The Benefits of RFID
FEATURE
Courtesy RFID Journal
Nedschroef has found a way to reduce the incidence of shipping errors at its plant in Plettenberg, Germany, down to 1%.
How? RFID.
Radio frequency identification technology is enabling the Dutch automotive fastener manufacturer to manage 4,500 square metal containers with as many as 100,000 nuts per container, RFID Journal reports.
“By affixing an RFID tag to each container (as well as mounting a second tag to a production sheet attached to that container), Nedschroef can track production information and the containers’ exact weights, in order to ensure that the proper number of fasteners are shipped to each customer,” writes Rhea Wessel of the Journal.
Nedschroef weighs each container, then utilizes a handheld RFID device to write the tare weight data to a tag.
To track production, workers print and encode an order with information regarding product type and item weight that is then attached onto the container.
As a container is weighed, an ultrahigh-frequency reader equipped with two different antennas reads both RFID tags .
“The system collects the tare weight and the production order information from the tags, forwards that information, along with the full container’s weight, to the ERP and warehouse-management systems, and then calculates how many nuts are in the container.”
In the event of an error is detected — tag cannot be read, or if the container is deemed too heavy—the automated rack system moves the container to the side on a belt.
Nedschroef said it has saved significantly — on product and labor — since first deploying the RFID system in 2008, allowing it to more precisely calculate the number of nuts it produces and sells.
Nedschroef plans to install 14 forklift readers, enabling managers to know which production steps had been completed depending on the forklift’s location. ©2012 GlobalFastenerNews.com
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