Nov. 14, 2006
Editor’s Note
The Right Tool
Manufacturers have found radio frequency identification technology
particularly useful in tracking both their assets and their
products. Electronics giant Toshiba, for instance, has been using
UHF Gen 2 RFID tags to track laptops at its plant in Regensburg,
Germany. The plant configures and ships custom computers to
customers throughout Europe, the Middle East and Asia.
Earlier this year, Toshiba began installing Sensormatic SensorID
Agile 2 Readers from Tyco/ADT, B-SX4 RFID label printers made by
Toshiba TEC and UPM Raflatac's Rafsec G2 Short Dipole tags.
Production employees affix the labels to each laptop's box during
packaging.
Since implementing RFID, Toshiba notes a 57 percent boost in its
productivity, reporting that the technology has eased bottlenecks
and improved its order fulfillment process. According to Toshiba,
adding RFID to its operations has cut the overall time required
to process laptops through its warehouse by 90 percent. Currently,
the plant tags 9,500 laptops per day, utilizing about 2 million
tags annually; eventually, the company expects that number to double.
Crown Equipment, a manufacturer of electric lift trucks, has also
reported improved business thanks to its RFID implementation. At
its New Bremen, Ohio, plant, which operates day and night,
employees access 10,000 drill bits, rubber gloves and other tools
per shift. The firm says its tools were frequently misplaced and
unrestocked because it lacked a way to track them. To alleviate
this issue, Crown purchased
an RFID portal designed to track the movements of
those items.
Crown installed its first WinWare CribMaster Accu-Port at the
facility's tool crib in June. The system has been so successful,
saving Crown up to $300 per day, that the manufacturer installed
a second portal at the same site this month. Crown hopes to have
10 portals operating throughout its five facilities by 2010. Like
Toshiba, Crown has found RFID to be the right tool for the job.
ADVERTISEMENT
RFID Journal Career Center
Post Your Résumé for Free
RFID Journal research shows that many companies are looking to
hire people with RFID-related experience. The best way to find a new job
and take advantage of the exciting opportunities in RFID is to post your
résumé on the RFID Journal Career Center. It's free, and with more than
150,000 people visiting the RFID Journal site each month, there's a good
chance you'll find the right job.
Click here for more information, or to
register. |
Top News
Toshiba Laptop Plant Raises Productivity The company's RFID system, installed in Germany last summer, is already
paying dividends, increasing worker productivity by almost 60 percent. Full Story >
Crown Saves Manufacturing Costs via RFID The lift truck maker says the new system enforces more discipline among
factory workers when it comes to checking out and restocking tools. Full Story >
Fiat Shows How RFID Could Help Recycle Car
Parts The Fiat-designed test system, part of the EC-funded
PROMISE project, tracks components using an RFID-enabled computer built
into a vehicle. Full Story >
DaimlerChrysler Looks to RFID's Future The
automaker sees open standards as key to achieving its vision of
collaborating with the wider supply network. Full Story >
RFID News Roundup ILS announces compliance
starter kits; RF Technologies, Emergin partnering to simplify wireless
alerts; aerospace market ready for takeoff, says ABI; Ingenico integrates
reader into payment PIN pad; ACG announces new RFID reader for fare
collection; Ekahau raises $16 in 2006. Full Story >
DVERTISEMENT
Call for White Paper Submissions
Post Your Document to the RFID White Paper Library
RFID Journal invites members of the academic, industrial and
research communities to submit white papers relevant to the field of radio
frequency identification. Topics include supply chain, manufacturing,
health care, retailing, security, asset tracking, privacy,
standards/regulations and more. Institutions and individuals can submit
their work electronically. White papers accepted for publication will be
added to RFID Journal's online library and spotlighted in our
weekly
e-newsletter. For more information, e-mail Rich
Handley at: rhandley@rfidjournal.com
|
Featured Story RFID Journal LIVE! Europe 2006 Report Almost 250 people gathered in Amsterdam from Oct. 25-27 to attend RFID
Journal LIVE! Europe 2006, the second annual RFID event designed for end
users and potential end users of radio frequency identification technology
in Europe. View the presentations from the event. Full Story >
Opinion Canada Gets Serious About RFID By Mark
Roberti Companies attending RFID Journal LIVE! Canada heard
numerous success stories and took note. Full Story >
RFID Journal Blog The Six Sigma Supply Chain RFID gives
companies, for the first time, the ability to measure their supply-chain
performance—and most are not even close to Six Sigma. Full Story >
Upcoming Webinar Follow a Roadmap to RFID Integration on a SAP-centric
Platform
RFID Journal Webinar—Nov. 14, 2006, 2:00-3:00 PM
EST
SAP and PEAK Technologies explain how SAP's customers have implemented
RFID solutions across many industries and processes. Learn how to leverage
RFID into your own business and build a SAP-centric RFID platform that
scales due to the expansion of mandates beyond what slap-and-ship can
support. Additionally, learn about emerging trends to combine the best of
bar-code technology with RFID to unlock the total potential for
SCM/logistics efficiency, accuracy and optimization with a total auto-ID
roadmap.
To Register >
About RFID
Journal
RFID Journal is the leading source of news and in-depth
information about radio frequency identification (RFID) and its many
business applications. Business executives and implementers depend on
RFID Journal for breaking RFID news, in-depth case studies, best
practices, strategic insights and information about vendor solutions.
This has made RFID Journal the most relied-upon and respected
RFID information resource, serving the largest audience of RFID
decision-makers worldwide—in print, online and at face-to-face
events. To learn how to access our premium content and receive our
bimonthly print publication and annual Buyer's Guide, please click here.
Not a Subscriber?
Share the Wealth:
What readers say about RFID Journal
Editorial
Office:
RFID Journal
555 Broadhollow Road
Suite 274
Melville, N.Y. 11747
©2006 RFID Journal LLC | Privacy
|
|
|