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RFID Technology

RFID Technology

RFID, Radio Frequency Identification Devices, is a technology that applies the use of electromagnetic fields to uniquely identify and track tags fixed to objects. These tags consist of electronically stored data. RFID technology was developed to track cattle, but it has evolved greatly over the years, and it is being used in many industries today. RFID works the same as a magnetic strip or a barcode at the back of an ATM card or credit card (Want, 2006). RFID tags are greatly used in many corporations such the automobiles industries where the tag is fixed to an automobile during manufacturing, and it is used to monitor its progress through the assembly line. RFID microchips are implanted in pets and livestock to allow identification of animals. Also, producers use RFID tags on promoted merchandise so that they can monitor exactly which product has been purchased through the supply chain at prices which are discounted.

RFID standards are rules and regulations that regulate the use of RFID items. These standards help us understand the frequencies at which RFID items work, the rules about these items, how the reader and the tag works and how data is exchanged in the RFID items. RFID standards help organizations create integral products such as different sorts of readers, tags, adornments, and programming. RFID standards assure that RFID gadgets are interoperable thus paying little caution to client or seller (Liu, Levitt, Kara, Sahin, Dion & Dandekar, 2016). These standards expand market sectors and build certain rivalry inside organizations which is an important thing for a successful organization. They help increase the board trust in the innovation. Certain bodies which are industrial, national, territorial and worldwide are responsible for setting RFID standards. Worldwide bodies such as ISO, International Standards Organization, help set the standards that help in the RFID gadgets. Different RFID gadgets have a different set of standards. Auto-ID Centre was set up to develop the electronic product and other related technologies which would be used to track and identify items through the worldwide supply chain. The Auto-ID center was aiming at coming up with a cheap RFID system since the tags needed were disposable. This meant that the tags which were put by the manufacturer on the items which were to be to transport to the seller could not be reused again by the manufacturer. The tags would help to track goods and products from the manufacturer as they flowed across the world. This was also one of the company's missions in developing RFID system. These tags were supposed to use a standardized air interface protocol developed by Auto-ID center. Auto-ID Centre by developing the network architecture would enable anyone to check data associated with the specific number stored in the tag. The network architecture was integrated with the internet and was based on open standards used on the internet. The enabled good communication between the supplier and the manufacturer.

RFID technology is used in many industries today worldwide. A good example of an industry where RFID technology is being applied today is the construction industry. Just like any other industry in the market sector, the construction industry is following the overall industry steps of automation of many aspects of materials tracking and identification. For the past decades, the use of RFID technology in the construction industry has greatly increased. RFID tagging has provided the major hardware solutions in this industry. RFID technology is being put to use to provide real-time information on issues such as the condition of materials, location and timing rather than relying on human intelligence. RFID basically aids the control on a large quality of processes in various levels of construction, from the start to the end. The RFID tagging technology has helped in improving efficiency in the construction industry. Below are some of the applications of the use of RFID technology in the construction industry. Also are some of the benefits and cons of application technology in the construction industry.

Construction of a house, for example, is divided into various stages, the first being planning, and the last being inhabitation. As stated earlier, different RFID gadgets have different standards. Thus RFID technology applied in the construction industry is a bit different from the one used in the manufacturing industry. Hence, a certain RFID technology system is implemented for each construction stage. Construction materials mostly include materials which are made of steel. This can interfere with the operation of RFID, and there is an urgency of evaluating the influence of grouping RFID tags and construction materials. Passive RFID tags have been developed to address this issue. Also, the urgent demand for correct records of an underground infrastructure mostly aims to authorize an RFID technology that locates buried items. Also, new tags have been produced to be attached to the metallic materials. Thus RFID is effective when mounted on metallic surfaces and working in free space. After the planning is done, assembling and moving the materials needed to the construction site is done. RFID technology is applied in the supply chain as the materials are transported from the manufacturer or supplier to the construction site (Roy & Jacob, 2015). Through the use of RFID technology in the supply management, delivery and billing become an easy task. Concrete mixing is a task that is mostly done manually, but through the introduction of RFID technology, it has become an easy task. RFID helps monitor the steps of concrete mixing, loading time and delivery to the construction site. RFID technology is used to precast materials being used for the construction. It used to audit the incoming items and the logistics processes. During the construction process, it is important to monitor the movement of various materials, employees, and vehicles used during the construction process. RFID tags are attached to these materials to help monitor the movement.

The construction industry is benefiting a lot from the use of RFID technology. Some of the benefits include keeping track of tools and materials used in the construction process. Keeping track of tools and materials have checked out and the employees who have checked them out. They also show how long the tools and materials have been used after they have been checked in. This helps in the management of tools by showing tools that need to be replaced and those that have been lost. RFID technology has helped improve the worker safety at construction sites (Wang, 2017). A good example is that readers are installed in items such open elevator shafts such the reader activates an alarm when an employee wearing a tag nears the shaft. This helps alert the employee of any danger. RFID tags greatly assist in building maintenance process. The tags are placed are placed in electrical cables and help to locate these cables easily during the repair process. Also, RFID is used during the inspection of a building after construction is completed. RFID tags which are networked are attached with sensors to control lighting and temperature and also monitor building occupancy. Also, during the construction process construction managers need to monitor when workers leave and arrive at the construction sites. Instead of writing and signing manually in books, they can use tags attached to their badges, and they scanned at certain entry points in the construction site. This helps indicate at what exact time the employee arrived and left the site. RFID technology has helped reduce theft of materials as materials are regularly monitored.

Reference:

Want, R. (2006). An introduction to RFID technology. IEEE pervasive computing, 5(1), 25-33.

Liu, Y., Levitt, A., Kara, C., Sahin, C., Dion, G., & Dandekar, K. R. (2016, October). An improved design of wearable strain sensor based on knitted RFID technology. In Antenna Measurements & Applications (CAMA), 2016 IEEE Conference on (pp. 1-4). IEEE.

Wang, H. (2017). Construction Project Performance Improvement through Radio Frequency Identification Technology Application on a Project Supply Chain.

Roy, N., & Jacob, J. (2015). A STUDY ON CONSTRUCTION SAFETY ISSUES AND DEVELOPMENT OF A GENERAL SOLUTION FRAMEWORK. International Journal of Engineering Research and General Science, 3(6).