Why Track Assets?

There is more than one reason to track assets, and not all are directly related to financial gains. The ROI of RFID can also include non-monetary elements, such as efficiency gains, improved productivity and visibility, speeding up the supply chain, a higher quality of service to customers, and correcting mistakes when they occur.

All of these can provide ROI in the sense of giving a company a differentiator and an advantage over its competition. Financial benefits may include saving money by locating and redeploying existing assets instead of buying or producing new ones, reducing labor costs, improving profits, and increasing customer satisfaction by making sure products arrive at the right location at the right time, and in the right condition.

What Technologies Are Available for Asset Tracking

Several different technologies can be used for asset tracking. As stated above, many companies attempt to manage assets using reports and spreadsheets. Others have advanced to the point where they are using bar codes and bar code readers.

These solutions are not always viable options because of their reliance on human intervention and continual maintenance. Since their use is time-consuming and labor-intensive, they can be prone to errors due to the tags not being read.

Active RFID can be used to track assets, although its battery-powered tags make it an expensive method. The technology is susceptible to interference problems indoors and finer data granularity is more difficult to achieve with active than with passive UHF RFID.

Real-time location systems (RTLS) also use battery-powered tags and are therefore more expensive than passive UHF RFID. Passive UHF RFID systems can be implemented alongside of, and integrated with, all of these technologies. Passive RFID is often the best alternative in asset management applications. It is faster and more accurate than bar code readers because it is automated, and thus does not depend on people to ensure that tags are read, either at all or quickly enough.

Passive RFID tags can be assigned to either an individual asset or a location. They can be read in environments where barcode labels are difficult to read or in harsh environments where tags must be made of materials that cannot accept a bar code.

Since passive RFID tags do not require a power source, tags cost less than those used for active RFID or RTLS systems. The technology is thus cheaper than, and requires less infrastructure than, RTLS or active RFID systems and can be integrated easily with existing systems of either type.

Utilizing Passive UHF RFID in Asset Tracking Applications

Passive UHF readers may be either fixed or mobile. Fixed read points and the ability to use mobile readers to search for assets combine to make passive RFID systems the superior technology.

Passive UHF RFID tags can be read at distances of 1 to 30 feet depending on the asset and environment. When the tag receives an RF signal from an appropriate reader, users can locate, read, write, and change data in the tag. Tags can therefore store specific types of data that can be used and changed throughout the life of the asset although changing data is unusual.

Passive UHF RFID can help with tracking assets in several different ways: Assets can be tagged using either rigid, flexible label or hanging tags. Fixed readers can be used on doorways, gates, conveyors and dedicated read zones, also called "choke points" or gateways.

Handheld mobile readers can be used to search for assets, perform read/write tasks, perform asset inventory tasks all while communicating wirelessly. Forklift mounted mobile readers and location tags can be used to track pallets of raw materials or inventory, as well as validate receipt and shipments of goods and containers.