Challenge
Design and implement an RFID system to automate the process of linking palletized products to customer orders.
Solution
RFID system installed on pallet destacker, consisting of Zebra antennas, Zebra Silverline tags, and Impinj R700 reader.
Story
An industrial container company was looking to improve the quality control on some of the containers that ship out of their facility. These specific containers are for the beverage industry and each one contains a custom order with a variety of products. The container company wrote a custom cloud-based, vision inspection application that allowed them to make sure each order had the correct number of the various drinks. Unfortunately, this program did not allow the customer to tie these orders to a specific order number/end customer without manually scanning the barcode, which required the forklift driver to exit their vehicle. The customer also wanted to ensure that each correctly packed pallet was delivered to the correct end customer.
The container company immediately reached out to their long-time partner, EMP, to collaborate on this project. EMP successfully installed an RFID tracking system at their facility years prior, so they knew RFID was the route to go. After extensive in-house testing, EMP designed a solution surrounding the pallet destacker. A Zebra RFID Silverline tag is installed on the pallet jack. As the driver approaches the destacker with their given orders, the pallet jack is scanned. The jack then removes two pallets. Each pallet is also scanned as the pallet jack exits past the RFID antennas. The operator proceeds to fulfill the customer order and the order is tied to the specific pallets that were scanned.
This new RFID system eliminated the need for manual order entry and ensures that each customer is receiving the correct pallet of product. Do you have a traceability project and are looking for RFID experts? Contact EMP today!
