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RFID Illuminates Work-in-Progress for Neonlite
"Infor SCM Warehouse Management and Infor SCM RFID play a pivotal role in Neonlite's inbound logistics operations," Fan states. The former enables the company to manage parts as they are moved into the warehouse or sent to another location, as well as when they are shipped from suppliers. Infor SCM RFID interprets the readers' data to enable Neonlite to locate and manage parts and product inventory on the manufacturing floor. The system improves production capacity by 15 to 20 percent, Fan estimates, by ensuring the right material is available at the correct location when needed.
With the SCM software, managers can determine how long it took for the parts to be consumed, and when additional items need to be ordered, as well as how much time the work-in-progress stage required, how long the finished lamps remained in storage before being shipped, and at what time they were shipped. GlobeRanger's iMotion software platform was used to develop and test the RFID portals' business processes, including the integration of motion sensors with the Intermec readers.
The GlobeRanger software sends alerts (exception reports) that notify management via e-mail or by mobile phone if trays filled with work-in-progress are moved past the incorrect portal or at the wrong time, if too many or too few tray tags have passed a portal at a specific time, or if a tray's tag is not read at all. Additionally, the iMotion software will generate alerts if cartons are missing tags or—by matching the ID number of each carton tag with that of the pallet's tag—if the incorrect tagged cartons are loaded on a pallet.
Installing the RFID solution took place in a number of stages, Fan says. First, Neonlite, Infor and GlobeRanger spent four weeks completing the conceptual design, during which it assessed Neonlite's needs, and how the technology could address them. The group examined the physical containers (pallets and trays) and determined how they could best be tagged, and it also studied the physical environment and flow of material and products on the manufacturing floor. The team decided that tagging work-in-progress trays that carry parts through the assembly process, as well as tagging cases and pallets, would allow the company to manage both production and logistics.
For the next four weeks, the group developed and tested a prototype system. The companies installed a temporary portal, and users walked RFID tags through the process in order to test read rates. After that, Fan says, they began a two-week "details design phase," drawing out the details of the installation, based on the prototype, including portal specifications, handhelds and database design. The following four weeks were dedicated to developing, building and testing the entire RFID system, then installing it and going live—a process that took another 12 weeks.
"The system is still under partial deployment," Fan states, "to allow any minor adjustments before full-scale deployment." Neonlite also plans to install the system at its three other plants, though it has yet to determine a deployment date. In the meantime, Fan says he hopes to see a positive return on his company's investment in approximately two years.
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With the SCM software, managers can determine how long it took for the parts to be consumed, and when additional items need to be ordered, as well as how much time the work-in-progress stage required, how long the finished lamps remained in storage before being shipped, and at what time they were shipped. GlobeRanger's iMotion software platform was used to develop and test the RFID portals' business processes, including the integration of motion sensors with the Intermec readers.
The GlobeRanger software sends alerts (exception reports) that notify management via e-mail or by mobile phone if trays filled with work-in-progress are moved past the incorrect portal or at the wrong time, if too many or too few tray tags have passed a portal at a specific time, or if a tray's tag is not read at all. Additionally, the iMotion software will generate alerts if cartons are missing tags or—by matching the ID number of each carton tag with that of the pallet's tag—if the incorrect tagged cartons are loaded on a pallet.
Installing the RFID solution took place in a number of stages, Fan says. First, Neonlite, Infor and GlobeRanger spent four weeks completing the conceptual design, during which it assessed Neonlite's needs, and how the technology could address them. The group examined the physical containers (pallets and trays) and determined how they could best be tagged, and it also studied the physical environment and flow of material and products on the manufacturing floor. The team decided that tagging work-in-progress trays that carry parts through the assembly process, as well as tagging cases and pallets, would allow the company to manage both production and logistics.
"The system is still under partial deployment," Fan states, "to allow any minor adjustments before full-scale deployment." Neonlite also plans to install the system at its three other plants, though it has yet to determine a deployment date. In the meantime, Fan says he hopes to see a positive return on his company's investment in approximately two years.
