Are you considering implementing an RFID Asset Tracking system into your company but unsure on how it all works? Hopefully this post can help detail some of the key takeaways from this industry and help you to consider an Asset Tracking system implementation for your company.
A typical RFID setup consists of tags on the assets looking to be tracked and RFID readers that look to find and communicate with these tags. This communication works via the readers sending out a signal that is picked up by the tags, in turn generating a response from the tag back to the reader. When dealing with an RFID setup we tend to operate within the Ultra High Frequency (UHF) range as opposed to other lower frequency options. This is mainly due to the fact that UHF is capable of providing more accurate data over longer ranges making it more applicable within a wider majority of real-world scenarios. For both the readers and the tags there are a wide variety of options available depending on the requirements of the use case. As far as the readers are concerned they can range from handheld readers similar in design to a mobile phone that can be used when walking around site to find any assets within a few meters. Whereas, you can also find RFID readers that are designed to pick up location data of assets that are 20-50 meters away as well as readers that act as portals/gateways that will find and report on any tags that pass through them.
When it comes to RFID tags there are two main types of tag, Passive and Active. Passive tags work through being activated by the readers signal/output to produce a response. When they are not receiving a signal they sit dormant until activated. Because of this they require no external power supplied to them meaning that zero batteries are required and there is no need for a changeover of tags. On the contrary, Active tags are battery powered allowing them to constantly emit a signal at a continuous rate to be picked up by antenna readers to report on their location. This means that Active tracking can be used to track an assets movements within real-time with the option for a display on a map of exactly where the asset currently is. As Active tags are battery powered this does mean that a changeover of batteries is required with a typical lifespan ranging anywhere from months to years depending on the tag and the rate at which it is emitting a signal. What we tend to find when comparing the two is that Passive tags are typically significantly cheaper than Active tags and tend to be more versatile with their ease of use and applicability, however, Active tags tend to be more durable and can provide a level of precision above that of which Passive tags can provide.
With a typical asset tracking scenario all of the location based data is collected and then fed into our in-house designed software Lime. Within Lime users can view information on the whereabouts of their assets based off of the location that they were last seen at and the amount of time this asset has been in this location, the dwell time. The history of each asset can also be seen so that management can determine how well utilized each asset is and if further resources can be spent to meet the demand for certain assets or where resources can be brought back where they are not currently needed. Lime can be scaled to match any number of assets and is not limited to a number of locations regardless of whether these locations are indoors or outdoors. Alongside Lime we have a companion mobile app called Asset Inventory that allows users to manually locate assets if they wish to do so and take advantage of the Geiger counter style feature to locate the exact whereabouts of an asset.
Now we know the basics of how an RFID Asset Tracking system operates it's time to discuss some of the key benefits that users can tend to find from implementing one. The benefits that are most commonly seen include the increase in efficiency that follows implementation and the reduction in future spending and expenses required. An increase in efficiency comes from the elimination of unnecessary time wasting where an employee is walking around site looking for one specific asset that they need. This process wastes time and often leads to the unnecessary purchasing of a copy of this asset when the original cannot be found. This is where we tend to see the cost savings benefits come into play. Management can now see where any sought after assets are located and how many of them they have that are currently available. This means that accidental purchases where an item is purchased when a spare is available on site will not be occurring anymore. In our experience, we have often found that unknowingly companies can be spending 30% more than what they should have been simply due to a lack of traceability regarding their own inventory.
At Codegate we have a wealth of knowledge on how to best integrate and work with RFID and Asset Tracking systems. If you wish to start a conversation with us regarding how we could implement an Asset Tracking system into your workplace or if you have any other questions please contact us using the information below.