Are There Any Success Cases With RFID Managing the Stock and Maintenance of Off-Road Tires in the Mining Industry?

What would your recommendations be in terms of tags and readers? The conditions on the mining site are harsh, with temperatures of up to 85 degrees Celsius, excessive dust, abrasive materials (rocks and sand), and heavy loads. As a consequence, there is a lot of flexibility and movement of rubber materials. Is it possible to set up RFID tagging on tires at the moment of arrival so that we can monitor them throughout the site, including movements, installation on trucks, repair, rethreading and end disposal? Or am I being too optimistic about the current capability of RFID technology?

—Oleg

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Oleg,

There have been some projects along these lines.

Goodyear Dunlop Tires Europe incorporates passive UHF RFID tags into the tires it manufactures for truck races, as well as for truck trailers used for hauling cargo. In 2012, the company conducted field trials involving the tagging of bus tires. The deployment of radio frequency identification technology is part of the company's FleetOnlineSolutions tire-management program, designed with the help of British software firm  Datalinx to capture and store data regarding individual tires. By logging onto the FleetOnlineSolutions website, tire owners, service providers and Goodyear Dunlop can share that information (see  Goodyear Dunlop Europe Plans RFID Trials for Bus Tires).

The company tested the racing tire RFID application in 2009 on racecars at the British Touring Car Championship (see  British Touring Car Championship Tracks Tires). Field trials involving the trailer tires were performed in 2011, including on the tires of the 3,100 trailers operated by logistics services provider  Ewals Cargo Care.

Michelin North America has developed a solution that enables transponders to stick with a tire casing throughout its life. The purpose is to add value to the tires it provides to its customers in the commercial trucking industry (see  Manufacturing: Michelin Adds Value by Embedding RFID in Truck Tires).

So, yes, there are tags that will work in tires, and it is possible to set up readers to track those tires' movements. You would need software to turn the tag reads into data you can use, as well as a company that can install the readers and set up the system for you.

Mark Roberti
Founder and Editor
RFID Journal