Batteries with RFID Tags

Timberlake

Friday, June 20, 2008

Canadian logistics and engineering company Can/U.S. Enviro-Energy, which specializes in supplying new industrial-size batteries for the telecommunications industry, as well as in disposing of used ones, is employing passive EPC Gen 2 RFID tags to track its battery inventory, and to provide customers with visibility into the disposal of their batteries. The RFID system, designed by Montreal-based RFID research and development firm Academia RFID, utilizes Motorola interrogators and tags, as well as operation management software from Ship2Save.

To track the various batteries' status, telecom inspectors intermittently check their functionality. When the inspectors discover batteries approaching the end of their lifespan, a telecommunications company can contact Can/U.S. Enviro-Energy, which is responsible for removing old batteries and delivering them to recycling depots for dismantling, then either disposal or recycling. Can/U.S. Enviro-Energy also sells and delivers new batteries to companies, according to Alain Perreault, the logistics firm's general manager.

Until recently, the system was largely manual and paper-based. Can/U.S. Enviro-Energy would order new batteries after receiving a notice from a customer that such were required. The logistics firm stores the new batteries in its warehouse in Lachine, Quebec, and previously tracked those it received and delivered on paper forms stored in file folders. The company then scheduled a time to deliver the new batteries and haul the old ones out utilizing large dollies and trucks designed to carry hazardous waste.

The RFID system also reduces the need to search for batteries that workers believe are in the warehouse but, in fact, may not be. Because each battery tag is scanned upon delivery, employees have an automated record of which batteries are in the warehouse. In addition, warehouse staff members can utilize a handheld reader to locate a particular battery. Because of the high level of metal in batteries, Perreault says, Academia RFID designed a pouch with an air pocket that lifts the tag off the metal surface.

[RFID Journal ]

Batteries with RFID Tags

Batteries with RFID Tags

Post a Comment