Cable Company Reels in Benefits With RFID

When warehouse workers at Singapore company Keystone Cable process an order for its telecommunication and electric cables, they need to locate large reels of specific products and then return them to storage so that those reels can be accessed again for future orders. The warehouse contains thousands of reels, and a single worker can spend 30 to 45 minutes locating the correct one. The company has installed a technological solution that employs passive ultrahigh-frequency (UHF) RFID tags on reels, as well as on racks at its storage locations. The firm reports that a forklift driver now requires only about five minutes to retrieve a cable reel. The RFID solution, provided by the Singapore Institute of Manufacturing Technology (SIMTech), includes Xerafy passive Data Trak II RFID tags and Phychips' Arete Mobile Pop Smart RFID dongle readers connected to Android phones.