For the past four years, Julio Cesar Lestido S.A., the official Uruguayan importer of cars and trucks manufactured by the Volkswagen Group, has been employing passive ultrahigh-frequency (UHF) RFID tags to track the metal tools it uses to maintain vehicles. The company says that it is now developing a plan to utilize the technology to record each vehicle’s life history, including its date of import and sales information, as well as all maintenance provided.
The company, which provides maintenance and repairs services for Volkswagen, Audi and Man cars and trucks in Uruguay, has been using an RFID solution supplied by Identis RFID Systems to identify which tools are removed from a storage area at its Montevideo maintenance facility, and by whom. Julio Cesar Lestido has told Identis that the solution has reduced expenditures related to replacing tools that end up missing, and that it has also made the management of those tools more efficient, by identifying which tools are used most frequently, for how long and by whom.
Julio Cesar Lestido’s workers utilize specialized tools to work on the vehicles—both used and new cars—that are designed specifically for the maintenance of Volkswagen and Audi vehicles. The tools are not only high in value, but are difficult to replace, since they must be provided by the automaker itself rather than being purchased off-the-shelf. If workers cannot locate the tools they require, this can result in delays, says Enrique D’Amato, Identis RFID Systems’ president and CEO.
Staff members had been borrowing tools—such as wrenches and drills—from a storage area, but the company had no visibility regarding which individual was taking which tools. Knowing who obtained particular tools would not only be useful in ensuring that those tools came back, Identis explains, but would also allow the company to know—and to intervene, if necessary—if a worker takes a tool for which he does not have authorization (for example, if that person is not trained to provide the service for which the tool is designed).
Prior to its current RFID deployment, Julio Cesar Lestido had tried other RFID solutions using passive tags affixed to the tools, but had been disappointed with the resulting performance. Because the tools are exposed to high temperatures and physical impact, a tag needed to be installed inside each tool, but the tags failed to operate well when embedded in metal. In addition, the company did not want a system in which reader antennas would be visible at its facility. For Identis, D’Amato says, this was a major challenge.
The RFID company tested multiple passive UHF RFID tags before opting for a customized version of Convergence Systems Ltd.‘s Omni-ID Prox CS7310 tag. The standard version of the CS7310 tag measures 1.3 inches by 0.4 inch by 0.16 inch (3.3 centimeters by 1 centimeter by 0.4 centimeter), but the customized version is smaller, at only 2 centimeters (0.8 inch) in length and 0.8 centimeter (0.31 inch) in width. Identis then had to drill holes in the grips or metal bodies of the tools—such as wrenches and screwdrivers—and insert the customized tags inside, in such a way that they would not be visible to the tool users, or be prone to damage. Each tag was encoded with a unique ID number linked to data about the corresponding tool in Identis’ Smart Tool Tracking Software (STTS).
Identis installed a CSL CS-461 reader and antennas behind the walls of the corridor adjoining the storage room’s entrance, so that the hardware would not be visible to personnel. It also provided staff members with badges containing built-in CSL Omni-ID Prox tags. Each worker’s own identity was also stored in the software, along with his or her badge RFID number.
When an individual approaches the tool area, the reader captures that person’s badge tag ID and unlocks a door, thereby enabling him to enter. When the employee leaves the room, the interrogator again captures the badge’s ID, as well as that of each tool he is carrying, thereby creating a record that management can access at any time. If the individual is unauthorized to use the tool he is carrying, the STTS software sends an e-mail message to Julio Cesar Lestido’s managers, warning them of that activity so that they can address the situation.
The software provides analytic data as well. For instance, D’Amato explains, the company can track how much time mechanics spend with specific tools, and thus how long particular repair projects took to complete. “The main benefit for the company is saving the cost of lost tools,” he states. “But it also provides them with great efficiency.”
Julio Cesar Lestido has more than 500 tools onsite. To date, the company has acquired 1,000 tags from Identis.
For the next phase of the deployment, D’Amato says, Lestido’s workers will insert some sort of passive UHF RFID tag into a plastic holder attached to the bottom of each new vehicle’s windshield. Equipped with a handheld reader, a worker could capture each tag’s ID and link it to the vehicle identification number, the date and other information stored in the STTS software. Identis plans to install a reader portal at the entrance to Julio Cesar Lestido’s Volkswagen service and sales facilities in Montevideo. The portal would comprise a CSL CS469 or CS461 fixed reader and approximately eight antenna arrays, D’Amato estimates. Upon arriving at the Montevideo site, a vehicle would pass through the reader portal, and the software would then be updated to indicate that the car was onsite.
When a vehicle is sold to a dealer or consumer, its tag could be read via a CSL 101 handheld, or the tag ID could be input into the Identis software, along with such sales information as the buyer’s name. Each time the vehicle returned for servicing, information related to that service would be entered into the system, to be stored along with the RFID number on the vehicle’s tag. In this way, the company will be better able to track how often vehicles require specific types of maintenance, as well as their performance based on that service (for example, how often they require repairs), and to offer added value to customers. Julio Cesar Lestido did not respond to requests for comment about the system.
The vehicle identification solution is expected to go live in 2015, according to D’Amato.