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EPAL Moves Ahead With RFID Pallet-Tagging Pilot
EPAL's ultimate vision is to utilize RFID to identify each of the 500 million pallets it has in circulation. This would improve its control of production and repair processes, and help the organization have a better overview of the pallets' locations worldwide. "If we could get insight on the flow of pallets," Jacobi says, "that would help us open future markets."
Testing for tag placement on the pallets and the readability of tags, given the pallets' widely varying contents, was conducted at the European EPC Competence Center (EECC) lab in Germany (see European EPC Competence Center Expanding Its Services).
EPAL tested six types of tags after reviewing 40 possible models. The tags had to be able to withstand temperature variations between -20 degrees Celsius (-4 degrees Fahrenheit) and +80 degrees Celsius (+176 degrees Fahrenheit). The organization tested them in five different positions, and determined that the best position was on the edge of the sideboard, and that each pallet should have two tags—attached to opposite sides of the pallet. It also found that tags—which are located inside a plastic casing, screwed onto the wooden pallets—should not be larger than the height of the cross board.
Readability tests were conducted when the pallets were loaded with aluminum coffee cans and plastic bottles of toilet cleaner. (The presence of metals and liquids can interfere with the transmission of RF signals.)
If the project were expanded to EPAL's entire pool of pallets, Jacobi told attendees, users of those pallets would benefit from better quality assurance and access to information about a pallet's repair history. What's more, EPAL would benefit from being able to determine its worldwide pallet inventory, reduce administrative costs and automate its licensing and invoicing processes.
The next steps for the project, according to Jacobi, include GS1 in Europe's launch of the RTI Integrated Pallet Tag Definition Group, which will work to establish the specifications for tagged pallets in other use cases, such as tracking them as they are moved into and out of storage, as well as using them to manage inventory of goods and assets. In addition, EPAL plans to expand the pilot to additional countries, beginning in January 2009. In a six- to nine-month test, EPAL will add read points for pallets in Switzerland and Germany, and perhaps in Italy as well. The organization wants to gain experience collecting RFID data outside of Switzerland, Jacobi said.
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Testing for tag placement on the pallets and the readability of tags, given the pallets' widely varying contents, was conducted at the European EPC Competence Center (EECC) lab in Germany (see European EPC Competence Center Expanding Its Services).
EPAL tested six types of tags after reviewing 40 possible models. The tags had to be able to withstand temperature variations between -20 degrees Celsius (-4 degrees Fahrenheit) and +80 degrees Celsius (+176 degrees Fahrenheit). The organization tested them in five different positions, and determined that the best position was on the edge of the sideboard, and that each pallet should have two tags—attached to opposite sides of the pallet. It also found that tags—which are located inside a plastic casing, screwed onto the wooden pallets—should not be larger than the height of the cross board.
Readability tests were conducted when the pallets were loaded with aluminum coffee cans and plastic bottles of toilet cleaner. (The presence of metals and liquids can interfere with the transmission of RF signals.)
The next steps for the project, according to Jacobi, include GS1 in Europe's launch of the RTI Integrated Pallet Tag Definition Group, which will work to establish the specifications for tagged pallets in other use cases, such as tracking them as they are moved into and out of storage, as well as using them to manage inventory of goods and assets. In addition, EPAL plans to expand the pilot to additional countries, beginning in January 2009. In a six- to nine-month test, EPAL will add read points for pallets in Switzerland and Germany, and perhaps in Italy as well. The organization wants to gain experience collecting RFID data outside of Switzerland, Jacobi said.
