ISO 21849:2006 specifies the requirements for a product identification and traceability schema for life cycle management of aircraft and space products/parts. It specifies the minimum essential identification information needed for traceability of a product for its life cycle. It also provides the data structures for use with automatic identification technologies that support product/part life cycle data management activities.

ISO 21849:2006 defines a structure and rules for establishing a unique identifier for product/part identification and traceability. The rules and structure provide sufficient options to support various business practices. They provide the minimum amount of standardization required to support interoperability, improved business processes and efficiency across multiple users and applications of machine-readable media technologies.

ISO 21849:2006 also defines and establishes repeatable processes to allow efficient exchange of product data for life cycle product/part traceability, configuration, reliability, maintenance, and product performance management purposes.

It specifies the data carriers appropriate for representing the product data in a machine-readable form and associated dimensional and quality parameters.

Industries or trading partners will need to develop specific implementation guidelines to employ the principles defined in ISO 21849:2006.

Although primarily intended for aircraft and space products/parts, ISO 21849:2006 may be used for other products/parts where desired.