RFID Applications

1
RFID Applications

• Henry C. Co
• Technology and Operations Management,
• California Polytechnic and State University

Reference http//www.abc-computers.com/Products/
RFID/RFIDApplications.htm

2
Wal-Mart

• In June 2003, Wal-Mart announced that they would
  require their top 100 suppliers to provide RFID
  tags on pallets and cases by January 1, 2005, and
  extend this requirement to all suppliers by 2006.

3
Wal-Mart Industry Pace-Setter

• Pilot implementation in Texas
• Three Distribution Centers (DC) that support
  approximately 150 stores (about 5 of the almost
  3,000 Wal-Mart stores)
  
• Suppliers to identify inventory going to Wal-Mart
  in Texas with RFID technology.
  
• For the pilot, suppliers are not required to
  provide 100 carton-level identification.
  
• Wal-Mart also stated that the RFID chip must be
  field programmable for later implementation
  changes. Wal-Mart affirmed its commitment the
  96-bit ePC standard.
• The tags must be human and RFID-readable.
  Wal-Mart desires 100 accuracy on RFID read
  rates.

http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RFID
4

• RFID provides a quick, flexible, and reliable
  electronic means to detect, identify, track, and
  hence manage a variety of items.
  
• In World War II, the British used it to make sure
  incoming planes were theirs, not Germany's.

5
More than just bar-coding

• All Gillette Mach 3 razor blades, for instance,
  have the same code. With RFID tags, each packet
  of Mach 3 blades would have its own unique
  Electronic Product Code (EPC) embedded in a
  microchip no bigger than a piece of glitter.
• Projections vary wildly, but analysts say today's
  1 billion worth of RFID sales could hit 4
  billion by 2008 and 10 billion in a decade.

6
Shipping and Receiving

• Incoming pallets or cartons with smart labels can
  be automatically routed for cross-docking or
  delivery directly to the manufacturing line.
  
• Fast-reading RFID enables instant identification
  of the shipping container plus all of the
  individual items inside.
  
• For shipping, RFID readers can help packers
  quickly locate and aggregate all the items needed
  to complete an order.

7

• Intel recently launched a pilot to track tagged
  cases of microchips as it packed and shipped them
  to an OEM customer.

http//www.rfidjournal.com/article/archive/4/0
8

• A field test at one of Chevron-Texaco's offshore
  platforms in the Gulf of Mexico provides insights
  into how RFID can be used in shipping/receiving
  operations.
• Chevron-Texaco is now looking at other pilot
  projects.

http//www.rfidjournal.com/article/archive/4/0
9
Warehousing

• Workers scan shelves and bins to automatically
  detect storage location of the sought items.
  
• To detect items that are stored in the wrong
  location and alert operators to the problem.
  
• Enables items to "self-report" their locations,
  rather than requiring human intervention to find
  them, thus reducing errors, saving labor, and
  lowering costs.

10

• When PG's facility in Spain boosted throughput,
  the loading dock became a bottleneck.
  
• RFID increased the speed at which pallets could
  be loaded on trucks -- and it eliminated mistakes
  and cut costs

http//www.rfidjournal.com/article/archive/4/0
11
Production

• Work-in-process tracking and routing
• Integrated with industrial control systems to
  route items automatically through assembly
  processes.
  
• Many automotive manufacturers apply RFID tags to
  chassis to track them through painting stations.
  
  
• Especially effective for routing and tracking
  materials in clean-room applications.
  
• Serial numbers/lot ID data encoded during
  manufacturing provides lifetime tracking and
  product authentication.
  
• To verify eligibility for returns and warranty
  repairs and detect counterfeit products.
  
• Maintenance history can be stored on the tag and
  updated whenever service is performed.

12

• Boeing uses RFID tags to track parts as they move
  through its facility in Wichita, Kansas.
  
• The system reduces costs and gives managers
  visibility into the parts pipeline.

http//www.rfidjournal.com/article/archive/4/0
13

• After deploying an RFID receiving system,
  Paramount Farms cut its operating costs, improved
  its relationship with growers and avoided having
  to invest in expanding its facilities.

http//www.rfidjournal.com/article/archive/4/0
14

• BuildNow's CubeInfo system uses RFID to
  dramatically improve the process.

• More than 1 million concrete samples are tested
  in Singapore each year.

http//www.rfidjournal.com/article/archive/4/0
15

• GM needed to boost production of its Hummer H2 to
  meet demand, but its manufacturing facility had
  limited space for parts.
  
• The automaker turned to RFID to keep the plant
  humming.

http//www.rfidjournal.com/article/archive/4/0
16

• By integrating RFID with its new assembly line,
  Club Car has cut production time per golf car to
  46 minutes from 88, improved its ability to
  customize carsand saved millions of dollars.

http//www.rfidjournal.com/article/archive/4/0
17

• Johnson Controls makes car and truck seats that
  must be delivered to automakers in precise order
  for just-in-time manufacturing.
  
• The company has deployed a 13.56 MHz RFID system
  that has proven to be 99.9 percent accurate.

http//www.rfidjournal.com/article/archive/4/0
18
Logistics

• During material handling operations such as truck
  loading or unloading, RFID enables identification
  of entire contents of mixed pallets all at once.
  
• Managing pallets, totes, and other returnable
  transit containers
  
• Enables identification of returnable containers.
  Companies can then find their own pallets in
  shipping yards or docks stacked with thousands of
  items belonging to dozens of companies.

19

• In warehouse yard management operations, active
  RFID tags enable wireless, long-range searches of
  numerous pallets without having to take the time
  to find and scan a bar code or read a serial
  number on each object.
• RFID tracking provides an audit trail that
  shippers can use to bill customers if materials
  are not returned.

20
DHL Worldwide Express

• DHL Worldwide Express handles 160 million
  packages a year
  
• RFID program manager Trevor Peirce
• In 2003, standing next to a conveyor belt at its
  Helsinki gateway, watching computerized RFID
  scanners identify packages inside passing cargo
  containers at the rate of 300 items per second.
• "This is amazing technology when you see it
  working, and it's all fine-tuned."
  
• CIO Steve Bandrowczak
• "RFID clearly can help customers by reducing
  inventory cycles, reducing lead times."

21

• Reusable supply chain assets often seem to sprout
  legs and walk off on their own.
  
• Air Canada used an innovative RFID system from
  Scanpak to slash unexplained losses and improve
  food cart utilization globally

http//www.rfidjournal.com/article/archive/4/0
22

• In Singapore and Helsinki DHL tested it in
  anticipation of tracking the 160 million packages
  it ships annually.

23

• Managing more than 50,000 inbound freight
  containers and 30,000 outbound trailers annually
  is a logistical nightmare.
  
• But NYK Logistics has found a truckload of
  savings by using an RFID yard-management system.

http//www.rfidjournal.com/article/archive/4/0
24

• A project to secure cargo containers from seaport
  to seaport shows that RFID can track shipments
  with 100 percent accuracy, improve safety and
  deliver some compelling financial benefits to
  importers.

http//www.rfidjournal.com/article/archive/4/0
25

• Canus, a maker of goat's milk soap, is deploying
  RFID to cut distribution costs, keep products
  from spoiling in transit and meet Wal-Mart's
  tagging requirements ahead of schedule

http//www.rfidjournal.com/article/archive/4/0
26

• By using RFID to track shipments within its
  supply chain, KiMs, a Danish potato-chip maker,
  not only spiced up its sales but also cut the fat
  from its inventory and workforce.

http//www.rfidjournal.com/article/archive/4/0
27
Pharmaceutical

• Blind/vision-impaired
• Compact reading device identifies contents of
  prescription bottle text-to-speech conversion
  software reads" the drug contents to the
  patient.
• Ensure patients take correct medication. Other
  information, such as dosage instructions and drug
  interaction warnings, may also be encoded.
  
• RFID to manage movement of medications and
  containers through assembly and packaging lines
  to ensure medicines are put into correctly
  labeled packages.
• Paperless audit trail provides high integrity,
  accountable supply chain.

28
Healthcare

• RFID on patient wristbands provide tamper-proof,
  accurate identification for facility access
  control and security.
  
• Many Alzheimer's disease facilities install RFID
  readers at all their doors to lock down and sound
  alarms automatically if patients try to wander
  through.
• RFID application in the United Kingdom has
  eliminated opportunities for "baby-snatching" or
  kidnapping to occur on hospital grounds.
  
• Tracking of medication dispensing, laboratory
  samples, and blood bags.
  
• RFID saves time and improves accuracy because it
  automatically records all item movements and does
  not require human intervention to scan a bar code
  or record data on a form.

29

• FDA (2004) is determining whether hospitals can
  use RFID t identify patients and/or permit
  relevant hospital staff to access medical records.

30

• Lucile Packard Childrens Hospital uses RFID to
  track the location of its newest patients and
  ensure they wont be removed without permission.
  
• The same system is being used to track assets.

http//www.rfidjournal.com/article/archive/4/0
31
Event Management

• Guests at amusement parks and recreational
  facilities wear wristbands or ID tags with RFID
  chips
  
• Control/limit access to certain facilities.
• Track of patrons
• e.g., children may become separated from parents.
  By presenting their ID tags at "location
  stations," separated individuals can be more
  easily located.
• Cashless payment system
• Cards/wristbands with RFID chips store prepaid
  monetary value.
  
• Guests can recharge the card or wristband after
  the stored value has been depleted.

32

• An RFID locating system gives parents visiting
  Dolly's Splash Country piece of mind, because
  kids are always tracked.
  
• It also gives the park the opportunity to
  increase revenues by adding services, like
  cashless payments.

http//www.rfidjournal.com/article/archive/4/0
33
Library, Video Store

• Library materials check-in or out without
  manually handling and orienting each item.
  
• Theft detection.
• Portable computers with RFID readers take
  inventory and find misfiled materials
  
• RFID reader automatically detect missing
  materials and alert the librarian walking down an
  aisle of bookshelves.
  
• RFID readers positioned at doorways to record
  transactions and detect shoplifted items
  automatically.

34

• In Singapore's library system, all 9 million
  books, videos and DVDs are embedded with
  antitheft chips, allowing self-checkout.
  
• "With bar codes, you need to precisely align the
  reader and the tag, but with RFID even old people
  and young children can use the system," says
  library-board senior development manager Wong
  Tack Wai.

35

• Britain's CD.id project shows RFID can be used to
  track individual music CDs through the supply
  chain.
  
• The real challenge is creating a system that
  benefits everyone, including the retailer that
  wants to prevent shoplifting.

http//www.rfidjournal.com/article/archive/4/0
36

• After a national law firm installed an RFID
  system to track legal files at its Boston
  location, accuracy in locating files jumped from
  35 to 98 percentsaving tens of thousands of
  dollars in time spent looking for documents.

http//www.rfidjournal.com/article/archive/4/0
37
Retail

• In June 2003 Wal-Mart CIO Linda Dillman gave the
  firm's 100 top suppliers which provide half the
  goods on its shelves a veiled ultimatum about
  the stuff flowing into its 103 U.S. distribution
  centers.
• Vendors who don't use EPC codes on pallets and
  cases by 2005 could risk losing business.
  
• "By 2006, we'd like to roll it out with all our
  suppliers," says spokesman Tom Williams.

38

• In Arizona a busy mom with kids charges fast food
  to her American Express by flashing a key fob in
  front of a plastic box.

39

• In London the same technology helps retailer
  Marks Spencer track gourmet dinners to prevent
  spoilage.
  
• Gourmet take-home foods, supplied to 200-plus
  stores by 300 providers.
  
• RFID tags embedded in 3.5 million food trays and
  dollies, allowing the company to track the trays
  and reducing employee hands-on time 80.
  
• Setup costs for a large company can run from 100
  million to 200 million, the efficiencies can
  amount to 1 of revenues (around 100 million at
  MS)

40

• To reduce losses and boost efficiency, Woolworth
  has launched a pilot that uses RFID and other
  technologies to track products through the supply
  chain.

http//www.rfidjournal.com/article/archive/4/0
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42
Cashless Payment

• Exxon Mobil's Speedpass program
• Passive tag on key chain or active tag attached
  to car window contains unique identification
  code.
  
• RFID reader detects the tag, turns on the pump
  and automatically charges the gas purchase to the
  driver's registered credit card
  
• McDonald's now offer similar application to speed
  transactions at the counter and drive-thru
  window.

43
ExpressPay

• Carl's Jr. is testing ExpressPay
• Faster lines at the cashier
• Reduced backups at the drive-through window have
  brought in new customers.
  
• "It's a no-lose situation," says Jason LeVecke,
  grandson of the chain's founder.
  
• "It sure would be easier than fumbling around in
  my purse," says Tracey Serenka, who had her two
  sons Eric, 1, and Jason, 4--in tow at a Carl's
  Jr. recently.
• Advantage over a credit card
• No name or signature on the fob, and the account
  number differs from that on the user's regular
  card, reducing chances that crooks can steal from
  the account.

44
Security

• RFID badge and tracking systems ensure employee
  security and safeguard corporate property.
  
• RFID transponders embedded in employee personnel
  ID tags provide hands-free access to secured
  buildings and a tamper-proof form of
  identification that ensures only authorized
  personnel are admitted.
• Smart labels can also be applied to computers,
  furniture, files, and other objects for asset
  tracking and theft deterrence.

45

• When its RFID luggage-handling system goes online
  in January, the Hong Kong Airport expects to
  lower labor costs, increase capacity and improve
  security.

http//www.rfidjournal.com/article/archive/4/0
46
Transportation Management

• Drivers pay tolls without stopping at toll roads
  and bridges
  
• Transponders that can be read at up to 50 mph (80
  kph) are attached to the vehicle and are read
  when the vehicle passes an antenna mounted in the
  toll collection lane.
• Drivers may either receive a monthly bill or have
  the toll debited from a prepaid value stored on
  the transponder.
  
• Similar technology is used in public transit to
  collect bus and train fare from prepaid passenger
  fare cards.

47

• California FasTrak system uses RFID tags for
  electronic toll collection. As vehicle passes
  through, RFID reader scans the RFID tag, the
  information is used to debit the toll from a
  prepaid account.
• Octopus Card (Hong Kong) for mass transit.

48
Hospitality

• Hotels, restaurants, and entertainment facilities
  can print and encode tickets and guest
  identification or membership cards.
  
• The RFID card can be used for cashless payment,
  as a room key, and for access control to the
  health club and other facilities.

49

• The White Pass ski resort raised more than
  50,000 for the American Cancer Society by
  tracking how many vertical feet skiers and
  snowboarders traveled.
• The system could be used as a loyalty program.

http//www.rfidjournal.com/article/archive/4/0
50
Inmate-tracking

• Calipatria State Prison in California
• Monitors guards and inmates with TSI PRISM, a
  tracking technology using RFID wristbands that
  look like large diver's watches.
  
• The surveillance curtails violence.

• Prisoner tracking Ohio Department of
  Rehabilitation and Correction (ODRH) approved
  (Aug. 2004) a 415,000 contract with Alanco
  Technologies to use wristwatch-sized transmitters
  that can detect if prisoners try to remove them.

http//www.rfidjournal.com/article/archive/4/0
51
Animal Tracking

• More than 50 million pets worldwide are tagged
  with RFID chips.
  
• At least 20 million livestock have RFID tags to
  follow them for possible disease breakouts.

52
Asset Tracking

• Within months of deploying RFID to keep tabs on
  its IT equipment, Colorado's vast El Paso County
  expects to soon recoup its investment

http//www.rfidjournal.com/article/archive/4/0
53

• Large organizations have a hard time tracking
  assets, like laptops.
  
• Pilots at one of the largest US government
  agencies, the Social Security Administration,
  prove RFID and creative thinking can save money.

http//www.rfidjournal.com/article/archive/4/0
54
Military

• The biggest user of RFID today
• U.S. military has plowed 272 million into RFID
  asset tracking in Iraq.
  
• The Army Material Command required all air
  pallets and commercial shipments for Gulf War II
  to be digitally tagged so commanders like General
  Tommy Franks knew when and where critical cargo
  like tanks would arrive.

55

• DOD tracks humans with RFID
• The Navy's Fleet Hospital 3 kept tabs on wounded
  soldiers, civilians and POWS at its 116-bed
  facility in the Iraqi desert by using wristbands
  with RFID chips.
• By scanning the wristbands, medical personnel
  could access treatment and track patients in a
  central database.
  
• "In Iraq the real challenge was tracking
  noncombatants, but ultimately we hope every
  soldier will have an RFID tag," says Lisa
  Mantock, president of Texas-based ScenPro, which
  developed the software.

56
Arts and Entertainment

• Several museums in Rotterdam are using RFID to
  reduce the cost of tracing the movements of works
  by Rembrandt, Renoir, Picasso and other masters.
  
• And for the past two years, Oscar-goers have been
  screened and tracked by RFID.

57
Others

• RFID embedded in Michelin tires (2003) for tire
  tracking in compliance with U.S. Transportation,
  Recall, Enhancement, Accountability and
  Documentation (TREAD) Act.
• Seismic sensors may be read using RFID
  transceivers for remote data collection.
  
• RFID to track cadavers.

58
Expiration Dates of Food in Refrigerator

• KEEPING TRACK
• With RFID, the family fridge will tell you when
  the milk is spoiled or youre out of butter. In
  the store, your grocer will know all. A tag will
  help you find Fluffy too

PHOTO-ILLUSTRATION FOR TIME BY VIKTOR KOEN
http//www.time.com/time/globalbusiness/article/0,
9171,1101030922-485764,00.html

59
Privacy Issues

• RFID has the potential to be the most invasive
  consumer technology.

60

• Katherine Albrecht, founder of New
  Hampshire-based CASPIAN (Consumers Against
  Supermarket Privacy Invasion and Numbering)
  
• Her grocer scans her credit card at the bottom
  of her purse and tracks her around the store
  recording her selections.
  
• Police come knocking after tracing an RFID-tagged
  soda can found at a crime scene to her credit
  card.