Feb 17, 2019For the past week, I have been reading the RFID Journal Award entries. This is one of the best parts of my job. Each year, there are new deployments in every category, and it's exciting to read about them. The other judges often email me saying the same thing.
The way our awards work is that we ask end users to submit information about their projects, including how they deployed RFID, the equipment they used and the benefits they achieved (solution providers can submit on their behalf). We have a group of more than 30 judges from around the world. Most are academics who have knowledge of RFID, but no financial interests in the industry.
The judges read all the submissions in the categories they are judging, then award 15 points for the entry they think represents the best deployment, nine points for the next best and three points for the third best. We total up the scores, and the companies representing the top three submissions are invited to speak at our annual RFID Journal LIVE! conference and exhibition.
For me, inviting the finalists to speak at LIVE! is about more than merely giving them recognition. It affords our attendees a chance to hear directly from businesses that have completed some of the best deployments around the world. That's important, as these companies often share the mistakes they've made or the issues they faced that needed to be addressed. I've had countless attendees tell me, throughout the years, that hearing about a mistake a speaker made enabled them to avoid similar problems, saving them time and money.
Another benefit of hearing great case studies presented by end users is that you will sometimes hear something you hadn't considered, or that can be applied to some other business issue you weren't thinking about. For example, a gentleman from Bombardier Transportation attended one of our events to learn about manufacturing applications. This individual sat in on a session about using RFID to track workers at an oil refinery so they could be accounted for in the event of an emergency. He realized this could help solve the problem of employees being killed by trains while inspecting tracks, and he wound up spearheading the development of a solution that became a product offering for Bombardier Transportation (see Atlanta's Transit Authority to Test Bombardier's Rail-Worker Safety System).
If you are considering deploying an RFID solution, I would encourage you to attend LIVE! 2019, to be held on Apr. 2-4 at Arizona's Phoenix Convention Center. You'll learn about many great case studies, which will help you to ensure your deployment is successful.
Mark Roberti is the founder and editor of RFID Journal.
