestone on the industry’s journey to prevent unapproved parts from entering the aviation supply chain.”
Boeing will continue rolling out the use of the digital 8130 certificate across all nine of its product repair services centres, as each centre receives authorisation from the FAA to use electronic systems for recordkeeping, electronic signatures and electronic manuals.
Expanding the use of digital authorised release certificates was a key recommendation from the Aviation Supply Chain Integrity Coalition (ASCIC), a cross-industry group dedicated to preventing unapproved parts from entering the aviation supply chain. Boeing, Southwest Airlines and Aeroxchange are active members of the ASCIC.
