Radio frequency identification (RFID) technology has been in the spotlight for its use in tracking items from manufacturing sites through distribution centres, onto trucks and the retail floor.
But what about assets that don’t go out of the door?
Whether it is a drill bit, an engine hoist or a piece of medical-testing equipment, an enterprise needs to know where it is, who is using it, and when its service life expires.
Any item used in a work process is eligible for intelligent asset management with RFID.
And the return on investment can be substantial.
Valuable assets, valuable data
By tagging assets with RFID labels and hardened asset tags that can be identified by readers at key points in a work site, an organisation can track more items in more locations with more accuracy than with paper-based or even barcode systems. That means more useful data about when, where and by whom assets are used.
Are consumables being used at too fast a rate?
Before RFID, an organisation might know it was spending too much, but by using RFID the inefficiency can be pinpointed.
Are tools being misplaced, or being hoarded by employees?
With RFID, wasteful patterns can be identified and you can design ways to correct them.
Is safety equipment being used properly?
An RFID system can alert managers to when it is time for refresher training.
In just about any setting, RFID can be a powerful solution.
With stationary and mobile readers installed throughout a facility, RFID is always on, freeing up personnel for more critical tasks.
An enterprise-class, WiFi network can establish a seamless link between RFID and an enterprise’s IT architecture, minimising data-entry lagtime, human errors and infrastructure costs.
Since an asset-management system is completely internal, it can take whatever form the user wants unlike a supply-chain management system, which requires coordination with suppliers and customers.
There are benefits for almost every industry.
In manufacturing, indirect materials such as tools are crucial components of the manufacturing process.
A plant’s tool or parts crib is often a hub of activity.
But without RFID, the process is often monitored manually, and items may not always be checked in or out properly.
Case study: Bassett Industrial Supply, Oregon
An RFID tool-crib installation helped Portland, Oregon-based Bassett Industrial Supply take long-time customer Wah Chang in Albany to the next level in asset management.
The specialty metals producer’s stockroom was manned during only one shift; at other times, employees needed supervisors to gain access.
There wasn’t enough data on which departments were using which items, so accurate budgeting was next to impossible.
In partnership with WinWare, Bassett implemented an automated RFID portal system that includes employee identification for access control purposes.
The use of consumables such as gloves and batteries dropped, and each tool’s repair history can be tracked; more than twenty-five departments now share the cost of materials according to their actual usage, and the company’s always-open stockroom makes everyone more efficient.
The Wah Chang implementation bags and tags small items with reusable RFID tags, and Bassett has found the durability of the tags very useful.
It says the system was implemented in June 2005 with an initial supply of 5000 tags, and apparently, it hasn’t had to order any more of them.
Courtesy of Packaging Digest
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