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Feature
Deploying RFID the right way
To fully tap the enormous potential of RFID, manufacturers
need to plan their deployments carefully, keeping their needs and IT infrastructure
in mind, says Vertika Yadav.
 Deploying
new applications and technologies in an enterprise is always a huge task for
the managers concerned, right from technology officers to network administrators.
They have to balance productivity with costs, and integrate the new with the
old.
RFID has many acknowledged benefits. It allows businesses to operate more efficiently,
helps supply chain functions, enables in-time inventory control, allows the
use of valuable information to boost revenue and cut costs, and can make way
for better customer service.
That said, like with any other disruptive technology, a half-baked deployment
of RFID can rebound badly.
According to Krithiwas Neelakantan, Business Development Manager, Sun Microsystems,
“RFID technology has the potential to increase the efficiency of the supply
chain and open new areas of revenue. However, many of its advantages will be
lost if the technology is deployed without any thought as to how it can benefit
a business.”
Pantaloon Retail has piloted an RFID project at one its warehouses in Tarapur
using 1,000 RFID tags. “The RFID initiative has more to do with improving
the efficiency of our supply chain. We wish to automate the entire chain from
suppliers to warehouses and stores,” says Chinar Deshpande, CIO of Pantaloon.
| What you need to upgrade before deploying RFID |
| Data management: The data
model must be expanded to capture additional information around surrounding
events—the state before, during, and after each step; person and asset
involved; the conditions at the time of the deployment and the key measurements.
Network and end-user
device management: A large number
of data extracts and information views must be made available throughout
RFID-impacted operations. Most of the end-users will be mobile, which
will require the deployment of wireless LANs and other remote connections.
Sensor management:
IT departments need to ensure that standards are set for tags and readers,
and how the tags and readers are deployed.
Systems integration:
IT professionals must fully understand RFID and the business operations
to which the technology will be applied.
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More than mechanical
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We are currently trying RFID in our HR department for
tracking attendance and customer loyalty
Unni Krishnan
CTO
Solutions & Technology Team
Shoppers’ Stop
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Advises Neelakantan, “To realise return on investment
from RFID, manufacturers need to do more than simply tag items and send them
on their way. Businesses need to look at their RFID deployment holistically.
Before they start tagging anything, companies should first consider their business
goals, and how RFID could help them achieve these goals. They should then develop
a careful and logical deployment plan that addresses their goals.”
At Ashok Leyland, RFID technology has been successfully deployed for tracking
the issue and receipt of different gauges and instruments that are used for
testing through effective integration with ERP processes. “This also enables
tracking of assets in various locations to enhance the control analysis,”
says Mohanakrishnan, Special Director, Information Systems & Knowledge Management,
Ashok Leyland.
T S Rangarajan, Global Head, RFID Solutions, TCS, proposes a systematic decision-making
process before deploying RFID. “Decide what problems you’d like RFID
to solve, or what business processes can be enhanced with location identification.
The first step must be an in-depth assessment of current business processes
and issues. Second, define the goal. Then evaluate the technology that’s
available, select a vendor, and, for starters, deploy a small, focussed pilot
programme within your company to address the goals,” he suggests.
When a pilot project is on, it should be seen as an opportunity
to train employees and reconstruct business processes to ensure that everyone
knows how to properly utilise the new technology. Making workers understand
the technology was one of the challenges faced during the Pantaloon pilot. The
workers lacked an understanding of the technology and had to be educated about
it. It was during the pilot project that the workers got to experience the use
of RFID and learnt how to handle the tags.
After running a pilot project for a fairly long time, a company should be able
to evaluate the programme’s successes and failures, and then use that knowledge
to deploy RFID throughout the enterprise.
| What Ashok Leyland expects from RFID |
- Monitor
the asset quality and asset movement online.
- Monitor calibration
requirements, thereby enhancing the accuracy of equipment functioning
through timely calibration.
- Enhance the
quality of the assembly line by identifying defects.
- Reduce the
number of defects per million operations.
- Track the genealogy
of components for post-manufacture performance monitoring.
- Process corrections
to reduce performance-related and post-manufacture problems.
- Integrate assembly
and testing processes with ERP for better control of quality.
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Ashok Leyland’s plans
Ashok Leyland is now planning to use RFID in other areas
as well. “We are currently evaluating the prospect of using RFID in the
assembly automation process for our engine plant at Hosur,” tells Mohanakrishnan.
The plant has a flexible system to manufacture 4- and 6-cylinder engines of
multiple varieties in the same assembly line. The plant is sequenced for alternatively
manufacturing 4- and 6- cylinder engines. RFID enables the introduction of a
process whereby relevant components for each of the variety of engines to be
assembled are picked based on the sequencing plan and then moved to the assembly
line through the integration of the ERP system with the RFID one. The tags will
allow shop-floor operatives to have a synchronised method of picking and assembling
the right combination. “This will significantly enhance mistake-proofing
and greatly reduce the re-work requirements in the assembly area; it will also
ensure quality of manufacturing,” informs Mohanakrishnan.
“We are currently trying RFID in our HR department for
tracking attendance and customer loyalty. Once we achieve desirable results
from this project, we will look at using the technology in the merchandising
department,” reveals Unni Krishnan, CTO, Solutions & Technology Team,
Shoppers’ Stop.
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We are currently
evaluating the prospect of using RFID in the assembly automation process
for our engine plant at Hosur
Mohanakrishnan
Special Director
Information Systems & Knowledge Management
Ashok Leyland
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Before deploying RFID, decide what problems you’d
like it to solve, or what business processes can be enhanced with location
identification
T S Rangarajan
Global Head
RFID Solutions
TCS
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Care should be taken while appointing a vendor. “Make sure that the technology
vendor you work with provides a solid upgrade path. Your vendor needs to know
the RFID industry, be aware of developing standards, and be prepared to provide
solutions that allow you to update the technology as your needs change or as
RFID standards evolve,” cautions Rangarajan.
When planning an RFID deployment, enterprises should also ensure that their
IT infrastructure is able to support the deployment.
The RFID application developed by Wipro Infotech for Pantaloon was tailored
to the overall solution in line with the latter’s business processes and
IT landscape, and was capable of capturing real-time data.
“RFID will transmit a tremendous amount of data that can become a burden
on a company’s computing infrastructure. One should have a robust and reliable
back-end system that is capable of collecting, filtering and processing large
quantities of this data,” warns Neelakantan. He also believes that those
manufacturers who only use RFID as a high-tech replacement for barcodes will
not fully benefit from the technology.
| Deploying RFID |
| Step 1
Determine which challenges RFID will address and where
it can generate value. Next, examine where business processes will change
and how both customers and the supply chain will benefit from this implementation.
Step 2
Examine how RFID data can enhance critical business
processes. Then map out distributed information architecture that details
how RFID information will be gathered and utilised within the enterprise
and along the supply chain.
Step 3
Deploy a small pilot during which you’ll test
tags and reader performance within your working environment. As your data
needs grow, scale your infrastructure to accommodate increasing capacity
and management needs.
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Talk and exchange
The efficient deployment of RFID requires that companies—suppliers, manufacturers
and distributors—look at RFID as an enabler to do business differently,
and see how it can solve important customer issues.
“Talk to your partners and see what data they can provide from their RFID
deployment, and what information you can provide in return. Here, intelligence
is crucial—the whole business ecosystem can benefit if the entire ecosystem
works together,” Rangarajan remarks.
Even though there are significant indications of greater efficiency, a full-size
implementation of RFID is not quite viable because of the cost factor. Recognising
the high cost involved in RFID initiatives, Ashok Leyland has been evaluating
the feasibility of re-use of RFID tags in internal manufacturing processes in
order to reduce the effective cost of RFID implementation per unit of manufacture.
“In our assessment, there are limitations in the use of RFID technology
from the vendor- to the customer-end in the automobile industry. Hence all RFID
initiatives envisage focus on improving in-house manufacturing efficiency only,”
says Mohanakrishnan.
Despite concern over the ROI of RFID, companies are deploying the technology.
Many are already running pilot projects or are on their way to doing so. They
aim to use RFID to improve efficiency and security, and to attain better inventory
visibility.
vertika@expresscomputeronline.com
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