How RFID is Transforming Asset Tracking in the Modern Production Floor

Manufacturing teams can work as much as 12 hours a day during normal seasons, but studies suggest production lines operate as much as 96 hours per week during peak seasons.

Between worker stress and higher customer demands, there are many possibilities for bottlenecks and delays to drain profitability. As a result, the demand for simplistic modernized visibility has only increased in the manufacturing sector.

Visibility technologies required for effective traceability and tracking must be easy to integrate and adapt to minimize stress and complications. To meet these demands, nearly half of plants have decided to expand RFID usage to monitor material delivery, work in progress, and most importantly, asset tracking.

To accomplish tasks quickly and efficiently, workers need devices that work hard around the clock. When devices go missing, productivity plummets, resulting in as much as $100,000 lost per hour of downtime. Fortunately, RFID-enabled asset tracking solutions built with leading innovators like Zebra Technologies have been shown to…

• Monitor high-usage workflows – As devices are tracked throughout the production floor, administrators and operators can best pinpoint where more devices are needed. This allows them to best allocate devices where needed most to avoid long wait times between shifts.
• Lower replacement costs from lost devices – Long range RFID scanners like Zebra’s MC3330xR don’t require line of sight to read tags, which means workers can best quickly locate missing devices within a scanner space without compromising workflows. Next-generation scanners also incorporate easier-to-grasp operating systems like Android for Enterprise, further lowering adoption rates for faster implementation.
• Ensure proper accountability for devices at the end of shifts – Lastly, because devices and tools can be tracked in real-time, digitized logs can record last time devices were used and returned, thus ensuring accountability that tools are properly used and stored.

Real-time visibility of manufacturing operations has been shown to improve quality control for products as they move down the supply chain, thus enhancing a brand’s competitive advantage and minimizing recall risks.

As plants continue to optimize tracking systems, working alongside a knowledgeable implementation team can help lower costs and adoption rates for quicker deployment and return of investment. Contact us today to see how your team can partner with ours to empower production to handle the high demands of today’s supply chains.