Industrial gas companies make a huge investment in cylinders that are used as the main supply method to supply industrial gases to their customers. They spend a substantial amount in cylinder technology in order to deliver gas products to their clients safely and cost efficiently.
Tracking these cylinders becomes important as asset utilization and visibility is very significant during these economically challenging times. Some of the challenges faced by industrial gas companies due to inaccurate tracking methods are increased operation time, loss of productivity, delivery of empty cylinders and difficulty in reading cylinder number. Successful tracking systems employing the latest technology ensures total traceability across the supply chain.
Barcode is the most common method of tagging used today. However in harsh industrial environments, bar codes become unreadable very quickly due to mutilation or being covered with mud or oil. The biggest challenge to bar code use is that bar codes have less security as they can be more easily reproduced or duplicated. This lack of up-to-date data results in the inability to easily locate assets and in the lack of readily available information about an asset’s operational status when it is most needed.
TRAKAID helps in overcoming the handicaps of a bar code by incorporating the latest RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) technology. RFID Tags have a multi-year lifespan. RFID tags can be read at a faster rate & contain high levels of security than barcodes. RFID technology is integrated to eliminate potential data entry errors and automates data acquisition at lower labor cost.
TRAKAID brings more than six years of in-depth experience in selecting, integrating, and implementing end-to-end RFID solution. RFID tags are designed specifically for industrial gas cylinders that provide accurate data capture of cylinder movement during receipt, filling, issue, delivery, and pickup.
Overall, RFID system has many important features and advantages than simple barcoding systems.