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Gun Maker Hits the Mark with RFID
"We think it's the right long-term decision," Benincasa says of FN Manufacturing's decision to build links between its ERP system and RFID early on. "It wasn't easy, but we wanted to make our flow standard, and wanted the labels to kick out automatically. And you have to send DOD ASNs, and you can either manually key in all the serial numbers if you wanted, or you can automatically create the ASN files."
FN Manufacturing has set up two RFID portals in its operation. One is used to read the tags on the crates as they move into a staging area, pre-shipping area. Another has been set up to interrogate the tags at the loading dock. In addition, the system includes three handheld interrogators (readers) that employees can use to verify the tags on cases used to ship spare parts, and to create an association between the tags on the individual cases, which are then packed on a crate and tagged.
FN Manufacturing began investigating how RFID works and how it could be implemented in its factory several years ago. The company began testing different tags and implementing the necessary hardware and software about a year ago, according to Benincasa. He says tag testing and installing the RFID portals, readers and middleware was fairly straightforward. The greater challenge was building the links between FN Manufacturing's ERP system and the RFID data. "The hard part," he notes, "is getting your key systems to work with the RFID data, and then getting that data to the government."
That said, FN Manufacturing did have to try several different tags. The company worked with Identitrak to test several dipole UHF tag designs. Some of the tags delivered low read rates because of interference caused by metal, while some could not be read at all. Ultimately, UPM Raflatac's Rafsec Frog UHF tag performed the best, providing 100 percent read rates during project testing and implementation. "We aren't seeing any problems with our tags," Benincasa says.
For now, FN Manufacturing plans to keep its RFID implementation as is. However, the company may replace its current practice of manually scanning bar codes affixed to the finished weapons—which is done as crates are packed—with automated RFID reads. In addition, the company may create even tighter integrations between its ERP system and the tag data collected, to verify shipments and ensure order accuracy.
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FN Manufacturing has set up two RFID portals in its operation. One is used to read the tags on the crates as they move into a staging area, pre-shipping area. Another has been set up to interrogate the tags at the loading dock. In addition, the system includes three handheld interrogators (readers) that employees can use to verify the tags on cases used to ship spare parts, and to create an association between the tags on the individual cases, which are then packed on a crate and tagged.
FN Manufacturing began investigating how RFID works and how it could be implemented in its factory several years ago. The company began testing different tags and implementing the necessary hardware and software about a year ago, according to Benincasa. He says tag testing and installing the RFID portals, readers and middleware was fairly straightforward. The greater challenge was building the links between FN Manufacturing's ERP system and the RFID data. "The hard part," he notes, "is getting your key systems to work with the RFID data, and then getting that data to the government."
For now, FN Manufacturing plans to keep its RFID implementation as is. However, the company may replace its current practice of manually scanning bar codes affixed to the finished weapons—which is done as crates are packed—with automated RFID reads. In addition, the company may create even tighter integrations between its ERP system and the tag data collected, to verify shipments and ensure order accuracy.
