RFID on the factory floor
RFID goes beyond mere automatic identification technology and begins to play a key role in storing information that is important for employees at their workstations. Information that can be saved on RFID tags includes:
- technical and production requirements
- periodic maintenance schedules
- pre-determined work sequence (quantity depends on memory capacity)
- several recent readings (quantity depends on memory capacity)
- measurement limits
- lists of necessary spare parts.
Management and warehouse staff appreciate the potential applications of RFID technology, considering those areas where accurate data collection at specific times and good access to it for reading purposes are required. The use of RFID technology and leveraging the ability to access and update important information on tags can be useful for maintenance services.
The implementation of RFID identification technology in a plant can take place in areas where it is difficult to maintain good readability of barcodes or where wireless technology cannot be used. For example, current information cannot be obtained from some remote production equipment that collects essential data where local wireless networks have not been installed.
RFID tags can be used to record the last official technical inspection of a device, the last error code, and the repair performed, allowing technicians or engineers to make decisions based on knowledge of the current technical condition of that device.
Radio identification technology allows maintenance staff to obtain important, decisive information that would otherwise be unavailable or difficult to access. For example, only an RFID tag can capture data sent from an operator’s instrument and store it, which allows the operator to make adjustments to a specific parameter saved on the tag. Additionally, some tags can store a larger amount of data or information, for example, about the last ten readings. This data will allow the staff to automatically capture the intensity of changes in the evaluated parameter on the spot, which will enable them to detect and remove faults more precisely. Technicians dealing with troubleshooting can benefit from the fact that the RFID tag stores information regarding scheduled preventive maintenance activities, which in turn will allow for the execution of scheduled work when a strategically important device or machine is not operating.
With the development of RFID technology and the decrease in its implementation costs, the largest companies have become interested in it. A number of them have made significant investments in Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) systems, in this case, in systems supporting the management of the company’s technical equipment. Wanting to get the most benefit from these investments, they combine radio identification technology with software that changes records on the tags. This allows them to update and supplement information about the progress of key activities. Such information can be easily transferred to RFID tags, and then read from these tags and sent to the EAM system, making reports more accurate and planning more reliable.
A note for buyers
As is the case with all new technologies, the use of radio identification carries certain risks. Passive tags, which would be most suitable for warehouse applications depending on the frequency, cost from 10 to 50 cents apiece. If we compare this with the price of a barcode label, we get a 10-50-fold increase in expenses just for the tags.
Another type of risk is the fact that some liquids or metals stored in the warehouse can interfere with transmission carried out by radio waves. However, a properly developed system design and the manufacturing technology of radio tags can remedy this. For example: at low frequencies, tags placed on metal objects work better and can be successfully used. However, this must be kept in mind when considering the use of RFID technology.
On the horizon
With the proper use of the capabilities created by RFID technology, enriched data environments can be obtained, because restricting access to wireless communication often prevents employees from accessing essential information in the workplace. For example, in the sphere of maintenance, companies can expect significant savings in time and expenditure by allowing employees to view error codes or the latest data readings.
Although in many respects radio identification technology is still considered immature, it has been used since the 1970s. And it is only recently that it has been used more frequently as a result of the publicity generated by Wal-Mart and the US Department of Defense, demanding the use of better technology for marking, tracking, and identifying products. If more integrators of personnel support systems reach for RFID solutions, both the costs and risks associated with this technology will become significantly lower.