RFID Boosts ROI for Transportation Management Systems
Transportation systems must deal with economic and operational challenges that include competitive pricing, asset utilization, controlling capital expenditure levels, industry consolidation and worker safety issues. RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) can address these issues to produce a great ROI for the companies who choose to invest in this technology.
Coast Mountain Bus Company (CMBC), based in Burnaby, British Columbia, connects the region by providing a customer centric transportation network of six terminals. CMBC recently completed a company-wide installation of a heavy duty Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) system from TagMaster to monitor fuel usage.
In this configuration, RFID tags are mounted on the roof of each bus and readers are installed on the ceiling, allowing the system to unlock the appropriate pumps. Concurrently, a Coencorp wireless Vehicle Data Unit records and sends mileage, idle time and additional information system controller.
“The system has improved our data capture rate, and has operated without any issues,” stated CMBC Maintenance Planning Manager Derek Leach. “RFID data capture improved to 99.9% once the TagMaster system was installed, and CMBC has now implemented technology across our entire fleet.”
Canadian Railway (CN) also chose RFID technology to alleviate congestion in transferring cargo containers arriving on rail cars to trailer beds for trucking to their destination.
According to Remy Benmiloud, CN’s intermodal services product manager, the introduction of RFID has also led to improvements in CN’s chassis management system. The company reported an ROI of $500,000 Canadian dollars and a significant increase in productivity within the first year of implementation.
The company selected Bell Canada, which worked with Staples Business Depot to deploy an RFID product-tracking pilot test to help design an RFID solution for identifying the chassis. RFID hardware provider Symbol Technologies, which was acquired by Motorola in 2007, provided a rugged, large-form-factor EPC Gen 2 passive RFID and worked with Bell Canada to ensure consistent linkages between the readers and Shipcom middleware, installed 400 miles away, in Montreal.
GAO RFID offers railway solutions to cover multitude applications. Tags can be placed as desired on the tracks, which can then be read with readers installed inside railway cars. Some of the applications for GAO RFID include track inspection, signal asset tracking, safety audit, inventory management equipment distribution and management, and rail yard information management. Additionally, arrival and departure data can be monitored, stored and analyzed to increase railway efficiency. Location, speed and temperature are also elements to consider in increasing efficiency and safety.
About TagMaster
TagMaster North America, Inc. is the leading provider of long-range and high performance Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) solutions for Automated Vehicle Identification (AVI) and rail bound transportation. For more information call 253-238-1421 in Tacoma, WA, or visit http://www.tagmasterna.com/.
About Motorola Solutions
Motorola Solutions is a leading provider of mission-critical communication solutions and services for enterprise and government customers. Through leading-edge innovation and communications technology, it is a global leader that enables its customers to be their best in the moments that matter. To learn more, visit www.motorolasolutions.com.
About GAO
GAO Group, headquartered in Toronto, Canada, has developed and deployed state of the art technologies throughout its facilities in support of e-commerce, inventory management, CRM, project management, and supply chain management. For more information visit www.gaorfid.com.
Related articles:
City Recycling Increases 260% due to RFID Tracking
{jcomments on}
Other Articles You May Enjoy: