The factory that produces Trane heating and air-conditioning systems in Tyler, Texas, uses a kanban (just-in-time-ordering) system to ensure the efficient movement of components from a third-party warehouse to the plant. The firm has boosted efficiency by adding RFID technology to automate the process of identifying when supplies are received at its plant. A process that previously lasted for approximately 30 minutes—the receiving of goods at the factory’s warehouse, and the scanning of those products’ bar codes—now takes only about five minutes to complete, as workers pass the RFID-tagged goods through a fixed RFID reader. The system notifies the factory’s workers and management when goods are onsite, and can thus be expected on the assembly line. Learn how the software can also issue alerts indicating that something has not been received when expected—such as components for which tags were printed at the warehouse, but that did not arrive at the plant within the anticipated span of time.
