RFID standards

What are RFID standards?

RFID standards are guidelines or specifications for all RFID products. Standards provide guidelines about how RFID systems work, what frequencies they operate at, how data is transferred, and how communication works between the reader and the tag.

Why are RFID standards important?

RFID standards help ensure that RFID products are interoperable, regardless of the vendor or user. They also provide guidelines by which companies can develop complementary products, such as different types of tags, readers, software, and accessories. Additionally, standards help broaden markets and increase competition within the industry, which brings the prices of standardized RFID products down. RFID standards also help increase widespread confidence in the technology.

Who sets RFID standards?

Standards are developed and issued by industry-specific, national, regional, and global bodies. The more global the standard is, the more bodies are involved in its development. International organizations that issue RFID-related standards include EPCglobal (a GS1 venture), the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), the International Standards Organization (ISO), and the Joint Technical Committee (JTC 1), a committee formed by ISO and IEC. Regional regulatory entities that govern the use of RFID include the Federal Communication Commission (FCC), which is in charge of the United States, the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI), which operates in Europe. Other regions have their own regulatory entities.

Organizations that oversee RFID standards for specific industries include the Association of American Railroads (AAR), the Automotive Industry Standards Group (AIAG), the American Trucking Associations (ATA), and the International Air Transport Association (IATA). Additionally, the GS1 VICS Item Level RFID Initiative (VILRI) oversees standards around item-level tagging and the use of RFID technology throughout the retail supply chain.

Read More

Better weighing and dispensing technology is required in modern pharmaceutical companies

 Most pharmaceutical companies have made major inroads in applying advanced control technology to improve their manufacturing processes. However, these efforts often stop abruptly at weigh-and-dispense operations. The weighing and dispensing of pharmaceutical ingredients may seem mundane, but it's crucial. If a mistake is made at this traditionally manual point in the manufacturing process, no matter what happens later on, the entire batch may need to be thrown out or remade. Unfortunately, errors can occur when operators write information down or when other employees enter process data into a computer-based system, says Glenn Restivo, life sciences solution marketing manager at Rockwell Automation in Philadelphia. In most cases, a weigh-and-dispense error isn't picked up until after the fact. "By then," he says, "you have a wasted batch." In modernizing weigh-and-dispense operations, one goal is to drive errors out of the operation, and record data properly and accurately, Restivo says. Another goal is to use data more effectively. "Weigh-and-dispense has become an integral part of a plant's electronic batching record," observes Thomas Farenholtz, director of professional services at Honeywell Life Sciences in Herndon, Va., which offers the popular POMS manufacturing execution system (MES). "Many manufacturers today are seeking to use the data from the weigh-and-dispense operation and extend this automation toward the rest of the plant," he adds. Although new pharmaceutical plants are typically built with extensive automation and electronic controls, older plants that make established products or commodities still depend largely on manual or semi-manual data collection and record-keeping. "Most companies [use] off-line scales to prepare materials for a batch," says Janice Abel, director of pharmaceutical marketing at Invensys Production Solutions, Foxboro, Mass. "Electronic record-keeping tends to be [seen] as a want, and not a need," adds Robin Laub, account manager at Schneider Electric (Palatine, Ill.), "and record-keeping activity gets put off." Technological Lethargy Perceived cost savings often play a key part in this technological lethargy. As profit margins continue to be pressured, managers at leading drug firms are scrutinizing manufacturing costs as they never have before. A recent GlaxoSmithKline survey, for example, found that the 16 largest drug firms spent more than twice as much on manufacturing as they did on R&D. Some firms resist upgrading because such changes would necessitate a fresh review and approval from regulators. "When you want to make some changes to automate certain functions, you have to revalidate the entire control system," says Mark Liston, pharmaceutical business director at Scneider. Even the validation of the scales used for weighing materials can be problematic, says Steve Smith, applications support manager at Kistler Morse Co., a Bothell, Wash., manufacturer of weighing systems. "The cost to bring everything up to date may not be worth it to them, because they would have to revalidate the whole process." However, manual checking, testing, weighing and recordkeeping may end up costing far more than they save, opening the door for monumentally expensive, often preventable human errors. Consider the fact that 354 prescription drugs were recalled last year, a 50% increase from the previous year and more than double 1997's figure, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Recalls can cost manufacturers several millions of dollars. In addition, observers say, five to 10 percent of the medicine currently produced in the U.S. falls short of quality or other specifications and has to be thrown out or reprocessed. Even if companies aren't making weighing or dispensing errors, outmoded equipment can prevent them from utilizing data, or streamlining or automating processes. "Data collection goes hand in hand with analysis---the idea is to turn the data into knowledge to improve your process," says Steve Pulsifer, marketing development manager in the life sciences group at control systems manufacturer GE Fanuc in Northamptom, Mass. Caught between a Scylla of regulation and a Charybdis of rising manufacturing costs, more drug makers are starting to modernize their weighing and dispensing functions to reduce expenses and ensure better quality control. Instead of developing software in-house, many are evaluating control vendor platforms to improve the speed and accuracy of their weighing and dispensing functions. And many are implementing this automation in phases, says John Blanchard, director of research and principal analyst for the food, beverage, and life sciences industries with the ARC Advisory Group, a manufacturing technology research firm in Dedham, Mass. "These improvements make good business sense," says Jim Marshall, engineering team leader with Eli Lilly (Indianapolis). "Better data integrity helps the plant with uptime and to run better." FDA is providing added incentive for modernization as it revamps its manufacturing guidelines. "FDA is putting incentives in place so that pharmaceutical companies can improve the efficiency of their manufacturing operations," says Bob Lenich, business development director at Emerson Life Sciences in Austin, Texas. Weigh and dispense system begins with an operator getting a bill of materials for ingredients that make up a recipe for a batch to be manufactured. Each material must be gathered from a warehouse or other storage area. Then it must be verified as the proper material, carefully weighed, checked again, and finally readied for mixing in the recipe. Sometimes the mixing occurs immediately upon assembly of the various ingredients, and sometimes it occurs later on, with the materials being chosen, weighed, and removed to a staging area in advance. Traceability an Issue At each step, checks must be observed to ensure that the operator, the equipment, the materials, their weights---and even the scales they are weighed on---are up to snuff. All must be verified to conform with manufacturing specifications and regulatory requirements. Drug manufacturers also benefit from an all-electronic solution by having faster and more accurate data records for traceability purposes down the line. "The idea is to be able to go dock to dock with complete traceability" for a particular batch and the materials used to make it, says Daren Moffatt, pharmaceutical industry business manager for Invensys. For many companies, it would take days to get that information, adds his colleague Janice Abel. While an operator is required to handle most of the actual weighing and dispensing functions, the process automation surrounding the weigh-and-dispense routine can itself perform most, if not all, of the associated record-keeping. By moving this process to an electronic data recording system, manufacturers can eliminate the chance that an operator maintaining paper records may skip a step or erroneously duplicate a step in the process. Also, the need to collect data stored on paper records can be so time-consuming that some companies avoid analyzing the results, a decision that allows inefficiencies in the process to continue unchanged. "Invensys can capture that information at the source---at the weigh scales---and feed it back into the system electronically," says Richard Howells, vice president of marketing at Invensys Production Solutions, Newton, Mass. Invensys' Wonderware Factory Suite's Intrac component handles the weighing data. Last but not least, an effective process weighing control system or MES at this shop-floor level can be tied into the company's enterprise resource planning (ERP) system. By contrast, traditional methods used to convert paper records to computer data often are not cost-effective, requiring a clerical person to manually enter the data into a spreadsheet program for later uploading to the corporate materials management and inventory system. Electronic collection of the data associated with the weigh-and-dispense manual process goes a long way toward eliminating such errors, and by extension, waste in the manufacturing process. Electronic record-keeping ensures that operators are efficient, prevents errors, and provides a more careful check of quality at each juncture in the process. "Saving a batch because the operator was going to add the wrong material otherwise can save a company anywhere from $50,000 to $2 million,"says Lenich of Emerson, which integrates Decision Management International's software into its process automation system to offer a turnkey application for drug firms. Similarly, Rockwell's Restivo notes that his firm's RSBizWare eProcuredure MES system automates these manual procedures while both managing and documenting the process. Adds Lorenzo Majewski, product manager at Rockwell Automation headquarters in Milwaukee, the system also can be set up "to create instructions to operators to guide them through the operation." E-signatures Important One area where most manufacturers are finding significant benefits to be gained via automation is the electronic signature. Basically, instead of having the operator who selects the materials and weighs the amount of each that goes into a batch sign his or her name manually---long a requirement of the FDA--- the operator now can use a computer to perform the verification. "The operator is asked to identify himself at least with his user name and password before he is allowed to do the action he is supposed to do," explains Robert Fretz, head of corporate manufacturing execution systems at Hoffman LaRoche (Nutley, N.J.). This kind of electronic audit trail can also be a productivity tool, Fretz adds, because the traceability of a specific batch no longer requires manual searching for paper records. The Rockwell Automation system, for example, automatically enforces the electronic signature, both at operator log-in and sign-off according to the FDA's 21 CFR Part 11 standards. Integration a Concern An obvious area where pharmaceutical manufacturers are concerned is data integration. What with a compendium of different technologies to be dealt with on the plant floor, it's a wonder companies are willing to take on the sometimes monumental challenge of making every piece of hardware and software speak the same language---and smoothly. "There is a variation in the spectrum of vendors," Marshall of Eli Lilly explains. "A lot of vendors have very good standalone systems, but the difficulty is integrating them with other vendors' solutions."Fretz of Hoffman LaRoche agrees, adding, "The nightmare is that most of our systems are composed of components of different vendors. The dream is to integrate all these systems," he says. "Drug firms need to develop a strategy for integrating all these different control systems," suggests Schneider Electric's Liston. "This coordination issue is a significant burden for our customers in the pharmaceutical industry," he says. Very simply, one reason for the common lack of data coordination is that most process automation vendors tend to come into a plant, install their own system, and then leave, without concern for how well or how poorly it interacts with other existing hardware and software in the plant and at the company offices. As Liston points out, "Project management gets it on site and gets it running, but takes no responsibility to come in and fix everything and make everything work." Usually, these kinds of integration headaches become the purview of the pharmaceutical company's validation team, which must address data integration problems after the fact. Another related issue is changing old systems and old procedures to mesh with the new weighing and dispensing technology. "Basically all the procedures in place in a pharmaceutical manufacturing facility are in place to make it difficult to change anything," says Fred Doubleday, CTO of Decision Management International (Bradenton, Fla.). "It's always easier to implement automation into a new plant than an existing one." Still, weigh-and-dispense processes and systems are on the verge of significant modernization. "Now that the FDA has accepted electronic record-keeping, more manufacturers will start automating these processes," says Invensys' Howells. "Or they will be forced to do so from a competitive and regulatory standpoint.

Read More

GAMP Standards For Validation Of Automated Systems

What’s GAMP?

The Good Automated Manufacturing Practice (GAMP) Forum was founded in 1991 by pharmaceutical industry professionals in the United Kingdom to address the industry’s need to improve comprehension and evolving expectations of regulatory agencies in Europe. The organization also sought to promote understanding of how computer systems validation should be conducted in the pharmaceutical industry.

In 1994, GAMP partnered with the International Society for Pharmaceutical Engineering (ISPE) to publish the first GAMP guidelines. GAMP quickly became influential throughout Europe as the quality of its work was recognized internationally. Over time, GAMP has become the acknowledged expert body for addressing issues of computer system validation.

GAMP's guidance approach defines a set of industry best practices to enable compliance to all current regulatory expectations. More than simply a strict compliance standard, GAMP is a guideline for life sciences companies to use for their own quality procedures. As a result, it can be tailored to a number of computer system types.

Computer system validation following GAMP guidelines requires users and suppliers to work in concert so that responsibilities regarding the validation process are understood. For users, GAMP provides a documented assurance that a system is appropriate for the intended use before it goes “live.” Suppliers can use GAMP to test for avoidable defects in the supplied system to ensure quality product leaves the facility.

The GAMP framework addresses how systems are validated and documented, in other words “how one will validate and document the system.” Companies do not need to follow the same set of procedures and processes of a GAMP framework to achieve validation and qualification levels that satisfy inspectors. Instead, GAMP examines the systems development lifecycle (SDLC) – a conceptual model that lays out the deliverable documents required by GAMP – of an automated system to identify issues of validation, compliance and documentation.

In essence, GAMP asks:

* Do you know what you want to do?

* Have you broadly defined the function requirements?

* How will you do it?

Identifying the “how” is essential to the design and testing phases of validation. Once the design is tested, and if it works as intended, then you have satisfied not only the function requirements, but the overall requirements for system use. A regulatory body expects to see documentation of the process.

‘V’ for Validation

GAMP recommends an SDLC called the V-model (see graphic) because it is a commonly used design, but there are others that can be followed. The V-model shows how the three main qualification activities (installation, operation and performance) are linked back to the design process.

These main steps correspond to deliverables within a computerized validation framework. The left side of the V represents the specification stream – user requirements, functional specifications, hardware and software design, and module specifications. The right side of the V represents the system testing stream against the specifications. The bottom of the V indicates the code modules.

Specification Stream

With the V-model, the document that initiates the validation process is the user requirement specification (URS). The URS describes the equipment or system as it is intended to function, and it is typically written by the system user. The original version should contain the essential requirements and the desirable requirements. As part of the validation process, the organization checks the software system before launch. Clear documentation of a properly functioning system is typically found in the URS to detail what the system should do and what it could do.

Next, the URS is matched with the functional and design specifications, which often come from the system or software developer. The functional specifications describe the functions of the system and how it was built. In the V-model, the functional specifications correspond to the operational qualifications, as each of the parameters should be tested. A gap analysis is performed to identify areas where an internal requirement isn’t met. This allows recognition of risks and outlines approaches to correct the shortcomings. The design specifications define the production of the hardware, software and instrumentation and how the software meets the requirements of the functional specifications for proper function.

Testing Stream

Validation is applied to several aspects of a pharmaceutical manufacturing system. The objective is to produce “documented evidence, which provides a high degree of assurance that all parts of a system will consistently work correctly when brought on-line. Validation includes three core elements:

* Installation qualification (IQ) – confirms complete documentation, which includes checking purchase orders, proper hardware installation, and software verification according to the manufacturer’s specifications; both user and supplier share primary testing responsibility.

* Operational qualification (OQ) – confirms the system operations by testing the design requirements that are traced back to the function specifications, including software and hardware functions under normal load, and under realistic stress conditions to assess whether equipment and systems are working correctly; both user and supplier share primary testing responsibility.

* Performance qualification (PQ) – confirms that a system is capable of performing or controlling the activities of the process, while operating in a specific environment – namely, a series of checks by the user against the original requirement specifications of the system; responsibility falls solely on the user.

Though there isn’t a singular method for achieving and maintaining traceability, regulatory agencies have an essential level of expectation. Despite the lack of a standard procedure, the selected process and method used by a system for traceability should be documented and understood. The core principles of traceability link system requirements, design specifications and testing documents with the processes and supporting documentation. In other words, traceability should demonstrate that by testing the documents, one is able to verify the system requirements a nd the design specifications.

The linkage among requirements, design and testing may be identified by the following relationships:

* Multiple requirements may be checked by a single design specification and confirmed by a single test;

* Multiple design specifications may be coupled to a single requirement; and

* Multiple tests may be necessary to verify one requirement or one design specification.

Traceability may be achieved through:

* A requirements traceability matrix;

* Automated software tools; and

* Embedded references directly within documents.

Organizations use GAMP guidelines to achieve traceability by checking whether a system is:

* Appropriate in its size, complexity, impact and risk;

* Documented and approved in the validation planning stage; and

* Integral to the overall project life cycle and for the support and maintenance of the system.

Top Three Challenges

As a voluntary program, GAMP offers both challenges and benefits. The top three challenges in implementing GAMP are establishing procedural control, handling management and change control, and finding an acceptable standard among the existing variations.

Establishing procedural control is a challenge in using GAMP guidelines because new frameworks may be necessary to gauge the validity of systems. Most pharmaceutical companies have already established a baseline that adheres to standards and regulations that exist today, but they may not have a procedure to check the processes that are in place. This could cause resistance among software developers who may prefer not to work within the confines of specifications and procedures developed by others. Specifications and procedures developed by previous software developers may hinder ways to adjust computer systems, but varying interpretations of GAMP guidelines allow for multiple solutions.

Another hurdle is change control. In the development or modification of computer systems, companies with even the highest of standards can suffer setbacks along the SDLC. Sometimes minor tweaks by the software programmer, whether necessary or not, may cause breakdowns after validation changes have been implemented. Internal processes and procedures must be established to guard against these occurrences.

Whether utilizing another company’s specifications and procedures or your own, effective documentation management is fundamental for compliance. Any inaccuracies or missing information renders all other efforts moot. Moreover, implementing a formal document management application may be cost-prohibitive for some organizations. Some companies simply use what’s in the GAMP checklists to evaluate their systems. Today’s environment demands a thorough process to show validation.

Get GAMP

How do companies become GAMP-aware when it comes to dealing with the variability of process and procedures that exist in the industry? Some manufacturers that operate plants in numerous locations have established their own set of specifications and procedures to follow GAMP guidelines, and may add and drop some criteria to dictate the level of validation necessary to work with them. Suppliers reference GAMP because they’re following another company’s pre-established procedures. The customer can dictate changes to the supplier if they are necessary.

The ubiquitous pharmaceutical industry deals with not only domestic and international companies, but also a number of regulatory bodies as well. Inevitably, they’re facing some code of federal regulations along with GAMP, especially when a company wishes to export to the U.S., Europe and other parts of the world.

There are many companies that are capable of validating their systems to their specifications because they know they have to satisfy the FDA and have aligned their efforts accordingly. However, the FDA requirements are not prescriptive with step-by-step procedures, but are guidelines with an approximation of checks and balances. Some companies demonstrate validation by documenting the process to make a product consistent and repeatable to their own specifications. In some cases, companies simply follow what the customer wants. The lack of a rigid guideline should signal to companies that some give-and-take is necessary - whether satisfying customers or regulatory agencies.

What Do I Need?

If a life sciences company wishes to use GAMP guidelines to set up its validation systems, some of the elements may already be in place. Certain aspects, such as the maturity of the hardware or software, must be taken into consideration to check whether these elements are “industry proven.” To test the validity of elements in the system, the appropriate hardware, infrastructure and network must be in place. When beginning the testing environment, the test author should understand the testing environment in terms of:

* Correct hardware (peripherals and interfaces);

* Software (validated tools, software configuration);

* Data units (inputs, outputs, quality and quantity of data);

* Procedures (especially for user acceptance testing); and

* People (training and experience), (GAMP Good Practice Guide, pg. 69).

Suppliers can offer highly scalable automation architectures, which can be applied to a stand-alone one-server/one-user application, or to multiple users interfacing with multiple servers. This allows companies the ability to improve flexibility, reduce downtime and improve productivity. For example, a database system that wasn’t 21 CFR Part 11-compliant would require the company to make adjustments to the computer system to become compliant. This means the automation infrastructure must drive regulatory compliance to ensure that products meet guidelines. Likewise, OEMs are now looking at ways to provide the pro forma operational qualifications for all features in their equipment, so companies can test each of the features. Likewise, automation suppliers offer technology enhancements, as well as parts, small systems, total systems and integrated systems to help streamline the qualification process and reduce validation costs.

Typically, the costs of validating a larger system often represent between 20-25% of the total cost of the system qualification. Reducing the cost adds value to the bottom line and enables a system to go on-line faster. It makes sense to have procedures and systems in place to make validation easier.

GAMP helps companies address current issues of operational/manufacturing challenges through standardizing data, monitoring systems and validating the system.

The benefits of utilizing the GAMP approach for both users and suppliers include:

* Improved understanding of the subject with the introduction of common terminology;

* Reduced cost and time to achieve compliant systems;

* Reduced time and resources for revalidation or regression testing and remediation;

* Reduced cost of qualification;

* Enhanced compliance with regulatory expectations; and

* Established responsibility for all involved parties.

Products are available to help companies avoid revalidating an entire system when a new version emerges. Software tools focused on the life sciences industry that support cost-effective, risk-based manufacturing approaches allow companies to see what testing has been done to examine the functions within the system.

When the FDA introduced its current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP) for the 21st century initiative, companies shifted their approach to validation. Formerly, they only had to heed a set of rules that accounted for every piece of equipment that was used. Now they can take a risk-based approach to validation by addressing patient safety, efficacy and quality in the product considerations. In essence, this enables the industry to place its investments where it makes the most sense. The onus ultimately falls on manufacturers to accept greater responsibility to validate their systems having the attendant benefits of cost and time to market savings.

GAMP helps provide a quality product from the manufacturer, and helps to limit the pharmaceutical industry’s culpability by ensuring proper steps were placed to deliver a quality product through validated systems. By incorporating input from the full spectrum of stakeholders, fine tuning and further development of the process is geared towards benefiting the life sciences industry and the general consumer market.

The tools exist for companies to take the steps needed to reap the benefits of validation. Clearly, if you aren’t taking the necessary steps to compete, then your competitors are assuredly doing what they can to gain a market advantage. Understanding and early adoption of GAMP can increase a company’s competitive position, especially with the introduction/implementation of new technologies. By staying aware of technological innovations, companies are able to increase efficiency, minimize risks and reduce costs.

Read More

Track and trace to avoid quality control disasters

Remarkably, the vast majority of food processing facilities around Australia still rely on human beings to do the track and trace inspections

It is a critical aspect of quality assurance and food safety to identify a product at its origin and track and trace the forward movement through the entire process of the food supply chain, including food processing, filling, closure and packaging. To retrospectively identify where and when a problem may have occurred, and to date and time stamp the event, is a prerequisite.

The ability to automatically recognise defects up and down the supply chain has become an integral part of quality control in the food industry business and is a legal requirement in many processes.

.

The problem is that human beings cannot, for the most part, keep pace with industry requirements for increased production speeds and increased product quality. Operators get tired, lose focus and make mistakes. This loss of concentration could result in them failing to detect potentially defective products; the criteria that they apply during inspections are inevitably subjective.

Machine vision (MV) is the technology to replace or complement manual inspections and measurements with digital cameras and image processing. The technology is used in a variety of different industries to automate the production processes, increase production speed and yield, and to improve product quality.

Typical applications of machine vision in the Australian market:

• Code validation - confirming that all the codes on the product are readable.
• Label inspection - ascertaining that the labels are placed correctly.
• Label validation - validating that the correct label is affixed to the product.
• Packaging integrity - ensuring that any recycled packaging material is adequate.
• Filling monitoring - validating that the correct product and correct amount is filled.
• Closure inspection - ensuring that lids and caps are positioned and tightened correctly.
• Sealing validation - ensuring that foil covers and anti-tamper seals are present and correctly applied.

Code validation

Machine vision solutions for code inspection are used to verify code presence, position, formation and readability, and sometimes to also provide code reading and matching. Such systems can automatically identify and reject containers or packages with missing, incorrect or unreadable codes to ensure only properly coded items are produced.

Codes that can be validated are date codes, batch codes, barcodes and 2D data matrix codes, all ensuring that non-compliance can be traced and acted on.

Label inspection

High-speed labelling of products, of all types, shapes and sizes, can result in a wide variety of possible defects. These defects can lead to labelling errors that can be harmful to a brand or even present liability issues for a brand owner. Labels can be inspected for label presence, wrinkles, tears, skewed labels, double labels, flagged or missing labels, as well as incorrect label pairs (back and front) on containers and packages.

Overwrap alignment is another form of label inspection in which wraparound labels are checked for straightness and proper position. With appropriate MV system design, a 360° inspection on round bottles can be performed.

Label validation

The importance of correct labelling on a food product grows each day as scientists and doctors discover more food properties that need to be identified and displayed: peanut allergies, gluten-free, salt content - the list is extensive.

Machine vision technology for label inspection can be set up to help ensure correct labelling, and packages and containers with incorrect or defective labelling can then be automatically rejected in the production line.

Incorrect product labelling on the supermarket shelves could result in costly litigation, or worse.

Packaging integrity

Inspection of recycled packaging equipment can be easily achieved using MV technologies.

In beer bottling lines it is common practice that the beer crates are checked for wholeness, and if the crate has any damages, such as a hole in the bottom, it can be rejected before a bottle is inserted and falls through.

A further application has been implemented by a leading confectionery company in Melbourne that uses MV to check that the confectionery trays are clean for re-use before reintroduction into the manufacturing process of the next batch.

Filling monitoring

Ensuring that the correct product is filled into the correct container, and that the correct amount is filled, can be achieved using MV together with the code validation technologies.

This application is used by a global pet-food producer with process plants in Australia. Here the importance of correct filling is even higher due to the fact that much of the production is exported to Asian markets where brand reputation is paramount. Product recall, in this instance, can be very costly, both in terms of product waste and brand damage.

Closure validation

Obviously the integrity of closures and seals on bottles and other containers is important for the quality of the product and the safety of the consumer. MV systems can be used to visually check the closures and seals for integrity.

A simple application, albeit in a related industry, is using MV technology to check that the correct colour cap is placed on the correct home brand bleach bottle at a Queensland-based contract bottle filling company. And, more importantly, that the sealing is perfect - leaking bleach in the boot of a car could have some unpleasant consequences.

Checking the closure’s colour and dimensions verifies that the right closure has been applied to the container, while visually checking liner formation and placement ensures the product is properly sealed and protected from contamination and leakage. In the same way, tamper seals can be checked to make sure they are not broken.

Sealing inspection

There are many other applications where the integrity of the sealing process is paramount. The sealing of all wet food needs to be checked - any small flaw in the seal will result in the product possibly leaking contents, and the definite likelihood of the product spoiling. Additionally, tamper-proof seals can be checked for correct application prior to packaging and a photographic record kept of every product inspected.

We have reviewed a small selection of applications for the use of MV technology.  Further applications of machine vision in other markets include:

• Checking product quality - bruises, cuts, damage to fruit and vegetables, cracked eggs.
• Sorting fresh produce by size, colour and type - nuts, oranges, eggs, coffee.
• Checking for defective bottles and hygiene inspection in the bottle-washing process.
• Additional checks on bottle crates - logo inspection (correct crate for specified product), edge inspection to avoid sharp edges causing injury.
• Fish filleting using MV in conjunction with robots.

MV technology is developing as a rapid rate, providing faster, smarter and more accurate measurements. This evolution ensures that the food industry can apply the technology to more complex track and trace applications thereby assuring an even higher degree of quality assurance and food safety.

As the food and beverage authorities tighten the regulations, MV solutions are the best way to ensure compliance.

Read More

Automating Order Fulfillment with a New Generation of RFID

Back to the Future

If you’ve been following our 100 days of RFID campaign from the beginning, you’ve known that one of the reasons we’re doing this is to celebrate 10 years of RFID in conjunction with our upcoming anniversary.  But, today we’re getting in the time machine to celebrate 15 years of RFID.  Come along for the ride as we fire up the flux capacitor!

The year is 1995 and here’s what the RFID technology scene looked like: low frequency, which meant tags couldn’t be read from a great distance; proprietary technology, which meant customers had few options when upgrading; and higher costs, which meant trading off business benefits.

Well before ThingMagic was founded, Würth Oy, a Finland-based supplier of tools, fasteners and other industrial products, pioneered RFID’s use in order fulfillment.  This was a low frequency (LF) system based upon proprietary hardware that automated the picking process along a nearly one mile long conveyer line at its plant in Riihimaki. The point came, however, when Würth no longer could obtain parts for the proprietary hardware powering the system, so it turned to ThingMagic partner Vilant to replace it with one based upon UHF without any downtime to the picking line.

The closed-loop application features 40 stationary ThingMagic Astra readers that interrogate EPC Gen 2 passive ultrahigh-frequency (UHF) tags on roughly 1,000 plastic containers. The information collected via RFID is used to direct the conveyor belt system to send the containers to the proper picking stations. The key for Würth and Vilant was to make a slow and planned switchover so as not to incur any downtime, as over 70% of orders are fulfilled using this line, with over 40,000 RFID tracking events per day.

While Vilant successfully met Würth’s goal of moving its order fulfillment system to the next generation of RFID technology, it now can focus on taking advantage of what this generation provides them. In particular, the ease of maintenance and customizability of the system allows Vilant and Würth to innovate faster and easier. In addition, the greater performance of the system allows Würth to collect better data for quantifying how each picking station is used, maximizing the use of each station and eliminating bottlenecks.  Würth also is in position to eliminate paper from its picking process by presenting employees with electronic lists with locations for each item for even greater efficiencies.

Now that you know this company’s story, what RFID change do you think it’ll effect in the next 15 years? Or will it be closer to five years? We’re interested in your comments.

Read More

RFID-enabled Robots Create Efficiency in the Workplace

Robots have certainly undergone their share of transformation over the years – from the  stereotypical robot in “Lost in Space” to the child-friendly WALL-E – and I think Kevin Ashton, in a recent RFID Journal article, made a good point in arguing that robots have managed to shed creepy images, but have yet to make the complete transition to being human-like.

One ongoing limitation is that robots have not been able to have a true dialogue with humans - like that between Luke Skywalker and C-3PO, who boasted to be fluent in "over six million forms of communication"! Can RFID bridge this communication gap?
A few years ago, researchers from the Georgia Institute of Technology and Duke University embarked on a project where they used ThingMagic readers with robots in a healthcare setting. With long-range read capability, the robot named EL-E can move freely while still being able to detect RFID tags in various locations, and a finger-mounted, short-range antenna enables her to interact with a tagged object, such as handing a stethoscope to a physician.  EL-E can also assist physically-impaired people, giving them the appropriate medicine bottle when they are unable to help themselves. We’ve blogged before about how improving the patient experience can also accelerate the patients’ recovery. A robotic right-hand-man could allow nurses and physicians to spend more time researching, talking to and engaging with their patients, and therefore being able to treat the individual.
Check out another robot from Georgia Tech's Healthcare Robotics Lab -  GATSBII - a PR2 robot from Willow Garage outfitted with patch antennas and a ThingMagic M5e reader, as seen on CNN’s The Big I show!

More recently, and right here in Boston, we are seeing more investment in robot technology with companies like Rethink Robotics looking for new ways to make our industries more efficient and cost-effective. Their flagship product, Baxter, is designed to fit seamlessly into a manufacturing environment to take certain types of work off the hands of employees. Because of the enhanced level of interaction between human and robot, the robot can perform risk-posing tasks such as climbing a tower to do repairs, or repetitive, assembly line work that could free up people to do more complex, value-added tasks. In doing so, people can become more productive and the business is more efficient. And we all know that greater efficiency is the key to success in today’s economy.
The video below demonstrates how Baxter interacts with humans.
With RFID tags becoming more ubiquitous , can this be the technology that breaks down that communication barrier between robots and people?
It may be a while before we can think of a robot like C-3PO as our wing-man, but with RFID we may be able to more naturally interact with the next generation of robots – not in Hollywood - but in the business arena.

Read More

Enterprise Asset Management with RFID

ARC Advisory Group recently published a report titled "RFID Enables Improvement for Mobility and Enterprise Asset Management", in which they cite a "rapid uptick" in end user plans to implement RFID solutions for enterprise asset management (EAM).  According to a survey of 65 companies, ARC reports that a growing number are planning to move away from using bar codes in favor of deploying RFID to help manage their corporate assets.  Of the survey respondents - representing more than 1,300 facilities - 12 percent indicated they were already using RFID, while 20 percent said they have budgeted to add RFID to their EAM systems this year.

RFID-enabled applications identified by ARC as being available to users to help improve their asset management and maintenance include inventory management, recording asset history, data acquisition for condition monitoring, and location tracking.  According to RFID Journal's coverage of this report, one application that stands out is the use of RFID for inventory management or tool tracking because of the durability of RFID tags compared to bar coded labels in industrial environments.

Enterprise asset management and tool tracking are applications that ThingMagic is very familiar with.  Tool Link, an innovative solution offered by Ford Motor Company and DeWALT, includes ThingMagic's rugged RFID readers and tags and is available in 2009 and 2010 model Ford pickups and vans.  ThingMagic is also partnered with Atlas RFID, supplying the RFID technology to power the Atlas RFID AMS (Asset Management System) - a comprehensive, automated asset data collection and management system that promotes the safety and security of personnel, tools and equipment. Further, Element ID, a provider of high performance RFID readers and specialty industrial automation equipment/systems, recently announced the integration of the ThingMagic M5e embedded RFID module into their UHF Series Appliances for tracking high value assets throughout a building, such as IT assets, or lab or hospital equipment.

The bottom line - Big gains in productivity are economically feasible TODAY by using low cost Passive RFID and complimentary visibility technologies.  No application is too challenging, so if you want to explore how to implement RFID to improve the management of your assets,

Read More

Everyday RFID – What You Can’t See is Making Your Life Easier

In a recent episode of The Big Bang Theory, the studio audience had a good hearty laugh about a character’s use of RFID – tagging, scanning, and tracking every item of his clothing – to “simplify” the process of packing for a weekend trip. Though we shared in the laughter as Sheldon happily takes only three hours and eleven minutes to enable himself to track the distance to and weather conditions around each pair of his socks, one question does come to mind: just how far-fetched is the idea of everyday RFID use for consumers?

While the sitcom character is making an exaggerated and absurd use of the technology, finding it necessary to explain step-by-step the elaborate system he’s created, the truth is that RFID has become so integrated into our society that most people don’t even realize just how much they benefit from it.  In fact, if on a typical day of errands, you drove your child to a doctor’s appointment, swung by the public library, and treated yourself to a little shopping, you could encounter RFID at every stop along the way. RFID in your keys gets you into your car. RFID in your toll pass keeps you moving along the highway. RFID in hospitals tracks your son or daughter’s medicine. RFID in library cards tracks the books you’ve checked out. RFID in clothing tags tells retailers if your favorite styles are in stock (they should be, with the technology uniting the supply chain as well). And the list goes on.

However, if you were ever to strike up a conversation with someone about how cool and useful RFID is, you would get a lot of reactions eerily similar to that of the character’s roommate in the The Big Bang Theory clip. But perhaps that is a testament to just how effective RFID is as an integrated technology. It’s becoming so pervasive that people don’t realize it’s been making their lives easier and will continue to do so on much broader levels as it gets more widely adopted by both businesses and consumers. So while our friends from The Big Bang Theory continue their back-and-forth (and somewhere, someone plays the laugh track on repeat), the reality is that RFID typically isn’t even part of the conversation – it’s in the background simplifying data collection and enhancing processes so we can concentrate on our everyday activities.

Read More

RFID + Cloud + BIM for Managing Personnel in Vertical Construction

ThingMagic has had the opportunity to design, build and run an RFID–based personnel management system on a large construction project in California. Only three months after going-live, the general contractor is blown away by the system benefits and the richness of the collected data.
Construction management and building owners used to have to wait for weeks and months to get data on how their projects have actually been staffed. The new RFID-based system provides this information in real-time during each workday. Construction site management used to deploy several security guards and supervisors for the sole purpose of monitoring the work force in different sections of the building. Using the new system, management can monitor the flow of people in and out of zones from the office trailer: if a person enters an unauthorized zone, an instant email alert is sent to the designated supervisor. Most importantly, should there ever be an emergency evacuation event on site, the system provides real-time updates on who is left in the building and where.
System Overview
We have deployed a three-tier system with a distinct sensor layer, database layer, and application layer.

Figure 1: RFID-based Personnel Management in Vertical Construction: Major system components and system architecture.
Every worker on the construction site is issued a passive UHF-RFID-enabled ID card, which the individual wears on a lanyard around the neck. The sensor infrastructure consists of RFID-reader-enabled secure turnstiles for access to and egress from the job site; inside the building under construction we have installed Mercury6 RFID readers and antennas to systematically cover the entry areas of the building, staircase landings, man-lift landings, and the entrance areas of elevators banks. As a worker moves from one building section to another, the portal readers pick up the badge ID of the worker and associate the individual with the new space or zone. 
Raw sensor data is sent in real-time to a cloud-based database, where the data is translated into high-level events such as zone entries and exits, and then stored.
A multitude of web-enabled applications have access to the event data through a web API.
BIM Integration
The General Contractor and other stakeholders are given access to the data via a number of interfaces, including a mobile-device friendly web portal and email reports and notifications. However, the core filtering and reporting engine has been implemented as a plug-in to Tekla Structures, the comprehensive Building Information Modeling (BIM) and CAT software developed by our sister division Tekla.
The construction manager can visualize the personnel deployment on site within the 3D model. He or she has the ability to specify the time window of interest, the subcontractor, the zone, and other properties. The selected population of workers or a particular individual is presented along with a work zone selected in the model.
Benefits
Why would a general contractor or project owner deploy this system? Our RFID-based people management system provides:

• Real-time visibility into worker location during an evacuation event
• Instant alerts on security or safety breaches 
• Instantaneous reports on sub-contractor staffing levels
• Real-time updates on personnel-related compliance issues or ordinances.

Figure 2: Full-time equivalent construction personnel over a period of about seven weeks by day, subcontractor, and zone of the building under construction.
Supported by RFID and cloud-computing, emerging life-cycle management solutions are enabling new levels of innovation, productivity, collaboration, and growth in the construction market and others.  Organizations that can best harness this “Big data” opportunity will hold a distinct competitive advantage.

Read More

Embedding RFID Modules with Ease

Like athletes constantly searching for the right combination of training and nutrition to make them stronger and faster, developers are always looking for new tools and techniques that make it easier to more quickly build smarter, more powerful applications. For both, it’s about maintaining that competitive edge that will set them apart from others. Developers are finding that the convergence of more efficient and advanced embeddable technology is enabling them to change the wireless industry with a new class of applications.

Embedded RFID has emerged as an extraordinary growth technology. Research shows RFID, contactless, RTLS and similar technologies are enabling a growing number of auto-ID, location, sensing, M2M and Internet of Things applications. According to VDC Research, the market for these applications could grow to over $8 billion within the next five years. And as embedded RFID module innovation continues - with more application-specific options and ease of use features making their way into products - the technology is becoming more desirable for integration.

As a manufacturer of RFID reader modules, we know the hardware is only part of the battle. Our M6e series of modules has pushed the industry standard for size and performance to a point where nearly any engineer or OEM can include RFID as a product feature. But what separates the ideal embedded RFID solution from competing options is a combination of hardware, software and development tools. The importance of having an advanced software capabilities and a robust set of design tools can’t be overstated. This is what will truly drive the growth of embedded RFID.

ThingMagic’s commitment to ease-of-use with our family of advanced RFID modules runs deeper than most. With all ThingMagic RFID modules comes a set of development tools designed to simplify the process of creating an RFID-enabled solution.  

 

These include the ThingMagic RFID module developer kits, our Universal Reader Assistant utility for initializing readers and selecting application-specific performance settings, and our Mercury API SDK with sample applications and source code to help developers get started demonstrating and developing RFID functionality. 

And we’re continually enhancing these tools, as the process of programming and implementation is hardly a static one. Most recently we added a set of enhancements to 

the Mercury API, including Android OS Support. According to VDC Research, nearly one million developers will be developing applications for embedded systems and M2M applications using Android by the end of 2015. Now, with a sample 

Android application and project files, developers can build ThingMagic RFID-enabled Android applications with an easy “out of the box” solution!

Embedding RFID, like integrating any technology, comes with its challenges, which is exactly the reason it’s necessary to drive down these barriers from every direction. RFID exists to simplify the data collection processes and improve business process, but if it’s not simple to implement an RFID solution, it may be hard for some to justify. It is possible to embed RFID with ease, and requires only that a developer find a partner whose offerings can turn them into a championship-level performer.

Read More

Automated Data Collection (ADC) Basics

Automated Data Collection (ADC), also known as Automated Data Capture (ADC), Automated Identification (AutoID), Automated Identification and Data Capture (AIDC), and by many as just "Barcoding" consists of many technologies including some that have nothing to do with bar codes.  Voice systems, RFID, OCR, pick-to-light, laser scanners, CCD scanners,  hand-held batch and RF terminals,  vehicle-mounted computers,  and wearable computers are all part of the ADC picture.

The fear of six-figure project costs often prevent many small to mid-sized manufacturers and distributors from taking advantage of Automated Data Collection (ADC) technologies. The key to implementing cost-effective ADC systems is knowing what technologies are available and the amount of integration required to implement them. Applying this knowledge to the processes in your operation will help you in developing the scope of your project. Limiting your project to or prioritizing by those applications that have a high benefit/cost ratio will allow you to apply these operational improvement technologies within a reasonable budget.  For example, adding a keyboard-wedge bar-code scanner to an existing PC or terminal in a production or warehouse area is a very low cost method for applying ADC to existing shop-floor reporting and shipping applications. This type of hardware is inexpensive and the only real programming required is that needed to add a bar code to the form (work order, pick slip, etc.)

 Bar codes

 

There are two major categories of bar codes, one dimensional (1D), and two dimensional (2D).  1D barcodes are the ones we are most familiar with and consist of many different symbologies including UPC, Code 128, Code 39, Interleaved 2 of 5, just to name a few (there may also be variations within a specific symbology). The symbology you use may be dictated by supply chain partners through a standardized compliance label program or, if only used internally, can be chosen based upon specific application (tip:  if looking for a flexible symbology to use internally on documents, labels, license

plates, etc. you will find Code 128 a good choice).  2D bar code symbologies such as UPS's MaxiCode (shown right), are capable of storing more data then their 1D counterparts and require special scanners to read them. Although I would expect to see continued growth in the use of 2D bar codes, most warehouse and shop floor applications will continue to use 1D symbologies simply because the technology is less expensive and you generally only need enough data in the bar code to access the associated records in your inventory system database. The 1D codes are very capable of accomplishing this. If you're interested in more detailed information and specs on bar codes I recommend getting a copy of The Bar Code Book by Roger C. Palmer.

Bar-code scanners

Laser or CCD. 

There are primarily two technologies used to read bar codes. Laser scanners use a laser beam that moves back and forth across the bar code reading the light and dark spaces.  Laser scanners have been in use for decades and are capable of scanning bar codes at significant distances.  CCD (charged coupled device) scanners act like a small digital camera and take a digital image of the bar code which is then decoded.  CCD scanners offer a lower cost but are limited to a shorter scan distance (usually within a few inches, however, the technology is advancing quickly and devices with longer scan distances are becoming available).  Because of the scan distance limitations, users in a warehouse environment will likely find laser scanners to be their best choice however for applications were bar codes are read from documents — such as in a shop-floor production-reporting application — CCD scanners should work fine.

Autodiscrimination.   

Autodiscrimination describes the  functionality of a bar code reader to recognize the bar code symbology being scanned thus allowing a reader to read several different symbologies consecutively.  Most scanners come with this functionality and also allow you to program them to read only certain symbologies (this prevents someone from scanning the wrong bar code when multiple bar codes are present).

Keyboard-wedge scanners. 

Keyboard-wedge scanners connect between a computer keyboard and the computer and send ASCII data to the computer as if the scanner were a keyboard.  More simply put, the computer doesn't know that a scanner is attached and treats the data as though it were key strokes from the user.  The advantage of this is that there is no need for special software or programming on the computer. In its simplest application you hook the scanner up, make sure the curser is in the correct field, scan a bar code containing the data you need such as a work order number, an item number, or a location, and the data will immediately appear in the field on the screen. 

Although this type of application can prove to be very useful and essentially works right "out of the box", you will find that by taking advantage of the programmable features of some devices you can take this functionality much further.  This is where it gets a little confusing as the programming and functionality is a little different based upon the hardware and software you purchase.  Some keyboard-wedge scanners have built in programming functionality, while others are programmed on a separate wedge decoder, and there is also PC software that can perform tasks related to the data input from a scanner.  The good news is that you don't need to be a programmer to use this functionality.  If you have ever worked with macros you'll easily understand this type of programming.  What most of these programs allow you to do is to parse data from a bar code (allowing you to put several pieces of data in the same bar code such as item number and quantity, or customer number and shipping method) and also add keystrokes not included in the bar code such as tabs to move between fields, default data, function keys or enter keystrokes to complete transactions.

Keyboard wedge scanners offer a low cost entry into the world of automated data collection and can provide increases in accuracy and productivity in many stationary data entry applications. There are also wireless versions of keyboard wedge scanners available.

Fixed Position Scanners. 

Fixed position scanners are used where a bar code is moved in front of the scanner as opposed to the scanner being moved to the bar code.  Applications include grocery check out counters and automated conveyor systems.  Many fixed position scanners are omni-directional which means that the bar code does not have to be oriented any specific way to be read.

Go to Accuracybook.com's Bar Code Scanner Links.

Portable computers 

Portable computers come in a vast variety of designs with varying levels of functionality.  I must admit that I am somewhat disappointed in the lack of progress made in portable terminal design, especially with hand-held units.  If you think 386 processors, DOS operating systems,  and monochrome displays are ancient history you better think again as these are the specs of many of the hand-held portable data collection devices available today.  On the plus side, costs have come down over the years and I'm hopeful that more quickly evolving technologies being developed for devices such as PDAs will soon make portable data collection terminals smaller, lighter, and more functional.

Batch versus RF. 

Batch terminals are used to collect data into files on the device and are later connected to a computer to have the files downloaded.  RF terminals use radio frequency waves to communicate live with the host system or network.  While batch devices were heavily used in the past and still have viable applications today, the introduction of  wireless standards has made RF technology much more affordable and easier to maintain and implement.

Hand-held devices.

As previously mentioned, I have been less than impressed with advances in hand-held devices.  I should also say that I have a lot of problems with the basic nature of hand-held devices themselves.  First of all, "hand held" implies that you will be using one hand to hold the device.  Well, in most warehousing and material-handling environments this is a problem since that hand can no longer be used  to handle materials or operate controls of material-handling equipment. In addition, hand-held terminals generally have very small LCD displays that are usually difficult to read as well as very small, confusing keypads that are difficult to enter data into.  This doesn't mean that these can't be valuable tools in your operation, only that you need to be sure to consider all the factors when implementing this type of technology.  Hand-held devices often come with integrated bar-code scanners (as shown) however, they can be used without a scanner or with a separate scanner.

Hand-held Tips:

• The standard hand-held device design (like that shown) have little use in a warehouse outside of maybe a cycle count program.  Instead, use the pistol-grip models which allow your workers to more quickly holster the device between scans to make use of both their hands.
• Keep the prompts as simple as possible.  The prompts should show only the bare minimum amount of data necessary to perform the task.
• Minimize or eliminate data entry on keypads.  As I said before, the keypads on these devices are difficult to use especially with alpha characters.  Limit data entry to numeric data as much as possible and also eliminate the need to have to enter tabs or enter keys.

Vehicle-mounted devices. 

Vehicle-mounted devices have several advantages over hand held devices including larger screens (even up to full sized screens), larger keypads similar to a standard keyboard on a portable computer, and you can't drop, loose, or forget to charge them.  You're also more likely to find GUI user interfaces (Windows) on vehicle mounted devices.  When using a full-screen vehicle-mounted device, integration can be much simpler as you can use your existing programs designed for desktop computers (although you should still consider simplifying the screens). Obviously you need to be performing tasks using some type of a vehicle (lift truck, tug, cart, etc) to use a vehicle-mount device.  Generally, vehicle-mounted devices use a separate wired or wireless bar-code scanner to input data.  Tips for using vehicle-mounted devices are similar to those for hand-helds (simple prompts, minimize data entry) but you should also consult with your vehicle manufacturer for recommendations on where to mount the device to ensure safe operation of the vehicle.

Wearable Systems. 

Wearable systems will likely have the most growth in coming years.  Currently offerings in wearable systems are limited and include devices like Symbol's WS series (nicknamed the Gladiator) that is strapped to the wrist/forearm and uses a small ring-type laser scanner for reading bar codes, or the Talkman from Vocollect which is designed for voice systems (more on voice systems below).  Wearable systems provide the functionality of hand-held devices while still allowing workers to use both hands.  I should caution you that several hand-held manufacturers have taken their hand-held devices, put them in a fanny pack, connected them to a voice headset or ring scanner and call them a "wearable system".  While technically this is a wearable system, I personally would not want to carry around the added bulk and weight of a device designed with an LCD display and keypad for 8 hours a day just because the manufacturer didn't want to make the effort to design a wearable-specific device.

Read More

Hospital Inventory Control with UHF RFID

As introduced in posts earlier this week, RFID technology offers great potential to significantly reduce costs while improving materials management and inventory operations throughout hospitals and other healthcare facilities.  RFID-based solutions help hospitals answer the most fundamental questions of knowing who and where its patients and resources are.  With this data, hospitals can enhance a number of processes related to asset management, patient tracking and throughput, inventory control, and patient-centric services.

Passive RFID-based inventory control solutions provide real-time data on inventory availability and use as items move from storage to individual departments and ultimately to the clinicians and patients who use them.  This accurate management of the hospital supply chain – from scheduling through discharge – is essential to improving workflow and charge capture.  

Helping to drive these efficiencies into the healthcare market, Goods That Talk (GTT), located in southern Brazil has developed innovative UHF RFID-based solutions, serving the entire hospital service chain including hospitals, clinical offices, distributors and manufacturers.  GTT is partnered with ACURA RFID Systems, a longstanding ThingMagic partner focused on developing and distributing RFID tags and readers to markets such as healthcare, mining, logistics, transportation, industrial automation, chemical, security, and several others.

Included under the umbrella of GTT’s GTmed solutions, Gt Cabinets integrate ThingMagic UHF RFID readers to improve the management of implantable medical devices and drugs needed during surgical procedures.

The time between consumption and invoicing and the rigorous need for safety and coordination of the stock of these items makes product monitoring difficult.  By tagging each of these items with RFID-EPC Gen 2 tags and reading the inventory in real-time with UHF RFID readers integrated into the cabinets, hospitals can automate the management of intermediary stocks, minimize safety stock holdings, and create a proactive system of replenishment that streamlines the entire supply chain.

In an era where healthcare costs are increasing at the same time that hospital profitability is decreasing, hospital administrators are challenged with finding new ways to run their organizations more efficiently.  These solutions are just a few examples of how low cost, easy to deploy Passive UHF RFID provide hospitals with an economical way to measure a large number of parameters in hospital settings, streamline workflows and introduce efficiencies and cost savings across the entire healthcare supply chain.

What uses of RFID in healthcare do you find most beneficial?  What technology trends are you seeing that address the cost savings and efficiency needs of hospital administrators?  What if your goods could “talk” to you?

Read More

RFID Making Fresh Produce Cool

I have to admit that I buy organic milk, not just because I think it’s healthier for my family, but because I can stock up on it without the risk that it’ll go bad before we use it. Why does organic milk have such a longer shelf-life than regular milk? Maybe they’ve figured out something that the others haven’t. Maybe it’s Intelleflex.

Recently, the company developed what they call the Cool Chain Quick Scan. It helps farmers and shippers identify spots in their temperature-controlled supply chain - or cold chain - to improve freshness. This may sound familiar to you because during our 100 Uses of RFID program, we blogged about RFID enabling temperature tracking in real-time for sensitive, pharmaceutical shipments. Now we learn about it being used to track produce temperatures, which makes a ton of sense. 

The time for fresh produce to be harvested, cooled, processed and shipped can vary by hours and is influenced by several external factors beyond the farm. Air temperatures of refrigerated vehicles add to the complexity because they vary significantly, potentially causing the food to go bad before it reaches the store. That could explain the condition of the avocados I see in my supermarket.

The Cool Chain Quick Scan replaces guesswork, visual inspections and First In/First Out inventory methods, with a snapshot of the cold chain. It identifies, measures and documents the impact of the temperatures on the produce. The monitoring is continuous - from the field, to the pack house, through distribution, and finally the retail store. It sounds tedious, but with RFID, it’s easy and cost-effective.

RFID tags that use light, temperature and humidity sensors, are placed on the produce and processed as usual. For example, tags could be placed with produce in the field during harvest, or in pallets being transported from the pack house to distribution centers. Readers and condition monitoring tags use battery-assisted, passive RFID to read through pallets and containers with precision. The tags are removed at the pack house and mailed back to Intelleflex for analysis that is included in a detailed report, including:

• Temperature variation that the product is experiencing
• Amount of shelf life lost due to temperature issues
• Impact on customer satisfaction
• Recommendations to improve temperature management

This level of reporting can help farmers, distributors and retailers develop cold chain best practices.

By transforming climate monitoring from trailer-, container- and warehouse-tracking devices to individual pallet tags, RFID can give fresh produce suppliers detailed visibility into the lifecycle of the produce. They can use this new found visibility and resulting best practices to reduce shrink and improve profitability. Every fresh produce supplier’s dream come through thanks to – of all things - RFID.

Read More

Where Does Your Food Come From? RFID Knows.

Each year about 1 in 6 people in the United States gets sick from eating contaminated food, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Salmonella is responsible for many of the reported outbreaks and causes more hospitalizations and deaths than any other type of germ found in food. While E. Coli infections have been drastically reduced, there has been no reduction in people getting sick from Salmonella.
One way to cut down on illness caused by Salmonella is to apply lessons learned from past outbreaks as depicted below.

View larger version of the diagram (source: CDC)
Efforts to educate about prevention can be supplemented by enhancing the traceability of food shipments within the supply chain. The Food Safety Modernization Act calls for the FDA to focus on new food traceability rules to prevent contamination.
A report issued recenlty by ABI Research, “RFID-enabled Food Safety and Traceability Systems,”  reviews the Food Safety Modernization Act and provides forecasts for the use of RFID-enabled devices in cold chain applications. RFID allows the food industry to trace food items and record environmental conditions throughout the entire supply chain.
Sensors in RFID tags monitor the temperature and humidity of products. They can detect if the temperature for a specific food item goes above or below the ideal temperature, at any given time, and record that detail. Tags can be used on anything in the supply chain from the farms, to slaughterhouses, to pallets, to shipping containers, to grocery stores. Even the cows and pigs can be tagged.
You may remember the Orange Juice recall from this past January. CNNMoney noted that if there is wide adoption of a traceability solution in the industry, it could stop the contaminated food from being put onto store shelves in the first place, and help stop outbreaks before they start.
Aside from preventing food borne illnesses, ABI Research also points out that the information delivered by an RFID traceability solution could have a significant impact on the $35 billion a year in wasted produce. With the environment detail captured by the RFID readers during the supply chain, a grocer or manufacturer can determine precisely which containers were exposed to temperatures outside of the ideal range, and discard only those containers instead of discarding the entire shipment.
The prevention of waste or food borne illness is enough to warrant an RFID food traceability mandate in my book. Being able to impact both? I’ll let you do the math.

Read More

RFID + Cloud + BIM for Managing Personnel in Vertical Construction

ThingMagic has had the opportunity to design, build and run an RFID–based personnel management system on a large construction project in California. Only three months after going-live, the general contractor is blown away by the system benefits and the richness of the collected data.
Construction management and building owners used to have to wait for weeks and months to get data on how their projects have actually been staffed. The new RFID-based system provides this information in real-time during each workday. Construction site management used to deploy several security guards and supervisors for the sole purpose of monitoring the work force in different sections of the building. Using the new system, management can monitor the flow of people in and out of zones from the office trailer: if a person enters an unauthorized zone, an instant email alert is sent to the designated supervisor. Most importantly, should there ever be an emergency evacuation event on site, the system provides real-time updates on who is left in the building and where.
System Overview
We have deployed a three-tier system with a distinct sensor layer, database layer, and application layer.

Figure 1: RFID-based Personnel Management in Vertical Construction: Major system components and system architecture.
Every worker on the construction site is issued a passive UHF-RFID-enabled ID card, which the individual wears on a lanyard around the neck. The sensor infrastructure consists of RFID-reader-enabled secure turnstiles for access to and egress from the job site; inside the building under construction we have installed Mercury6 RFID readers and antennas to systematically cover the entry areas of the building, staircase landings, man-lift landings, and the entrance areas of elevators banks. As a worker moves from one building section to another, the portal readers pick up the badge ID of the worker and associate the individual with the new space or zone. 
Raw sensor data is sent in real-time to a cloud-based database, where the data is translated into high-level events such as zone entries and exits, and then stored.
A multitude of web-enabled applications have access to the event data through a web API.
BIM Integration
The General Contractor and other stakeholders are given access to the data via a number of interfaces, including a mobile-device friendly web portal and email reports and notifications. However, the core filtering and reporting engine has been implemented as a plug-in to Tekla Structures, the comprehensive Building Information Modeling (BIM) and CAT software developed by our sister division Tekla.
The construction manager can visualize the personnel deployment on site within the 3D model. He or she has the ability to specify the time window of interest, the subcontractor, the zone, and other properties. The selected population of workers or a particular individual is presented along with a work zone selected in the model.
Benefits
Why would a general contractor or project owner deploy this system? Our RFID-based people management system provides:

• Real-time visibility into worker location during an evacuation event
• Instant alerts on security or safety breaches 
• Instantaneous reports on sub-contractor staffing levels
• Real-time updates on personnel-related compliance issues or ordinances.

Figure 2: Full-time equivalent construction personnel over a period of about seven weeks by day, subcontractor, and zone of the building under construction.
Supported by RFID and cloud-computing, emerging life-cycle management solutions are enabling new levels of innovation, productivity, collaboration, and growth in the construction market and others.  Organizations that can best harness this “Big data” opportunity will hold a distinct competitive advantage.

Read More

Race Timing with RFID

On April 18^th, 2011 over 25,000 participants are expected to run the 115^th Boston Marathon – the oldest annual city marathon in the world.  In addition to its well known course meandering through eight Massachusetts cities and towns, the Boston Marathon is famous for several legendary participants.  Recognized as a Boston Marathon icon, Johnny Kelley competed in the Boston Marathon a record 61 times, winning in 1935 and 1945, placing second seven times and finishing in

How Rosie Ruiz Changed an Industry

the top five 15 times.  Kelly ran his last full marathon at Boston in 1992 at the age of 84.  Bill "Boston Billy" Rodgers won the Boston Marathon four times between 1975 and 1980, breaking the American record in 1975 and 1979.  Dick and Rick Hoyt are a father and son team who compete in the wheelchair division with Dick pushing Rick in a custom racing chair. Team Hoyt has competed in 27 Boston Marathons and often finish with times faster than 90% of the pack.

While these runners have been an inspiration to many, no one may have changed the sport like Rosie Ruiz.  In the 84^th running of the Boston Marathon on April 21^st 1980, Ruiz crossed the finish line before all other women runners – clocking the fastest time ever recorded for a woman in the history of the Boston Marathon and the third fastest time ever recorded for a woman in any marathon.  Following her impressive finish, investigations determined that Ruiz had skipped most of the race and rejoined runners about one mile from the finish line.  Ruiz was disqualified and as a result, the Boston Marathon and several other races instituted a number of safeguards against cheating - including RFID race timing systems that monitor when runners arrive at various checkpoints on the course.

Today, both Active and Passive RFID-based solutions are being used to time all kinds of races including marathons, triathlons, and cycling, sailing, skating and motorcycle races.  In each of these and many other races, Timing is everything.  To ensure that an accurate time is captured when every biker, runner or swimmer crosses the finish line, events like these require extremely precise timing equipment that is both durable and able to account for each participant, especially in dense, quick-paced situations.  Without RFID, races can be timed by hand with operators using a stop-watch, or by using a combination of electronic timing and video camera systems.  As with many other time-sensitive activities however, RFID has proven to be a more efficient alternative to manual tracking due to a reduction in human error and the technology’s ability to process a greater amount of data in a shorter period of time.

RFID-enabled race timing solutions are offered by companies around the globe, including several ThingMagic partners who have implemented varying combinations of UHF and other RFID technologies to meet the demands of their customers. 

RFID Timing offers timing solutions for timing running, triathlon, cycling, swimming and canoeing. Their Ultra product includes battery assisted tags that last for two and a half years, extremely thin EVA mats, and highly sensitive Gen2 RFID readers.  HDD is a lower cost package for smaller organizations or multi-sport competitions that can be set up in less than a minute, complete with easy rollout mats. RFID Timing is using ThingMagic USB readers for short range applications including encoding and checking UHF tags prior to placement onto race numbers for an event. The ThingMagic USB reader is also used to scan athletes’ tags at race pack pickup (usually the day before a race) to verify the athletes details in the timing system database are correct. 

Zoomius produces TAG Heuer Track Intelligence, a complete online motorsports management system. Hundreds of racing organizations, track days and schools are using TAG Heuer Track Intelligence to simplify their operations and provide more love to their customers.  Zoomius has also created the TITAN RFID system, powered by ThingMagic Mercury 5e readers to provide cost-effective and accurate next-generation timing and scoring systems. Perfect accuracy provided by sophisticated but easy-to-use technology, TITAN RFID, powered by ThingMagic, brings complete timing and scoring to organizations who previously couldn't afford it. 1/1000th of a second. 40 feet. 180mph. With superior ThingMagic technology Zoomius overcome hurdles that no-one else can even come close to solving.

Read More