RFID Quick FAQs

Franwell, Inc. is a developer of RFID systems, a provider of RFID systems integration services, and RFID technology consulting services. The following questions and answers are compiled from many queries we receive. The answers given are not intended to be in-depth explanations of RFID technology, but simplified responses that are honest and practical.

What is RFID?

Automatic identification of items out of line of sight by means of radio waves.

How does RFID work?

Data contained on microchip-implanted tags is received and transmitted by means of radio frequencies of varying ranges.

A radio frequency reader communicates with a tag, which holds digital information, e.g., a serial number. In some cases, the unique number contained on a tag is the Electronic Product Code (EPC), standard code for the food supply chain. Some industries use tags encoded to ISO standards.

The microchip on a tag is attached to an antenna. The antenna enables the chip to receive signals from, and transmit identification information to, the reader.

The reader converts the radio waves returned from the RFID tag into digital bits of data. The data is passed on to computers over the existing networks. These computers then process the bits of data, and make use of them in forms, such as the EPC. Once the EPC is retrieved from the tag, it can be associated with dynamic data such as the origin of an item or the date of its production.

The following diagrams illustrate the use of RFID technology:

Superior Inventory Management

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What is the advantage of using RFID, when barcodes are so widely used?

• Perhaps the greatest advantage is that items do not have to be seen and handled for identification and the immediacy of data relay provides real-time inventory visibility.

  Real Time Inventory Visibility

  EPC Tag with microchip and antenna		READER and ANTENNA Connected to a computer system or network

• Another valuable reason is that more data can be collected and stored in a microchip than can be contained within the barcode. However, RFID tags can be compared with barcodes to verify accuracy, and identified by unique EPC for added benefit, particularly to the food and pharmaceutical industries.
  
  

Data flow from your WMS to the EPC network or wherever you want it to go.

• Loss due to misplacement, theft, or diminished quality is less likely to occur. Point of loss can be quickly determined, which means remedial measures can be taken much sooner than would ordinarily be possible.
  
  
• It enables a higher degree of management, without increasing workloads, for time sensitive and perishable products. This is especially meaningful for the food and medical industries, where time and temperatures are part of the tracking process.
  
  
• Traceability and verification processes outpace conventional tracking methods.
  
  
• RFID provides a better means of accountability regarding the security of supplier assets and, for end users, confidence in the safety of consumer products, particularly in the medical and pharmaceutical industries.

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What equipment is used for an RFID system?

• Hardware, such as RFID readers and antennae, have many different forms; some are stationary, and some are mobile. Also, there are various kinds of readers, some of which write data, as well. The readers and antennae may be placed on free-standing structures that form either stationary portals or portable stations; they may be attached to shelves, walls, or doors, and some readers are small hand-held devices.
  
  
• RFID tags have imbedded antennae that may operate at low frequency, high frequency, or ultra-high frequency. They may be active (containing their own power source), semi-active, passive (relying on the radio frequency bandwidth available), or semi-passive. Tags can be Read-ONLY; Write once, Read multiple times; Read and Write multiple times; or "Smart," as in having sensors, processors, and/or memory. RFID tags come in many different forms (some are minute capsules that can be subcutaneously implanted in living organisms, some are printed on plastic or paper with adhesive backing). Tags can be placed on packaging, pallets, and even on floors or within flooring.
  
  
• Often, a conveyor belt is desirable for use at an RFID station, in addition to the use of RFID equipped forklifts and other types of machinery that comes in contact with the items to be tracked.
  
  

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How can an RFID system benefit my business?

• An RFID software system enables data collection, retrieval, and traceability. This provides enhanced asset security, helps maintain QA, and reduces various means of product loss. Additionally, there is less manual contact with inventory items.

The user tells the RFID system what information to include for the case and pallet tags. The system instructs an RFID printer that encodes the microchip embedded within a label, formatting unique, customized data for your RFID tags. When the tags are printed, they can be applied to the cases automatically or by hand. When the cases are placed on a pallet, the data is validated and then the tagging process is completed with the printing of a pallet tag.

• An example of RFID integration is a legacy software system, possibly an ERP/WMS designed for commerce, that interfaces with an RFID system. One practical benefit to shippers, distributors, and retailers is the data exchanges that can be verified with the EPC Network. When the data is returned to the integrated system, inventory visibility is enhanced as well as product tracking and tracing.
  
  
• Better inventory management enables greater productivity and profitability.

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If I want to use RFID technology, Where do I start? What are the steps to work through?

• Fact Finding:  Understanding YOUR Project Requirements:  You need to articulate your expectations. What processes do you hope to accomplish by using RFID? Unless you know that a particular product will meet your business requirements, you need to have a study done. There are many consultants who canvass the industry for information, but not all consultants understand the technology well enough to recommend the best solution for a given client. It is best to consult someone who has been a part of the RFID technology industry, who understands what can and cannot be accomplished given your unique business circumstances. Size of business, number of assets to be tracked, nature of assets and complexity of processes are other determining factors for consideration.
  
  
• On Site Study:  Reliable RFID technicians need to examine all the information relevant to your enterprise requirements. The overall physical environment is important, dimensions of space as well as positioning of equipment, and the substances that makes up material assets to be tracked, as well as the containers used for these items, must be considered. Determinations must be made regarding the kinds of tags to be used.  There are no physical limitations where there are no financial limitations; however, cost is usually an important factor. Desired read ranges affect the choices of UF, UF, or UHF configurations. Simple considerations such as polarity and orientation of antennae are other factors that affect successful implementation.
  
  
• Assessment:  Based on your project requirements, and the information detailing the physical logistics of your operation, a business assessment enables Franwell to establish an expected flow of processes. At this point you have a business case, a pilot can be planned, and, once this is formalized, your project can progress to the actual design and engineering stage.
  
  
• Building the RFID station(s): Software and hardware are set up according to the pilot plan. During this process training is taking place and the pilot is worked through to the point that it satisfactorily accomplishes mission critical processes.

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What about the costs of RFID?

• RFID technology is not inexpensive. In fact, looked at from a short term perspective, it may appear cost prohibitive, but the long view usually proves that it will pay for itself. Reduced losses alone more than compensate for the expense to some industries. For other industries, the decreased dependence upon manual handling not only improves efficiency but accuracy, with the elimination of costly human errors.
  
  
• The more tags used, the lower the costs per tag. Increased competition among industry providers also reduces consumer costs. Various components of supply chain industries have used RFID technology for some time; now that more retailers are becoming involved, mandates are going to bring about increased usage. As more packaging companies incorporate RFID technology into their products, their clients receive added benefit; these, in turn, have their own customers with whom they exchange RFID data.
  
  
• You must consider the value of your assets and compare the costs of doing business without RFID technology in a world that is quickly adopting business practices that include RFID. Additionally, you should weigh the long term benefits in comparison with the projected rate of profit losses that normally occur within your current business processes. Safety and security are other issues that have a bearing on cost.

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What about fears among the general public and privacy concerns for individuals?

There are more than a few individuals and groups voicing opposition to the widespread use of RFID. Such opposition ranges from mild concern to major hysteria. It is difficult to address such issues because, for the most part, general fears are based on perceived harm or potential threats to privacy rather than factual scenarios.

It is illogical to oppose a technology on the basis of unfounded fear. However, we believe it is reasonable to consider negative possibilities and weigh these against the available facts.

• First, consider that every time you write a check or use a debit/credit card to pay for goods, data about you is generated and collected. For every account you have with businesses and banks, there is information that can be tracked to you personally. "Big Brother" already knows where to find those who complete paperwork for various agencies from a government census to medical files to income taxes. Are you really giving away more information than is already known regarding your purchases?
  
  
• Next, ask yourself WHY would anyone bother to go to the exorbitant expense, moreover the phenomenal logistics challenge, of placing RFID readers and antennae in enough locations to make it worthwhile to track items to consumer's homes? Think of the read distances involved; there are significant limitations. Furthermore, there are all the challenges of various environments--metal affects the signals adversely. Think also of the amount of equipment it would take, assuming that it were a desirable goal to track every item to every purchaser; even then, the data would not necessarily be accurate regarding the actual end-user of a given product.
  
  
• Additionally, the EPC specifications already include an RFID tag "kill" command so tags can be permanently disabled at point of checkout. (Similarly to the way sensitive anti-theft tags are removed from a product by sales associates before a customer takes it out the door.)
  
  
• What about health concerns? The radio frequency used in most RFID applications is at the low end of the electromagnetic spectrum. The waves coming from readers are no more dangerous than the waves coming to your car radio. Some RFID systems do use microwave frequency, which is another common connection most of us experience with radio waves.
  
  
• From a marketing standpoint, a trial sampling would not yield enough helpful information, so massive, comprehensive data collection would be required. Nevertheless, if one retailer could get all that information, competitive retailers would be able to obtain the same information, derailing any perceived advantage. Marketers are acutely attuned to consumer reaction; when there is significant consumer opposition to an idea, it is quickly dropped.
  
  
• From a government standpoint, even the snoopiest agency would be inundated with cumbersome data requiring additional technology to make the data useful, i.e., ability to sort information, filtering superfluous data to derive what may be perceived as important information. It isn't practical to maintain more data than is needed for purposeful use. Although, theoretically, government databases could contain and categorize a superabundance of information on every individual in the world, the cost and effort involved would most likely be prohibitive.
  
  
• Even if the logistic and economic issues could be resolved, it would still require several more years of technological advances for all major supply chain industries to have such capabilities, i.e., to track consumer information with assets sold. We should realize that RFID technology is not an innovation of the 21st century, but it has been in use, in less sophisticated forms, for more than half of the 20th century. RFID has gradually come of age. Some major retailers and the Department of Defense plans called for implementation of RFID mandates in 2005. Beyond that, development will continue and there will be changes in standards for compliance, both ISO and EPC, and no one knows what other groups may evolve or merge.
  
  
• We remain far removed from George Orwell's and Aldous Huxley's imagined societies of the future. When we do reach such a point of technological capability, perhaps we will have also learned better means of dealing with it. It is not a bad idea to consider the worst possible case scenario then work to make sure we avoid it. That's why you may want to be a part of organizations such as AIM Global and EPCglobal—own part of the process by participation in it.
  

We can choose to be fearful of RFID technology similarly to the way people feared the automobile when it was first introduced. Ultimately, however, we are wise to find the best possible uses for emerging technologies. People still enjoy horseback riding, but no one wants to depend on equestrian transportation systems in a world of skyrocketing commercial opportunities.

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What are some current uses for RFID technology?

• High speed toll collection
  
• Pharmaceutical shipment integrity of controlled substances
  
• Airlines use to track luggage
  
• Livestock are tracked by ear tags; fish breeders implant microscopic chips
  
• Libraries use it for security, inventory management, and automated checkout and return
  
• Manufacturers and shippers use it to track inventory such as leased pallets, or heavy volume items such as paper rolls
  
• Some governments use subdermal chips for employee security management

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For what applications does RFID hold great promise for security and quality?

• The perishable foods industry
  
• Pharmaceuticals
  
• The medical industry
  
• The automobile industry
  
• Manufacturing and warehousing
  
• Logistics and transport
  
• Recreational facilities

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What are some future beneficial uses of RFID technology?

• It will provide precise data on temperature sensitive items
  
• It will speed restocking of items in great demand
  
• It will enable faster recalls of defective or unsafe products
  
• It will prevent human errors in the medical field, for example verifying correct dosages of medicines
  
• It will provide pedigree tracking of shipments
  
• tracking of clients/patrons for protective purposes; to prohibit, for example, a child patron or adult patient leaving an area unattended by appropriate caregiver.
  
  

For more information, please contact Franwell at 800-639-1615 or 813-752-7952. Please call for specific e-mail contact information, as we no longer post e-mail addresses on our Web sites.

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