Behind Closed Doors:

RFID for Closed Loop Material and Asset Tracking

Editorials, articles and blogs touting the wonders of, or casting a shadow of doubt on the merits of RFID are often focused on highly publicized supply chain initiatives in retail, pharmaceutical and defense. In general RFID adoption is slower than hoped, as implementers remain challenged with nagging technical hurdles and more importantly, demonstrating to their business partners that RFID is ready for prime time and can deliver value.

While the grand vision of an RFID-enabled supply chain maybe a future state to be strived for, there are less ambitious opportunities for RFID that can realize near-term rewards. These "closed loop" solutions are driven by initiatives to address internal business problems rather than customer or regulatory mandates. The innovator in this case isn’t IT, the equipment vendor or industry standards body but the exhausted shop floor supervisor, manufacturing engineer or buyer who spends hour after hour reacting to exceptions, delays and shortages. They want timely and accurate visibility to work-in-process and inventory — automated alerts for replenishment requirements and process flow exceptions. Often stated goals are shorter cycle times, scrap reduction and improved on-time delivery performance.

So why RFID?

Can’t the same be accomplished using bar code scanning? Regardless of the customer, the answers are virtually the same:

• We want our workforce focused on their primary job; we don’t want to place additional requirements on them that are not directly related to moving, building or shipping product.
• We need accurate, real-time information to drive upstream activities. We cannot afford the inherent delays of manual operations or the risk of missed scans.
• Eventually we want to extend use of RFID to our supply chain and integrate with our suppliers and customers.

Where can RFID be used?

• Receiving – tags for inbound material are read to automatically update inventory upon receipt, direct delivery to point of use or warehouse.
• WIP – work order or material tags are read at various locations providing real-time tracking of material movement through the shop floor. Automatic alerts can be sent when cycle time in a work cell exceeds predefined limits or when a work order is ready for the next operation.
• Kanban – tags are read as material is issued from a kanban bin or the bin tag is read when empty to generate replenishment signals to the warehouse, buyer or directly to the supplier.
• Serial/Lot Control – automatically track the issue of serial or lot controlled materials to a process, work order or shipment.
• Quality Assurance – tags for product moved to a material hold or scrap location are read to generate replenishment orders.
• Shipping – tags for items in a shipment are read during staging or dock operations to validate customer order shipments and trigger for advanced shipment notices, inventory and billing.
• Tooling and Fixed Assets – track location of production tooling and fixed assets. Perform fixed asset inventory without disrupting equipment operation or wasted time looking for asset tags to scan.

So how do we get started?

There are many factors to be considered in an RFID implementation. Work environment, product and process characteristics can significantly impact the performance of RFID. Start with a pilot deployment choosing a particular process or product line where operating conditions can be controlled and there is a clear, measurable opportunity for improvement. While risks must be minimized, the scope of the pilot needs to be large enough to deliver the results required to identify issues and produce the results needed to justify further roll out. Educate your workforce; involve them in defining the new processes and be open to their concerns. There is a fair amount of trial and error in regards to tag and reader configuration — be prepared for less than perfect initial results and lots of experimenting!

Pragmatyxs offers a full line services, hardware and software to implement RFID from feasibility and process definition to pilot and full-scale deployment.

Are you ready to innovate? See us at www.pragmatyxs.com

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