How Can I Validate the Delivery of Construction Components?

My objective is to identify and count the components delivered prior to installation. The tags would not be able to be removed from the components after installation, so cost would be a key factor. Can you please advise me on the possible solutions?

—Bill

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Bill,

I believe that focusing on tag cost is a mistake. If I told you that you could spend $100,000 a year on tags and save $1 million on lost or stolen components, you would likely do it. If I told you, on the other hand, that you could spend $5,000 and save nothing, you might not. So the question is not the cost—it's the benefits.

You would need to perform a business case analysis and determine if RFID could solve your problem in a way that would be cost-effective. If the components were fairly few in number and expensive, then tagging each component, even with a $5 tag, might make sense. If there were millions of low-cost items, a $0.05 tag might make sense.

I would recommend hiring a good consultant or systems integrator to do the analysis for you. That person or company could consider the materials that need to be tagged, as well as the ability and cost of tagging all those items and reading all the tags when the components arrive on the construction site. They could determine the cost of the tags, readers, software and installation, and should also be able to estimate your potential savings from reducing the incidence of lost or stolen components, construction delays and so on.

If it appears that tagging makes sense, the next step would be to conduct a pilot deployment to determine if you were able to read the tags on the construction site and if the expected reduction in lost materials and construction delays would warrant tagging everything going forward. If you'll email me at  editor@rfidjournal.com, I can recommend a couple of integrators that have done projects like this. In the meantime, here are some articles you might find interesting:

• Construction Site Solution Pairs RFID and Video
• Australian Oil Refinery Construction Site Tries Out RFID
• RFID Helps Control and Organize Construction Sites
• Utility Services Company Tracks Construction Tools via RFID
• RFID Helps Bechtel Manage a Megaproject

Mark Roberti
Founder and Editor
RFID Journal