When meat-processing workers enter the plant floor where meat is cut and packaged, they bring with them a batch of cutting tools that require close scrutiny. The knives and cutting devices must be frequently replaced and sharpened daily. A knife that remains in the work area after an employee leaves his or her shift, and is then reused, could contaminate the meat and require the destruction of an entire day’s worth of products. A German cutlery manufacturer has developed a solution that includes passive RFID tags built into the handles of its knives, as well as in staff ID badges. Readers can be installed at entrances and exits, cleaning and sharpening stations, or other requested locations, in order to track those tagged tools at a processing facility. Learn how meat processors can track and trace which individuals brought which tools onto the plant floor, whether they brought all of them back at the end of the shift, and whether the knives were sharpened prior to reuse.
