That Competitive Edge
Manufacturers are using RFID in their plants to track work in process, manage assets, reduce errors—and boost their bottom line.
By Elizabeth Wasserman
Feb. 1, 2008—Duferco Farrell Corp. operates a plant in western Pennsylvania where it fabricates huge steel slabs, weighing between 24,000 and 53,000 pounds, into the specific grade, size and chemical makeup requested by customers. The slabs are heated and rolled into coils, sometimes 4 or 5 feet wide. The coils often need to undergo other production processes, including being cleaned or coated with a finish. The coils are then transported by truck or rail to industrial customers for the manufacture of automobiles, roofs and a variety of other products.
To keep track of some 6,000 different steel coils at any given time, plant workers use grease pencils to write the customer number and other data on the coils.
When workers need to find a specific order, they climb on top of the coils and look for the numbers, then direct an overhead crane to pick up the steel and move it to the next stage of production. Sometimes the coils that have to be moved to locate a specific order are misplaced, and occasionally workers slip off the coils and are injured.
Feb. 1, 2008—Duferco Farrell Corp. operates a plant in western Pennsylvania where it fabricates huge steel slabs, weighing between 24,000 and 53,000 pounds, into the specific grade, size and chemical makeup requested by customers. The slabs are heated and rolled into coils, sometimes 4 or 5 feet wide. The coils often need to undergo other production processes, including being cleaned or coated with a finish. The coils are then transported by truck or rail to industrial customers for the manufacture of automobiles, roofs and a variety of other products.
To keep track of some 6,000 different steel coils at any given time, plant workers use grease pencils to write the customer number and other data on the coils.
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When workers need to find a specific order, they climb on top of the coils and look for the numbers, then direct an overhead crane to pick up the steel and move it to the next stage of production. Sometimes the coils that have to be moved to locate a specific order are misplaced, and occasionally workers slip off the coils and are injured.
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