Mar 18, 2022RFID Journal, the leading source of news and in-depth information regarding radio frequency identification (RFID) and other Internet of Things (IoT) technologies, has unveiled the finalists for this year's RFID Journal Awards. The winners will be announced at RFID Journal LIVE! 2022, the company's 20th annual conference and exhibition, which will be held on May 17-19 at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nev.
"All of the projects nominated for awards are large-scale and complex, which shows that RFID is now being used in mission-critical applications," says Mark Roberti, RFID Journal's founder and editor. "We're pleased that many of the finalists will be speaking at the event and sharing their learnings with our attendees." End-user companies were nominated in five categories:
Best Retail RFID Implementation
- Carter's, for its use of RFID to improve inventory accuracy and drive omnichannel sales growth (see Carter's Deploys RFID Across All U.S. Stores for Inventory Visibility and Carters to Discuss RFID Strategy at RFID Journal LIVE! 2022)
- Havaianas, for its use of RFID to execute automatic vendor-managed inventory and its use of local Google ads to direct online consumers to nearby in-stock retailers
- Lojas Renner, for its use of RFID to improve inventory accuracy and reduce stockouts
Best Manufacturing RFID Implementation
- Emerson, for its use of RFID-enabled asset-management tags to reduce manual data gathering and improve safety (see Emerson Uses RFID for Efficiency Improvements in the Process Control Industries and Asset Management for the Process Control Industry Through RFID)
- Ford Otomotiv Sanayi, for its use of a hybrid passive UHF RFID and active ultra-wideband system to improve the tracking of parts and reduce handling operation costs
- Urmi Group, for its use of RFID to reduce machine downtime and better manage production
Best Healthcare RFID Implementation
- CVS Pharmacy, for its Spoken Rx system, which leverages NFC tags on pill bottles, enabling pertinent medication information to be read aloud with the use of an NFC-enabled mobile phone for those who are sight-impaired (see Medications Talk to Visually Impaired via NFC)
- Harvard Medical School, for its use of an RFID system that reduced the time required to inventory capital equipment by 75 percent, while increasing inventory accuracy (see Harvard Medical School Reduces Asset Audit Times by 75 Percent)
- University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust, for its use of RFID to monitor medical devices and sterile service equipment (see RFID to Track More Than 40,000 Assets at U.K. Hospital Trust)
Best Logistics/Supply Chain RFID Implementation
- BAE Systems, for its use of RFID to create a low-cost, rapid and user-friendly way to track assets moving from one facility to another (see BAE Systems Rolls Out RFID to Gain Asset Visibility)
- BAE Systems (which was nominated twice), for its use of RFID to create a smart point-of-use replenishment system and increase storage space utilization (see BAE Systems Added to RFID Journal LIVE! Keynote Lineup)
- Borusan Port, for its use of an active ultra-wideband RFID system to improve occupational safety, boost security and save energy
Best RFID Implementation (Other Industry)
- KazMunayGas, for its of RFID to track and inventory 27,000 assets across three large facilities
- Selfly Store by Stora Enso, for its use of RFID to help food-service companies to meet changing consumer needs by providing convenient self-service solutions anywhere, anytime (see Sustainable RFID Tag Designed for Safe Use in Microwave Ovens)
- Shatyr Laundry, for its use of RFID technology for accounting, inventorying and controlling the movement of 200,000 pieces of linen used by a railway firm
Best Use of RFID to Enhance a Product or Service
- Be A Bride, for its use of RFID to track finished wedding dresses in its workshop for tailoring and ensuring the availability of products in a network of boutiques
- Blockstore Group, for its use of RFID in an automated grocery store solution which provides customer convenience and reduces carbon dioxide emissions by up to 87 percent
- U.S. Air Force Warrior Preparation Center, for its use of an RFID-based inventory-management system that increased accuracy by more than 98 percent and decreased asset-counting time by 97 percent (see RFID Manages Assets for U.S. Air Forces in Europe and Africa)
The judges also selected seven finalists for the Best New Product being exhibited at this year's LIVE! event. The finalists are:
- Avery Dennison Smartrac, for its AD Dot UHF inlay, which it describes as the smallest on the market
- Brady, for its highly flexible FR22 RFID Reader and Edge IoT Gateway
- CISC Semiconductor, for its handy RAIN RFID Reader Checker (see RFID Race-Timing Company Leverages Reader Checker)
- ControlTek, for its unique InFlight RFID electronic article surveillance system
- Identiv, for its Capacitive Fill Level Sensing Tag
- STMicroelectronics, for its multi-featured ST25TN series NFC tags (see STMicroelectronics Intros NFC Tag IC with Privacy Features)
- Tageos, for its EOS Zero Max sustainable RFID inlays, which reduce a tag's carbon footprint and decrease waste (see Tageos Launches Sustainable RFID Inlays with NXP, Impinj ICs)
In addition, RFID Journal's editors will present the 2022 RFID Special Achievement Award to two individuals: Dr. James Shuler, manager of the DOE Packaging Certification Program at the U.S. Department of Energy, and Dr. Yung Y. Liu, senior nuclear engineer and manager of the Packaging Certification & Life Cycle Management Program at Argonne National Laboratory. Together, they developed an innovative RFID system for tracking nuclear waste, as well as educating organizations around the world about the value of RFID for such applications.
RFID Journal LIVE! 2022 will also feature more than 90 educational sessions in eight industry-specific and nine technical and how-to conference tracks, plus RFID Professional Institute certification training, fast-track training provided by RFID4U and the co-located IEEE RFID 2022 event. What's more, the event will offer exhibits and demonstrations conducted by the industry's leading technology firms. For more information, visit rfidjournallive.com.
