Enterprise Asset Management with RFID
Posted by Ken Lynch on Tue, May 11, 2010 @ 03:58 PM
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, contact ThingMagic.