RFID technology and Case Studies

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RFID technology and Case Studies

• John Nagelmakers
• TORWUG June 21st, 2007

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RFID Projects Start with Services
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Portals

• Move by Item or Carton
• In-Store
• Floor Loading
• Tool Cages
• Data Volume
• Smart Readers
• Reader Consolidation

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Vehicle Mount

• Forklift
• Fewer forklifts than dock doors
• Additional applications
• Curbside Collection Trucks
• Delivery and Service Vans

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Portable

• Validation
• Cost Effective
• Seek and Find

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Reusable Tags

• Lower Cost Per Use
• Totes, Pallets, Trays

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Current Applications

• Curbside Recycle Collection
• Asset Tracking
• Reusable Container Tracking
• Supply Chain
• WIP

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Whats in an RFID solution

• Labels/Tags
• Printers
• Fixed Readers
• Portable Readers
• Software Application
• Integration
• Case Studies - ROI

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Labels
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AD-220

• Plug Play OEM compatible with similarly sized
  Gen 2 Inlay
• EPC Class1 Gen2
• 915MHz
• Targeted Regions Americas, APAC
• Chip manufacturer / IC Impinj Monza
• High performance in high volume corrugated box
  labeling applications
• Standard S-490 adhesive for wet inlays
• Delivered in Roll Form, Individual Inlay Format
• Antenna dimension 3.76 x .315 inch
• Substrate material PET
• Dry and PS Inlays

Sound Bite Extremely high yield, Application
OEM compatible Economy Tag
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AD-222

• Backwards compatible Plug Play OEM
  application Drop-In compatible with similarly
  sized Gen 2 Inlay
• EPC Class1 Gen2
• 915MHz - 866MHz
• Targeted Regions Global
• Chip manufacturer / IC Impinj Monza 2
• Increased Read Rate in the application. Improved
  performance over the AD-220 and other 4 x .5
  dipoles. Improved noise immunity.
• Aluminum Antenna environmentally friendly.
  Standard S-490 adhesive for wet inlays
• Delivered in Roll Form, Individual Inlay Format
• Antenna dimension 3.74 x .310 inch
• Substrate material PET
• Dry and PS Inlays

Sound Bite Extremely high yield, Drop-in
compatible, Global Tag
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AD-420/421

• Improved Performance, Special Purpose tag for
  broad SKU usage on corrugated cases and trays.
• EPC Class 1 Gen2.
• 915MHz and 866MHz versions
• Targeted Regions Global (Except Japan)
• Chip manufacturer / I.C. Name Impinj Monza
• Read Characteristics Exhibits position
  insensitively. Improved performance across wide
  range of SKUs especially liquids and metals
  contents.
• Environmental Standard S-490 adhesive for wet
  inlays
• Delivered in Roll Form, Individual Inlay Format
• Antenna dimension 3.70 x 1.26in
• Substrate material PET
• Dry and PS Inlays

AD-421 (EMEA) / AD-420 (US)
Sound Bite High Performer on many difficult SKUs
(Content Insensitive), The All Purpose Tag
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AD-622

• Improved Performance 3D (orientation
  insensitive). Exhibits good metal performance.
• EPC Class1 Gen2
• 915MHz (UHF)
• Targeted Regions North America / APAC
• Chip manufacturer / IC Impinj Monza
• 3D, wide read angle.
• Standard S-490 adhesive for wet inlays
• Delivered in Roll Form, Individual Inlay Format
• Antenna dimension 3.75 x 3.35 inches
• Substrate material PET
• Dry and PS inlays

Sound Bite Improved Performance 3D Pallet tag
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Position Sensitivity
Results on trays of cans (red is good)
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Reusable Tags

• Small Rigid Tag - Intermecs Small Rigid Tag
  (SRT) is a truly passive UHF RFID tag designed
  for superior performance on a variety of
  surfaces. The tag available in both EPC Global
  Class 1, Generation 2 (Gen 2) and ISO
  18000-6B.protocols.
• Large Rigid Tag - Intermec's Large Rigid tag is a
  truly passive UHF radio frequency identification
  (RFID) transponder that delivers superior
  performance on a variety of surfaces and is
  available in both Gen 2 and ISO 18000-6B
  versions.
• IT32A Gen 2 ID Card - The IT32A offers not only
  EPC Gen 2 / ISO 18000-6C air interface protocol,
  and both FCC (915 MHz) and ETSI (865 MHz)
  configurations, but also a longer read range than
  most RFID card form factors. Its longer read
  range and durable packaging make it the ideal
  RFID tag for a variety of applications.
• 915 MHz Container Tag - The Container Tag is a
  high-performance durable product originally
  designed for use with plastic pallets, but which
  has a proven track record in a variety of
  applications. This tag is one of the most
  versatile designs in the portfolio due to its
  consistent performance with a wide range of
  materials.
• 915 MHz ID Tag - The 915 MHz ID Card from
  Intermec is the first credit card format
  intelligent identification card on the market
  that provides both long-range identification and
  read/write capability for a wide range of
  applications from Homeland, corporate and
  personal security to luggage tags and customer
  loyalty programs.
• 915 MHz RPC Tag - Intermec's 915 MHz reusable
  plastic container (RPCs) tag is specifically
  designed for tracking RPC's throughout their
  service lives.  Compact, inconspicuous, and
  completely encapsulated in a protective thermal
  plastic alloy, Intermec RPC tags can withstand
  shipping, washing, and heavy-duty wear.
• 915 MHz Windshield Tag - The Windshield Tag is
  optimized for attachment to vehicle windshields
  and is primarily used for access control in
  parking areas or secured campus environments.
  The tag is produced on a flexible substrate and
  includes an adhesive release liner for ease of
  installation.

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Whats in an RFID solution

• Labels/Tags
• Printers
• Fixed Readers
• Portable Readers
• Software Application
• Integration
• Case Studies - ROI

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RFID Printers

• PM4i High use (i.e. Warehouse class)
• PM2i Medium use (i.e Airport luggage tags)

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Whats in an RFID solution

• Labels/Tags
• Printers
• Fixed Readers
• Portable Readers
• Software Application
• Integration

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Intermec Fixed RFID Readers
Entry-level / General Purpose
Rugged / Industrial
High Performance
Mid Performance
Basic Performance
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Portals Fixed readers in a chassis
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Whats in an RFID solution

• Labels/Tags
• Printers
• Fixed Readers
• Portable Readers
• Software Application
• Integration
• Case Studies - ROI

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Intermec Portable RFID Readers
Entry-level / General Purpose
Rugged / Industrial
High Performance
Mid Performance
Used in fork lift systems
Basic Performance
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Portable Readers Fork lift systems
Vehicle Mount Terminal
Antennas
Reader
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Whats in an RFID solution

• Labels/Tags
• Printers
• Fixed Readers
• Portable Readers
• Software Applications
• Integration
• Case Studies - ROI

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Software application

• What is your essential application
• Asset Management
• Inventory Management
• Resource Management
• Geo spatial data
• Does this application revision support adding
  RFID Tag serialization to the data?
• Is an upgrade necessary?
• Is software configuration necessary?
• Is software/database development required?

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Whats in an RFID solution

• Labels/Tags
• Printers
• Fixed Readers
• Portable Readers
• Software Applications
• Integration
• Case Studies - ROI

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Integration

• Do you have an competent IT department to perform
  the integration?
• Do you leverage a Systems Integrator to mitigate
  the risk of integration?
• IBM
• HP
• EDS
• Tier II SI
• Software system vendor i.e SAP, Siebel, Oracle,
  etc.
• Point solution software vendor
• Platform based software vendor

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EPC/RFID Solutions Strategy Strategy through
Implementation of the End-to-End solution
SI Solution Integration

• Business Case and Deployment Strategy
• Process Design and Integration
• Project Management Proof of Capability,
  Trading Partner Pilots, Rollout
• Solution architecture design
• Software installation and development
• Application Integration (WMS, ERP,etc)
• Network and data storage
• Infrastructure

Software Applications
Readers / Infrastructure
Chips / Tags

• -WMS
• ERP
• APS
• Transportation Planning
• Data Warehousing

Business Partners
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RFID Integrated - will deliver value in the
context of mission critical business processes
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SIs will provide a vision and business framework
that will help customers leverage RFID across the
enterprise
TBD
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Whats in an RFID solution

• Labels/Tags
• Printers
• Fixed Readers
• Portable Readers
• Software Applications
• Integration
• Case Studies - ROI

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Case Studies - ROI
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JR Freight
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JR Freight - Business Problem

• Railway transportation in Japan is regaining its
  value in part because it operates so much more
  cleanly than a fleet of trucks, which has problem
  of exhaust and nitrogen oxide. To meet the
  growing transport needs of Japans businesses, JR
  Freight maintains more than 120 terminals in
  Japan, managing 8,000 rail wagons and 100,000
  railway containers.
• Cargo moves from stop to stop in a freight line
  running north and south on Japans four main
  islands. At each stop, steel containers ranging
  in size from 12-feet rail containers to 30-feet
  freight containers are off-loaded from the
  railcars and stacked in rows 30 to 40 deep and
  one or two high. Keeping track of hundreds even
  thousands of containers has involved tedious,
  time-consuming manual labor.
• Six Japan Passenger Railway companies own the
  railroad and have priority in operating schedule
  over JR Freight. Freight can move only during
  off-peak commuter hours, mostly during the night.
  Deliveries must be completed before morning
  passenger trains take over the tracks.
• The time constraints simply dont allow for
  inefficient practices. Under the former manual
  tracking system, JR Freight operators walked
  around extensive terminals and recorded
  containers loading arrangement on rail wagons
  via a handy terminal. This was a big burden for
  the operators.

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JR Freight - Solution

• Now a complete RFID system including a wireless
  backbone, fixed readers, handheld terminals, RFID
  technology and global-positioning equipment
  tracks each container in JR Freights inventory.
• Implementing the new system was a joint effort
  among JR Freight, Japan RF Solutions (JRFS),
  Sharp and the system integrator (NEC group).
  Container identification information is scanned
  from readers manufactured by Sharp based on
  Intermec Intellitag RFID technology, which tied
  the front-end system into the backbone and is one
  of the key technologies supporting the JR Freight
  project
• The metal-mounted and molded tags a Sharp
  product featuring the Intellitagchip are
  half-cylinder shaped and about 2 inches long by
  half inch wide. The flat back mounts flush to
  each side of a container. Seven tags mount to
  each side of a rail wagon.
• A JR Freight forklift is outfitted with a fixed
  RFID reader and four antennas for automatic
  identification of container number, rail wagon
  and truck number without any manual operation.
  Two of four antennas are used to read container
  tags, the other two antennas for railcar and
  truck tags. When the forklifts load containers,
  the fixed reader transmits a radio signal to a
  containers tag and a rail wagons tag separately
  through four antennas. The tag transmits its
  information to its designated antennas, which
  relays the data back to the reader and on to the
  main server through a wireless network

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JR Freight - Benefits

• Now the server knows the identity of the
  container number, which is programmed into the
  readable and writeable tag. The fixed reader
  tells the main server not only on which railcar
  to load the container but also where in the car
  to place it.
• Workers in the JR Freight maintenance office can
  also use Sharps Handy Terminal to program tag
  numbers into each tag. Once the container is
  loaded, the system reads the tag on the railcar.
  This updates the server, tying the container to
  an exact location and informing the worker
  immediately how the containers are arranged in a
  particular freight train.
• Tracking offloaded containers works much the same
  way. At each stop on the rail line, forklift
  drivers lift containers from the railcar and
  stack them in a yard. As each container is
  placed, a global positioning system in the
  forklift records the exact coordinates of the
  containers location. A quick read of the tag
  reports the data to the server.
• Now, with its sleek new tracking system, JR
  Freight is pushing its communications and
  container movement to the highest possible
  speeds. With Japan RF Solutions and Sharp
  products (based on Intermecs Intellitag
  technology), JR Freight is on the fast track to
  success.

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US Navy
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US Navy Business Problem

• While the planes and their pilots may be the
  stars of the show, deploying a Naval aviation
  squadron usually requires a skilled crew and a
  pack-up kit, or PUK, containing hundreds of
  replacement parts worth 10 million or more.
• The U.S. Navy Regional Supply Office in Norfolk,
  Va. Provides logistical support for the aircraft
  squadrons stationed at Naval Air Station Norfolk.
  Aircraft types based at NAS Norfolk include E-2C,
  C-2, MH-53, H-46, SH-3 and MH-60. When a squadron
  is deployed, a PUK of several pallets and
  five-by-five-by-five foot cartons of supplies,
  known as tri-walls, are sent along with it,
  traveling from the regional supply office command
  to the supply command assigned to the squadron. A
  typical E2C PUK contains 500-600 parts.
• Before the PUK leaves Norfolk, both commands must
  agree upon the contents. In the past, one person
  called out part numbers from a printed list while
  two others each representing a command
  checked off the items on their own inventory
  lists. Any discrepancies were noted and manually
  entered into the system after the inventory was
  complete. This process usually took three people
  a total of 24 man-hours. At an average burdened
  wage of 28.83 per hour, the labor cost for
  performing one PUK inventory was in excess of
  690. Multiply that by the 64 PUKs inventoried at
  least four times a year at Norfolk alone, and the
  Navy had a very costly logistical nightmare. In
  addition, once the PUK was in the field, simply
  locating one part out of the 500 in the kit could
  take hours. And there was little visibility into
  the replenishment supply chain, sometimes
  resulting in multiple orders of the same part.

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US Navy - Solution

• Utilizing technology of Mobile Computers and
  RFID Printers.
• To improve inventory management, the supply
  officers at NAS Norfolk looked to radio frequency
  identification (RFID) technology and the
  expertise of a team of logistics and RFID
  specialists, including Intermec Technologies,
  Serco, Phase IV Engineering, Boh Environmental
  and PSC Technology.
• RFID technology allows users to automatically
  track inventory throughout an entire supply
  chain. RFID data collection systems typically do
  not require line of sight or manual scanning as
  do most bar code-based systems, and offer
  significant improvement over the labor and
  logistical challenges of manual systems. The
  technology was a natural fit for the Navys
  Automatic Identification Technology (AIT)
  initiative, and so the Navy ordered a pilot
  technological overhaul of the PUK inventory
  process.

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US Navy - Benefits

• 98 percent reduction in inventory time
• NAS Norfolks first evaluation of RFID integrated
  the technology into the E- 2C PUKs assigned to a
  detachment at NAS Fallon, Nev. The evaluation
  yielded dramatic results. Each time we sent a
  PUK out on detachment, wed have to do a turnover
  inventory from my command to the supply personnel
  attached to the squadron, said Lt. John Wait,
  assistant supply officer at NAS Norfolk. Both
  commands must count the same things together and
  agree on the contents. Its extremely cumbersome.
  Wed each have a paper copy of the inventory and
  someone would call off each nine-digit number and
  we all check it off the list. With the manual
  system, it took about 24 man-hours to do one E2
  PUK. With RFID, we now inventory that same PUK in
  less than 30 minutes.
• Under the old system, when a maintenance tech
  set out to find a part there was no telling its
  location down to which tri-wall the part was in
  or even which pallet, Wait said. It was kind of
  like finding a needle in a haystack. Imagine
  500-600 parts in a warehouse on 12 or 15 pallets,
  or the parts are stored in tri-walls with
  approximately 50 parts in each, some the size of
  a carton of cigarettes, said Chet Zeller,
  project manager for Serco, systems integrator for
  the project. When a mechanic needs a specific
  bleed air valve, it may take several hours just
  to find that one part. With RFID, the mechanic
  enters the item he needs, scans with the reader
  and receives the location of the item. Its that
  simple.

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US Navy More Benefits

• The RFID system also paid off by greatly
  improving inventory accuracy. Previous manual
  systems allowed little if any visibility to the
  actual inventory on hand, and as parts were
  replenished there was significant room for error.
  
• There are more than ten identical sites within
  the Navy that operate in the same way as Norfolk.
  Sercos business case analysis, provided in our
  post-implementation report to the Navy, concluded
  that the total annual savings the Navy reaped by
  implementing this one business process
  improvement across all ten sites would be in
  excess of 2.2M per year. And this is for just
  one small section of the Navy supply chain,
  Zeller said.

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Seattle Fire Department
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Seattle FD Business Problem

• Theres a fire in a high-rise dormitory on the
  University of Washington campus. Hundreds of
  students are injured, some critically. Patients
  are being triaged on the street and transported
  to the nearest hospital.
• This is one of many live-fire drills the Seattle
  Fire Department (SFD) has performed to prepare
  for an MCImass casualty incidents. MCIs run the
  gamut from fires in large, occupied buildings to
  weapons of mass destruction, but all share one
  thing in common large numbers of patients being
  treated and transported in a chaotic environment.

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Seattle FD - Solution

• The difference with this drill is that Seattle
  Fire was testing the use of technology to help
  first responders (firefighters, medics) triage,
  treat and transport patients from the scene to
  area hospitals. The system uses Exodus MCI
  software from Asentrix Systems running on mobile
  computers with radio frequency identification
  (RFID) readers and RFID tags. The mobile
  computers communicate instantly to the command
  and trauma centers via a wireless local area
  network (802.11) or wireless wide area network
  (CDMA).
• Under the old system, the triage officer used
  white boards, grease pens and triage tags to
  assign numbers to patients, record the numbers in
  writing and report on patients via radio, when
  necessary. Runners would be used to aggregate
  patient information on paper and deliver it to
  the transport officer, who would then call the
  hospital and read the patient information to
  them. The triage process would take approximately
  30 seconds per patient and there were often
  delays moving patients from treatment to
  transport as the runners gathered and reported
  the information and then ran back to deliver the
  transport information.

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Seattle FD - Benefits

• With the new system, triage time has been cut to
  10 seconds-per-patient with patient data
  immediately visible to all incident command,
  including the staff at the hospital. As soon as a
  patient is ready, they can be moved from
  treatment to transport with no delay while
  waiting for information to be literally run
  between areas.
• The system eliminates the need for runners and
  radio communications, and most importantly, it
  improves patient care by dramatically reducing
  the time needed to communicate vital information.

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Nancy Foods
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Nancy Foods Business Problem

• According to Siegfried, Nancys anticipated an
  annual revenue loss of 300,000 to 500,000 in
  large part because workers couldnt locate
  work-in-process components to fill orders
• Every August Nancys Specialty Foods begins to go
  quiche crazy. Production in the companys Newark,
  Calif., plant ramps up five-fold over normal to
  prepare for the holidays. Soon there is little
  freezer space to spare in the 86,000-square-foot
  facility. No matter what else goes on at Nancys,
  one thing will continue. You cant stop an
  oven, said David Siegfried, Nancys information
  technology manager. Because if ovens were to
  cool, an assembly line to stall, Nancys would
  begin leaching money. At times weve had from 15
  to 45 people standing there in excess of an
  hour, Siegfried said. Multiply that times their
  pay rate, and now theyre behind. Now youve got
  to pay them overtime. Falling behind risks
  losing sales. When the holiday seasons last
  truck leaves Nancys and product isnt ready, the
  truck goes with whatever is loaded. When we sell
  one time a year, if it doesnt make it there on
  time, the stores say, Were not going to be able
  to sell it through. Cancel the order.
• Workers using the old tracking system sometimes
  had trouble finding inventory. The barcode
  systems manual batch-transfer methodology put
  inventory records a production day behind.

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Nancys Foods - Solution

• Siegfried and his crew brought in RFID readers,
  mobile computers and tags from Intermec. Stratum
  Global provided its Tag-Net suite of middleware
  modules.
• Nancys could have made a standard upgrade to its
  existing system, but Siegfried and his colleagues
  saw how leaping a generation of technology could
  solve more than just inventory management
  problems.
• Forklifts dont always play well with high-tech
  electronics. But, Siegfried was asking the RFID
  system to deal with the double-whammy of
  forklifts operating inside freezers. Some of the
  RFID equipment would be on the steel prongs of
  the forklift. Intermecs 915 MHz IF4 reader with
  Bluetooth serial adapter and up to four antennae
  make up the fork-mounted RFID hardware.
  Heavy-duty enclosures protect the electronics.
  Inside the forklift cab, a vehicle-mounted
  computer receives RFID tag data from the IF4 and
  relays information to the host system.
• When the first flavored quiche is baked on day
  one of a three-pack production run, workers in
  Nancys packaging area record how much of it was
  made and which bin holds it. They use Intermec
  700 series mobile computers with IP3 portable
  RFID readers to capture data from an Intermec
  RFID Intellitag attached to each bin. In
  addition, Bartender Labeling software is used in
  conjunction with a RFID printer to commission
  tags.

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Nancys foods - Benefits

• While its too soon for concrete numbers on cost
  savings, Siegfried expects Nancys to slash its
  revenue losses and bank 100,000 within one year
  and 300,000 over the next several years. The
  money saved will offset a looming expense that
  his and many other businesses soon will have to
  shoulder Wal-Marts 2006 compliance mandate.
• The first goal is always to eliminate
  problematic situations that have their own ROI,
  then deal with the mandate, Siegfried said.

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Old Dominion Freight Line
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Old Dominion Business Problem

• Nothing stops a 35-ton tractor trailer faster
  than paperwork!
• To keep paperwork processing delays from jamming
  on the brakes of its fleet of 2,600 trucks, Old
  Dominion Freight Line has developed a series of
  wireless, automated dock and yard management
  procedures for its 117 service centers across the
  U.S. that rely on mobile computers and wireless
  technology.
• Old Dominion needed real-time information to help
  them in many ways. They needed to cut our
  transit time and improve visibility.
• Need to reduce costs from holding inventory to
  lowers their inventory costs, improves their
  cash, and starts to lower their overall cost of
  goods.

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Old Dominion - Solution

• Were really investing in IT, said Old Dominion
  Vice President Chip Overbey. We dont look at it
  as an expense. We look at it as an investment.
• It is spending that makes better, its spending
  you can get a return on investment on, and it
  lets you position yourself better with your
  customers. Incoming Shipment Processing As
  trucks arrive at service centers, they are
  automatically identified by an RFID reader.
• The information is relayed to Old Dominions Dock
  and Yard Management software application, which
  resides on an IBM AS/400 midrange computer. The
  system, which was developed in-house, looks up
  the shipment information. Handling instructions
  are immediately relayed to switchers, who
  operate tractors in the yard to receive trailers
  from the over-the-road drivers. Switchers receive
  their pick-up and handling instructions by a
  wireless transmission to a computer mounted in
  the cab. Supervisors also receive notification of
  arrivals in real time on their handheld wireless
  computers.

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Old Dominion - Benefits

• Now our switchers are making a lot more moves
  per hour, said Mike Nagle, Old Dominion director
  of field service. Productivity has really
  improved. At some locations Old Dominion has
  been able to eliminate switcher labor positions
  and re-deploy tractors used for the operation.
  Thats been a big savings in equipment and
  maintenance cost, Nagle said.
• The dock-door computers and scanners help get
  trucks loaded and back on the road quickly. Every
  number label is scanned as the item is loaded
  onto the truck. The scans automatically build a
  shipment manifest record, which eliminates the
  time and labor required to key enter the
  information. System software verifies that each
  scanned item is part of the shipment and sends an
  instant wireless alert if there is a mistake.

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Old Dominion More Benefits

• We thought we would save 50 cents per bill, and
  were doing better than that, Nagle said. These
  systems typically pay for themselves within eight
  to 11 months after theyre installed. The
  systems also are providing all the company-wide
  soft benefits that Old Dominion expected and
  planned for but cant measure, including better
  management information, lower overall delivery
  times, higher labor productivity and improved
  customer service.
• Having real-time information helps us in many
  ways, Overbey said. If we can cut our transit
  time and improve visibility, thats where we
  start providing real value-add for our customers.
  If they can go from holding five days of
  inventory to two days, it lowers their inventory
  costs, improves their cash, and starts to lower
  their overall cost of goods.