Burlington, Ontario -- (SBWIRE) -- 12/01/2011 -- “By monitoring assets such as tooling, raw materials, work in progress, computers, vehicles, and any moveable assets, companies can know quickly, exactly, and securely where assets are located,” says John Rattray, of Memex Automation. “RFID is eliminating costly mistakes, resulting in fewer manufacturing errors. These errors were due to wrong parts used or wrong specification settings. RFID is being used to locate semi-finished goods and eliminate delays due to lost or hard-to-find inventories. RFID works hand in hand with operating equipment efficiency, lean, and Six Sigma principles.”

In a recent issue of Quality Digest there was a profile about the fact that radio frequency identification (RFID) has become an indispensable tool that allows manufacturers to see information about assets in real time. Applications built around RFID help report immediate deviations and exceptions to any process. RFID has allowed companies to build authentication and confirmation into previously error-prone processes.

Active RFID is a proven robust wireless technology employed across a number of vertical markets. 2.45G Hz is the most prevalent frequency range for wireless connectivity. Leveraging on this frequency, active RFID can achieve reliable read ranges of up to 260 ft in free air. The ability of active RFID to proliferate a signal throughout a building is essential in maintaining such reliability. Active tags broadcast their identity to listeners that record the event. Memex tags are housed in water-resistant, high-temperature polyethylene terephthalate (PET) or acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) materials.

RFID allows manufacturers to identify, time stamp, and confirm the location of all measured elements. The technology can help minimize production downtime, optimize material and parts inventories, and improve and maintain optimal labor output. The payback is often measured in weeks and the return on investment is typically 10 percent to 100 percent, depending on the value of the assets tracked.

In addition to improving manufacturing performance, RFID is being used to improve safety. For example, it can authenticate operators to ensure that only properly trained personnel have access to potentially dangerous equipment or sensitive information.

Benefits:
- Real-time tracking of inventory, part kits, and subassemblies
- Maintains current item information on the tag, which eliminates the need for separate paperwork on assembly status and content
- Can automatically notify the central product database when each process has been completed
- Field personnel can use RFID tag information to determine product features, date of manufacture, and revision levels.
- When errors are detected, the ability to track at the item level reduces the impact of quality recalls.