How Can I Search for RFID Journal Case Studies?

• Health-care firm Bon Secours Richmond Health System has seen a savings of $2 million each year, from a real-time location system (RTLS) that employs active 433 MHz RFID technology. At St. Mary's—Bon Secours Richmond's largest hospital—OR staff members had been placing between 300 and 400 calls daily to locate equipment required for surgeries. The RTLS solution, provided by GE Healthcare, has cut the number of phone calls in half, while nearly eliminating the time spent searching for equipment (see Bon Secours Richmond Finds RFID Saves $2 Million Annually).

• New Jersey health-care company Virtua Health has installed a 433 MHz active RFID system to track thousands of patients and workers, as well as up to 10,000 assets, at its four hospitals, using a system provided by GE Healthcare. The system enables Virtua to better manage patient admissions by knowing, in real time, which beds are available. It also allows the firm to improve efficiency by knowing where assets are located, and to use RFID data to learn where hospital processes could be made more efficient (see Virtua Health Expects Improved Bed Management From RFID).

• Alco Water Service, an investor-owned water utility based in Salinas, Calif., has rolled out a 433 MHz RFID-based system for both security and asset-management applications. The company, which maintains a number of unmanned pump stations throughout the town, is employing the system to gain better visibility into the use of its stations, both for operational efficiency and in compliance with the Bioterrorism Act, federal legislation passed in 2002 (see California Water Utility Uses RFID to Reduce Terrorism Risk).

• The Anaheim Fire Department, in Orange County, Calif., has employed active 433 MHz RFID tags to inventory the high-dollar equipment carried on its fire trucks. The department planned to use 433 MHz active tags in conjunction with specialized, long-range interrogators that communicate with Wi-Fi-enabled access points so that it could follow firefighters' locations in real time as they battle fires and other emergencies (see Anaheim Fire Department Deploys Multipronged RFID System).

• The Travis County Fire Marshall utilizes 433 MHz tags to track high-security evidence, such as DNA, rape kits, drugs, guns and money. The tags alert personnel as soon as such items are moved (see Travis County Fire Marshall Uses RFID to Manage Evidence).

• Emirates SkyCargo, a division of Emirates Airlines, has conducted a number of technology trials that demonstrate RFID's ability to deliver significant business value for tracking unit load devices (ULDs) and large storage pallets (LSPs) used to transport cargo (see Emirates SkyCargo Demonstrates RFID's Business Value).

There are many other examples on our Web site, which you can access by searching for "433 MHz."