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RFID Tracks the Shipment of Entire Gold-Processing Plant
The deployed system included a Wavetrend RX2100 End Cap RFID reader fitted to each of two Psion Teklogix Workabout Pro G2 handheld computers to create a multi-functional mobile reader. The Workabout Pro G2 was also fitted with a Psion Teklogix GSM/GPRS communications module and a GPS location module. Wavetrend's AssetTrace Mobile asset-tracking application was then installed on each Workabout Pro G2, in order to manage the data received, record GPS location and transmit the information to the AssetTrace platform using the ship's satellite communications system.
Wavetrend L-TG800-IH Industrial Asset tags were attached to assets in Cobar before the cargo was transported to Newcastle, with one tag per large item of equipment or shipping container carrying smaller equipment and parts.
The tags emit a 433 MHz signal, using a proprietary Wavetrend protocol to transmit their tag ID numbers and status information to the readers. Optimized to ensure low power usage and long battery life, the tags have a life span of more than five years, the company reports, and transmit data every 1.5 seconds.
"Data transmitted from the tags, including their unique ID number and battery status, is detected by the reader at up to 75 meters [246 feet] and reported to the AssetTrace Mobile application on the Workabout Pro G2 handheld computers," Scott states. "Each AssetTrace Mobile reader is uniquely identified within the AssetTrace platform, and links its own reader ID, a GPS coordinate, time and date stamp, and received signal strength value to the data packet. This full tag and reader data packet is then transmitted to the main platform, hosted by Townley Group servers, via GPRS and the Internet."
All tagged assets are read by staff members at Cobar, at the point of loading in the Newcastle port, at the unloading point at San Juan and again at the Caposa mining site, to allow the shipment manifest to be verified prior to dispatch. The assets are then read once more upon arrival at the destination port.
Townley Group plans to use Wavetrend's technology for a number of future projects. According to the logistics company, traditional container-tracking technologies, such as bar-coding, are no longer suitable for meeting customers' needs. Townley says it is important that clients know where their containers are at all times, regardless of the distances involved and the remoteness of the location.
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Wavetrend L-TG800-IH Industrial Asset tags were attached to assets in Cobar before the cargo was transported to Newcastle, with one tag per large item of equipment or shipping container carrying smaller equipment and parts.
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| Some of the plant's components were too large to fit in a container, and were therefore fitted with their own RFID tags. |
The tags emit a 433 MHz signal, using a proprietary Wavetrend protocol to transmit their tag ID numbers and status information to the readers. Optimized to ensure low power usage and long battery life, the tags have a life span of more than five years, the company reports, and transmit data every 1.5 seconds.
"Data transmitted from the tags, including their unique ID number and battery status, is detected by the reader at up to 75 meters [246 feet] and reported to the AssetTrace Mobile application on the Workabout Pro G2 handheld computers," Scott states. "Each AssetTrace Mobile reader is uniquely identified within the AssetTrace platform, and links its own reader ID, a GPS coordinate, time and date stamp, and received signal strength value to the data packet. This full tag and reader data packet is then transmitted to the main platform, hosted by Townley Group servers, via GPRS and the Internet."
All tagged assets are read by staff members at Cobar, at the point of loading in the Newcastle port, at the unloading point at San Juan and again at the Caposa mining site, to allow the shipment manifest to be verified prior to dispatch. The assets are then read once more upon arrival at the destination port.
Townley Group plans to use Wavetrend's technology for a number of future projects. According to the logistics company, traditional container-tracking technologies, such as bar-coding, are no longer suitable for meeting customers' needs. Townley says it is important that clients know where their containers are at all times, regardless of the distances involved and the remoteness of the location.
