Lufthansa Technik Logistik Services (LTLS), a wholly owned subsidiary
of Lufthansa Technik AG, has developed an app called Gate, which now
allows components to be identified using an industrial tablet. The
Gate app will gradually replace the Gate boxes used to date. Not only
will this development allow portable, convenient and flexible
identification of aircraft material, rather it also digitizes the
process fully.

LTLS already developed a new procedure for material identification in
the international repair cycle in 2014 called gate.control. This
material identification procedure allowed direct shipping of parts
from the customer to the closest MRO location and back again if
necessary. Using a Gate box of around one cubic meter in size, the
components including name plate and documents were photographed,
scanned and identified at the customer's location. The Gate app is
part of the digitalization strategy of LTLS.

Now the large box is being replaced by a robust industrial tablet
with the preinstalled Gate app which, thanks to an ergonomic hand
strap, can be held with just one hand. Each component can be
photographed on all sides, the documents scanned, possible damage and
packaging documented and the component data recorded with the
integrated barcode scanner. The data is then sent to the Lufthansa
Technik network and booked in the central service center, with
forwarding then commissioned to the relevant MRO location. The tablet
with Gate app is intended primarily for use in the storage and
material handling areas of service partners or directly with the
customer.

"The Gate app not only allows components to be recorded faultlessly,
it will also speed up their identification and replenishment in case
of defects," says Andreas Boehle, Project Manager Gate app at LTLS.
"Thanks to the low costs and simple handling, we can roll out the
portable tablet worldwide in future and further reduce turnaround
times in the supply chain."