RFID Journal Staff asked 8 years ago Can you please cite some examples related to water, wastewater or electrical producers?
—Kerry
———
Kerry,
I have not seen any surveys that detail precisely how utilities are using RFID or in what applications. But here are some articles we've published that discuss use of RFID by utilities:
Utility Maintenance Workers Gain Efficiency With RFID
Hofor has tagged 10000 of its underground utility valve caps for an RFID system from Veriloc, which allows workers to read historical data regarding each valve before beginning maintenance tasks.
Street Cuts Get Intelligent
Several dozen municipalities are adopting CDO Technologies' RoadTag solution to identify who performed road restoration work so that any follow-up repairs or maintenance can be dispatched quickly.
Ground Control
Gas, electric and water companies adopt RFID to reduce costs and improve services.
Westar Energy Tracks Power Poles, Transformers With RFID
The Kansas utility company uses the technology to automatically identify when each pole and transformer is removed from storage yards, by whom, and when unused items are returned.
French Nuclear Plant Service Provider Tracks Containers Via RFID
SPIE Nucléaire is using handheld readers to record the locations and conditions of equipment containers that it has fitted with passive UHF tags.
RFID Locates Pipes and Secures Meter Collection for Utilities
A South American water company is piloting IDMeters' passive UHF solution designed to locate pipes above or below ground.
RFID Speeds Up Roadway Repairs
Dayton, Ohio, is monitoring road cuts to identify utility companies responsible for fixing pavement.
French Utility Finds Turbine Components Fast
An RFID solution from Nexess allows Électricité de France to quickly locate replacement parts when a gas turbine fails, keeping downtime to a minimum.
Where Can I Find an RFID System for Monitoring a Power Facility?
Sempra, which consists of Southern California Gas Co. and San Diego Gas & Electric, provides service to business and residential customers within a 25,000-square-mile region. The company employed passive RFID tags to track gas meters being received from Elster American Meter, a manufacturer in Nebraska City, Neb.
RFID Speeds Up Electric Pole Inspections
The Orangeburg Department of Public Utilities is tagging 30,000 poles to improve maintenance and repair operations.
Power Plant Turns to RFID for Site Safety
CLP Power Hong Kong deployed an access-control solution to monitor and protect employees.
GDF Suez Tries RFID Underground
The multinational energy firm is testing a system that employs passive RFID tags to enable the detection of subterranean polyethylene utility pipes.
RFID Tracks Wooden Utility Poles at the Factory and in the Field
Cox Industries is using EPC Gen 2 tags to manage the storage and shipment of poles that it makes, while a South Carolina city is employing similar tags to manage its poles' inspection and maintenance.
RFID and Zero Accidents
MIT researchers and Italy's Enel power company are developing advanced technologies and processes to improve safety at power plants and construction sites.
Diablo Canyon Power Site Uses RFID to Track Items
The nuclear plant has attached EPC Gen 2 tags to tens of thousands of reactor parts at its warehouse, in order to document their locations and maintenance status in case they are needed. The facility will soon tag tools as well.
Electric Company Gases Up on RFID
Horizon Utilities is using a low-frequency RFID system to monitor and authorize usage at its two Ontario fueling stations.
California Water Utility Uses RFID to Reduce Terrorism Risk
Alco is utilizing active tags to control access to its pump stations, as well as track assets, enabling it to locate equipment quickly in the event of an emergency.
Heathrow Airport to Use RFID to Map Underground Utilities
BAA Airports Ltd., an owner and operator of seven airports in the United Kingdom, as well as several others around the world, announced plans to deploy 3M's Dynatel RFID markers, which are designed to help workers locate underground pipes and cables before they begin to dig.
Laredo's Water Department Uses RFID to Maintain Law and Order
Thanks to active RFID tags embedded in seals, combined with motion detectors and video cameras, the Texas city can respond quickly to any threat to its water-treatment plant.
RFID Provides Utility Company With Real-Time Visibility
A Canadian utility company tracks reels arriving and departing from its distribution center and storage yards, thereby reducing theft and out-of-stocks.
Fly-By RFID for Monitoring Power Towers
To help operators of electricity networks monitor their infrastructure for corrosion or damage, IBM's IT-Services and Solutions division is proposing an application combining active RFID tags with interrogators installed on helicopters.
Ultra-Wideband RFID Tracks Nuclear Power Plant Workers
Radiation measurements, combined with real-time location information, enable managers to track workers and assess safety based on radiation exposure.
Berliner Wasserbetriebe Gets RFID Tagging Project Flowing
The German utility, which provides drinking water and sewage services, expects the effort to simplify the inventory process for some 62,000 pieces of equipment at 17,000 locations.
RFID Keeps City Sewers Running Smoothly
In Warendorf, Germany, workers use RFID to track the maintenance of the city's 127-mile network of sewage canals and pipes.
Minnesota Utility Powers Up RFID
Great River Energy, an electric utility company serving Minnesota and Wisconsin, deployed a vehicle access system designed by AXCESS International, a Carrollton, Texas, provider of active RFID systems for tracking and access control of vehicles and personnel.
Smart Marking Utility Infrastructure with RFID
Accidental damage hits to underground utility lines cause delays, resulting in exposure to dangerous and possibly life-threatening situations, in addition to increased costs. Berntsen International, a manufacturer and supplier of survey markers, survey monuments, utility markers and related accessories, is using RFID technology to provide a more reliable method of marking and locating these underground utilities.
I hope you find these articles of interest. Let me know if you need any help with your RFID project.
—Mark Roberti, Founder and Editor, RFID Journal
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