The Untapped Value of RFID Data

"I was over on the East Campus, in the command center, and Steve was part of the team I was in contact with, on the West Campus," Loeffelholz said. "The drill started. East Campus was rolling. I was getting information from Steve on how we were doing with pumps and other equipment, and reporting back to a command center. Everything was going fine, until there was an incident with anthrax [that] shut the East Campus down totally. We had to divert everything to the West Campus. I called Steve and said, 'Give me a status on what you have, and what you need.'"

"I'd heard about the problem [at the East Campus] over the radio," Montgomery said. "I determined we had enough IV pumps, but they were in the wrong location, so I loaded up a cart with IV pumps. While I was unloading them, one of the nurses asked, 'How did you know we needed IV pumps?' Thanks to RFID, we did."

"When Steve called me back," Loeffelholz added, "I went into the command center and reported back to the executives. I said: 'Here is the status of the West Campus.' This was within minutes of when they first told me they were shutting down the East Campus. They looked at me, like: 'OK, Al. We know this is a drill, but you are supposed to give us kind of real information.' I said: 'No, it is real. This is what RFID can do for us.' The executives just stood there in awe."

I wish I could have been there.

The ability to anticipate what equipment will be needed, and to have it in the right place at the proper time, could save lives in a real disaster. RFID data can also be valuable in other industries. I've talk to executives at apparel companies using RFID in stores, for instance. One said that they could analyze the data and tie the theft of items to certain employees working at specific times. Zander Livingston, American Apparel's head of RFID, has said he'd like to test RFID in the store's fitting rooms to identify items that are often tried on but seldom purchased. An analysis of that type of information, he believes, could suggest that there is a problem with the way a shirt is cut, or something else that could be addressed.

End users with whom I speak often tell me that as they collect more data from RFID systems, they learn new things about their operations, and find ways to use that information to improve operations. Of course, the main reason most companies will deploy an asset-tracking system is to improve asset-utilization rates and achieve other established benefits. But the rich RFID data is an awfully nice bonus.

Mark Roberti is the founder and editor of RFID Journal. If you would like to comment on this article, click on the link below. To read more of Mark's opinions, visit the RFID Journal Blog or click here.