|
The costly, time-consuming nature of data gathering in the past meant that organizations limited how much asset-related information they gathered and how frequently they gathered it. With today's RFID technology, more data can be gathered faster and less expensively than ever before. Information that can be used proactively to prevent problems, to schedule maintenance based on actual condition rather than on an arbitrary calendar date, and to optimize the value of all the enterprise's assets. Two companies helping to make these benefits possible are partners Infor and Blue Dot Solutions.Infor, one of the largest business software providers today, delivers integrated solutions for a wide range of industries, as well as best-in-class, stand-alone products that address the critical challenges its customers face in areas such as asset management, enterprise resource planning, supply chain planning and execution, and others. Its core asset management products include Infor EAM Enterprise Edition, Infor EAM Business Edition, and Infor EAM MP2.Blue Dot Solutions is a leading provider of intuitive mobile and wireless computing solutions for asset-intensive companies and industries. Their mNOW! Mobile Framework provides customers with capabilities for combined mobile and RFID functionality in a single infrastructure. Blue Dot's mNOW! Middleware facilitates the delivery of information from a handheld device to customers' Infor asset management solutions.To obtain more information about how RFID technology can help you better manage your assets, contact your local Infor or Blue Dot Solutions representative.Even though the technology has been around in some form since World War II, chances are that you think of Wal-Mart's supply chain initiative when you hear the words "radio frequency identification," or "RFID." Since January 2005, the retail giant has required suppliers to place RFID tags on pallets and cases. Wal-Mart is already seeing a return on their investment, such as gaining the ability to refill out-of-stock products three times faster than before.But does RFID technology make as much sense for asset management as it does for supply chain management? While senior executives may pay close attention to product inventory, they sometimes underestimate how the cost of purchasing, maintaining, and disposing of assets can affect the bottom line. Engineering directors, IT managers, and maintenance personnel understand the impact, but they typically have had ineffective tools time-consuming, error-prone manual systems and spreadsheets that prevent easily and quickly tracking, measuring, and reporting on the status and performance of these assets. For manufacturers alone, according to ARC Advisory Group, just improving asset performance by a few percentage points could be worth billions of dollars annually across the industry. RFID technology enables the automated gathering and sending of asset information including location, meter readings, maintenance status, and much more without a person needing direct line of sight or contact with that asset. Not only does RFID provide a fast, accurate method of obtaining this valuable information, but the types of information it enables asset managers to gather can help companies do such things as reduce costs by implementing a need-based maintenance schedule rather than an arbitrary calendar-based schedule, increase revenue by accurately valuing assets being sold, and increase equipment longevity by identifying usage patterns and the need for additional user training.This brief paper describes the basic RFID technology components and how they work, and it compares the differences between using RFID and barcoding for asset management. This paper also provides real-life examples of how RFID technology is being used by enterprising organizations today to gain significant time savings and enable better asset management. A small US municipality has outfitted its residential water meters with RFID tags. To gather meter readings for water usage, a city employee simply drives by the households. The tags send information back to the reader in the city's van, which passes information to the billing system. For the city, data is captured quickly and accurately. For the home owner who need not be present or call in the reading, it's convenient.This system also helps the city manage assets: it can identify whether a meter is working improperly. By having this information sooner rather than later, the city reduces potential revenue loss from faulty equipment and can track asset lifecycle trends.
|
