RFID Technology - In Manufacturing
As well as the obvious 'Supply Chain' benefits, we are also experiencing huge interest in terms of re-usable pallets, totes, containers, skips etc that effectively live in a plant. Traditionally such items have either been bar-coded, or identified by a physical number or code.
By RFID Tagging such items, we can easily track the movements of a tote, count how many laps it has done on a conveyor, and avoid common issues with Bar Codes (e.g. misreads).
RFID is a science, and should not be underestimated. The temptation is to say that a tag can be fitted to anything and read from anywhere at any distance, which is simply not true.
Sales people will make huge claims about ability, but when it comes down to it – albeit a fantastic and revolutionary innovation – a lot of RFID projects fail because of one or all of the following:-
- A simple idea becomes a massive project which is not cost effective.
- Incorrect choice of tag for the application.
- Incorrect positioning of the tag on the item.
- Incorrect choice of reading equipment.
- Assumption is that it is an out-of-the-box technology that can be picked from a catalogue.
At Cimlogic, we have undertaken projects at major Blue Chip manufacturers and have gone through all of the above learning curve, so that you don’t have to. We work with our RFID Consultative partners for specifying and scoping the physical technology, and then we develop the associated Enterprise systems in house to meet your exact specifications.
In order for the technology to be a convincing one, we do site based demonstrations, where we can fit a tag to a part of a moving process and monitor its movements. This sounds simple, but it will clearly demonstrate to you what is and is not possible with RFID.
With the correct application, the ROI is enormous and well and truly overrides the concerns of the cost of the tags (Which can be upwards of 5 pence each depending on the application).