Used Batteries Tracked to Disposal

Can/U.S. Enviro-Energy required better visibility into its inventory, to ensure that batteries did not spend too much time in the warehouse, as well as to track what was on hand and what needed to be reordered. Batteries, which typically can operate for up to 10 years or more, can lose some of their lifespan while sitting in storage. What's more, the batteries are heavy and difficult to move, making it time-consuming for warehouse employees who need to move them in order to access other batteries.

Can/U.S. Enviro-Energy received frequent calls from telecommunications companies asking whether old batteries had been delivered to a recycling depot, as well as where and when the deliveries had occurred. At times, Perreault says, customers would call looking for records regarding batteries previously disposed of—a year prior, for instance. That type of request, he notes, required employees to hunt through physical file folders searching for paperwork indicating when and where the battery was discarded.

According to Perreault, Can/U.S. Enviro-Energy contacted Academia RFID seeking a solution to these problems. The research firm spent several weeks studying the company's processes and preparing a proposal using RFID technology. The two partners then built a system together, which they piloted for three months at the end of 2007. "It was a real team effort," says Anthony Pallermo, director of business development for Academia RFID. "No one knows the company's processes like they do."

After three months of piloting, the system went live in February 2008. With the new system, a Can/U.S. Enviro-Energy driver, upon arriving at a telecom customer site to pick up an old battery, attaches a Motorola EPC Gen 2 UHF tag to the side of the battery, then reads it with a Motorola handheld interrogator, capturing its unique ID number and linking it with the time the scan occurred. The driver then inputs such data as where the battery is being removed, as well as the driver's identity.

If there is a GPRS connection, the data is immediately transmitted to the Can/U.S. Enviro-Energy server. Otherwise, the information is stored until the handheld device locates a GPRS signal. The unique ID number and data input by the driver is then stored in the logistics firm's Web-based server and interpreted by the OMS software, making it available by portal to customers who log into the server site using a password.