RFID implementation assures.
- Enterprise wide material & production traceability.
- High speed (400 items/sec) identification of acceptable, non-conforming & missing items.
- Rapid customization of supply of materials & tools to any job site.
- Tracking of production in real time, assuring optimal equipment utilization.
- Tracking equipment maintenance & calibration; ensuring breakdown free production
Based on research by the Aberdeen Group, real-time operational visibility has already delivered the following tangible results.
- 27% increase in yield;
- 20-30% reduction in inventory;
- 34% improvement in cycle time;
- 6% improvement in on-time delivery.
Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) is a cost effective tool to identify & locate assets ensuring enterprise wide material traceability from acceptance of raw materials, through production, assembly & dispatch of the product with its completed MDR (manufacturers’ data record). Importantly by tagging tools & equipment it forms the backbone of optimized production. It allows real time schedule generation or modification & corrective actions to be initiated based on that information.
It ensures Asset visibility in real time from any web accessible area. The business decisions whether for strategic purchase or streamlining production or dispatch are thus pro-active, based on material movement as opposed to re-active, which can result in errors.
On Oil/Gas rigs or any fabrication shop floor, production is dependent on the rate at which materials & tools specific to the job are available at the fabrication or assembly station. The availability of RFID-tagged raw material, sub-assembly parts & tools short circuits the search time, boosting production rates through accurate alignment with customer & code specifications and fabrication schedules. In effect, wait time between processes is severely reduced; product quality is optimized & first time right production methodologies that eliminate repair & re-work are implemented; all leading to an increased profitability margin.
RFID tags[1] have a unique numerical identifier allowing classification of identical assets as well as, ensuring that duplicate counts would never be generated; a very common barcode inaccuracy.
By coding the tag with a Serialized Global Trading Identification Number (SGTIN) of the item & a DUNS number of the manufacturer/vendor ensures enterprise wide material traceability & statutory compliance.
Attached to the asset by welding, bolting, strapping or by adhesive, the tag’s unique ID & associated CTQ (Critical to Quality) information will be linked to all documentation (including test & inspection reports) associated with the item.
For tracking pipes & pipe packages, & other components (such as valves) critical material information (MTR#, heat #, material specification, %C, CE, length, wall thickness, threading etc) can be coded into the tag’s memory bank through the reader. This information will be read by a strategically placed RFID reader-GPS receiver combination which is designed to survive severe weather conditions, drops & even sledge hammer blows. The information from the tag reads can be transferred to a database which can be as simple as “pocket excel” using the WM6.1 smart system platform bundle &/or a GDSN (Global data synchronization network) to populate the inventory database.
The following is a cost effective RFID based Personnel Safety System (PSS) designed to automate & optimize safety processes specially focused on confined entry areas in the Oil and Gas, Fabrication and Chemical industries.
With this tool it is possible to identify & account for workers in real-time, in identified confined areas, emergency muster points or in any user defined critical zones on the facility map. In case of an emergency, the evacuation monitor provides a comprehensive overview of the status of the evacuation and shows how many people still need to be evacuated and how many are at their muster points.
While the PSS system provides a measurable safety improvement, the same sensor infrastructure can be used for a variety of other purposes, such as asset tracking and management, using extremely durable & small RFID tags (see picture of the cylindrical RFID tag to the right of the gauge) which can be welded onto any metallic surface & can withstand hammer blows.
The same location devices used for workers can be applied to expensive or critical assets, tools or tracking an item through production. All of this being in real time, safety can be assured, & enterprise wide production traceability can be implemented, in effect helping remove process bottlenecks & ensuring first time right procedures.
This is an asset traceability system that adds value to your process through quicker response times & better equipment integrity assurance & can be tried out with a simple cost effective starter kit.
If required, this information can be integrated into a Material Management-Inventory Module of a generic ERP system for seamless reporting of the status location of each traceable item.
A real time and accurate picture of assets bought and its location as it moves from supply to inventory to fabrication & assembly is critical to the profitability of any corporation. It ensures automatic inventory updates for received goods, verification of material specification, stratification of received material into pre-determined projects for fabrication & assembly.
Monitoring the manufacturing progress & shipment ETD status, in real time, this critical process quality & logistical information enables a quick response, data driven decision making process on quality metrics & safe manufacturing.
Benefits include:
“First time right” production methodologies, ensuring the right part, with the right specifications & documentation has been purchased, assembled in the right place & avoiding the value draining effort of repair & replacement.
Rapid inventory & personnel/job station tracking from inward check to final dispatch & reconciliation.
Complete and on-time shipments of compliant products manufactured within tight quality control limits. Rapid inventory, Check-In, Check-Out and Reconciliation
Accurate, JIT based material procurement, reduced pipeline inventory & landed costs.
- Tagged onto Tools, it helps implementation of 5S in your workshop, ensuring significant reduction in set-up time losses for any manufacturing process. Benefits include:
- Identification of the specific tool & its location co-ordinates.
- Eliminates human error by associating a set of specific tools needed to execute a particular job.
- Tracks the movement of the tool within the workshop (individual production stations) as well as, at entry and exit points
- Associates the tool with the employee using it, generating a data based re-calibration or replacement schedule.
- Implementation of a TPM protocol for equipment, ensuring breakdown free production.
Suggested Plan of Action.
- Documentation of your process, specific components used & QA parameters.
- Analysis of the field conditions that the tag will be exposed to. For example rough handling, low temperatures or high operation temperatures.
- Based on the above we will suggest the specific brand of robust ISO-18000-6C (EPC global Class 1 Generation 2) compliant passive UHF tags:
(a) Capable of operating within the specified temperatures & environmental conditions & a suitable IP (ingress protection) rating.
(b) Customized for attachment to metal, by welding, strapping, bolting or by adhesive; as is optimal for the application.
- Use of a suitable RFID Reader-GPS receiver combination that has optimal read distance for your application.
- Field testing & deployment of the RFID tags & Reader-Receiver.
[1] The RFID tag is made up of a memory chip & an antenna & the combined circuit is called the Tag
