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Records-Management Company Deploys RFID at the Item Level
If a tag is recognized, the back-end system is automatically updated with the new location of the corresponding item or carton. Feedback is then provided to the operators through screens at each portal.
The inventory carts work on a standalone system that is fully mobile, enabling operators to move around the warehouse. After stock-taking is completed, the cart's laptop is returned to the office and connected to the company's network, in order to upload the new inventory data to record-management software.
"Currently," Wilkinson says, "all cartons and documents have been tagged and tracked, with tags provided for 500,000 cartons and 1.1 million documents."
Sure-Reach has attached UPM Raflatac's self-adhesive FlagTags labels to all individual documents in storage. Each FlagTag has a UPM Raflatac DogBone RFID inlay embedded, with the inlay's antenna protruding perpendicularly from its surface to ensure that readability is not impaired by the material, or by the labeled item's packaging. This is vital to ensure a 100 percent read rate, according to Edward Lu, UPM Raflatac's Asian-Pacific sales and marketing director.
Sure-Reach also attaches UPM Raflatac DogBone tags to cartons, which are used to hold large quantities of documents and can then be stored on a shelf, three deep. A large number of RFID tags can be read simultaneously, without requiring a direct line of sight with the interrogator.
"There is a lot of potential growth for the use of RFID in records management," Lu says, "because documents are simple to track. There are no mechanics or liquids to interfere with the signal, and it really is an ideal environment for RFID."
Sure-Reach thoroughly tested the system ahead of its rollout. This included assessing the system's ability to locate documents and boxes, conducting an inventory of some cartons and records, and tracking their movement into and out of the warehouse, as well as any unauthorized movement.
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The inventory carts work on a standalone system that is fully mobile, enabling operators to move around the warehouse. After stock-taking is completed, the cart's laptop is returned to the office and connected to the company's network, in order to upload the new inventory data to record-management software.
"Currently," Wilkinson says, "all cartons and documents have been tagged and tracked, with tags provided for 500,000 cartons and 1.1 million documents."
Sure-Reach has attached UPM Raflatac's self-adhesive FlagTags labels to all individual documents in storage. Each FlagTag has a UPM Raflatac DogBone RFID inlay embedded, with the inlay's antenna protruding perpendicularly from its surface to ensure that readability is not impaired by the material, or by the labeled item's packaging. This is vital to ensure a 100 percent read rate, according to Edward Lu, UPM Raflatac's Asian-Pacific sales and marketing director.
Sure-Reach also attaches UPM Raflatac DogBone tags to cartons, which are used to hold large quantities of documents and can then be stored on a shelf, three deep. A large number of RFID tags can be read simultaneously, without requiring a direct line of sight with the interrogator.
"There is a lot of potential growth for the use of RFID in records management," Lu says, "because documents are simple to track. There are no mechanics or liquids to interfere with the signal, and it really is an ideal environment for RFID."
Sure-Reach thoroughly tested the system ahead of its rollout. This included assessing the system's ability to locate documents and boxes, conducting an inventory of some cartons and records, and tracking their movement into and out of the warehouse, as well as any unauthorized movement.
