Smart cards have been used in corporations for a long while, and this technology is finding its way into education systems as well. The smart card lets you automate many of the routine tasks of campus life, such as registration, book and meal plan purchases, and campus security.

The smart card uses features like radio frequency identification (RFID) and tamper-resistant laminates in the student ID cards to provide a wide range of benefits. What improvements could use see using smart cards on your campus?

• Access to Buildings–Student and staff building access is more secure and efficient with a smart card. Unlike magnetic swipe cards that can become demagnetized and lose their effectiveness, RFID gives smart cards fast ID and access capabilities.  Now you can have more secure access to controlled areas like labs, dorm rooms, or office areas.
• Time and Attendance Tracking – Move from a handwritten and time-intensive system to an automated one with smart cards. Much like a time clock system in a business, student and staff time and attendance is automatically and accurately recorded in a database when they gain access to a building or classroom with their smart card.
• Library Access and Inventory Management – Automatically check out/check in books, laptops, or other equipment with a smart card and store the information in the student database. Now you have access to real-time information on the status of overdue books or equipment.
• Electronic Payment – A smart card enables electronic payment of items needed on campus. The student can load the smart card with money or meal credits and use the card to pay for items from vending machines and dining halls, or from book stores. The online account associated with the students’ ID lets them view their spending or add money to their account.

When created with durable card materials like polyester or PVC, and tamper-resistant laminates, the smart cards are long lasting – no more recurring costs from reprinting cards for annual card replacement. Students can hold onto their smart cards and use them throughout the time they are a part of the school system. Administrators can invalidate lost or stolen cards immediately, keeping the student’s account, and the campus, secure.

Is a smart card the right choice for your campus? Call us and we can discuss the variety of ID card options available that can make campus life better and more secure for your staff and students.

At our recent “Demystify DoD Labeling Standards” seminar, held just last week in Nashua, NH, we had a chance to talk with people who are involved with government contracts and needed a better understanding of UID or RFID. For them, the seminar was just the thing to help them become more knowledgeable about labeling standards so they could make appropriate recommendations for military-compliant labeling in their business.

Those who came to our seminar had a variety of labeling issues. Some attendees were just implementing RFID in their shipping department and needed specifics about the right way to do the labeling to meet MIL-STD-129 requirements. Another was required to create UID labeling to conform to MIL-STD-130, and had to know what exactly needed marking and how it should be done. Others were trying to figure out how to implement data capture and collection for faster uploads to the UID registry.

All of this information was presented in a relaxed four hour seminar session. John Burke, VP of Winco ID, gave an overview of the military labeling standards and an explanation of the various levels of compliance that Winco ID provides to our customers.

David Holliday, Sales Manager at Winco ID, presented the details of MIL-STD-129 with RFID, and MIL-STD-130 with UID. After a thorough explanation of the standards, David explained how all of that data can be uploaded to the Wide Area Workflow (WAWF) electronically using idWorx! Electronic submission to the WAWF and UID registry makes data submission faster and more accurate.

We were fortunate to have two guest speakers at our seminar – John O’Kelly of Newcastle Systems, and John O’Brien, Director of Business Development at Valmarc. Both of them had information and advice that went beyond compliance labeling.

John O’Kelly spoke about the Newcastle family of carts and accessories. Unlike carts used to tote items from one place to another, the Newcastle carts are designed for the user who wants computing power in any area of their workplace. Various models are available for different needs, and they allow you to have a mobile powered workstation. In fact, our own cart that we bring along to every seminar and trade show, was on display. More information about Newcastle Systems and their products can be found here.

John O’Brien had a riveting presentation about anti-counterfeiting strategies, and the products available to thwart counterfeiting and diversion. Valmarc has developed new technology that allows consumers to use special smart phone apps to verify the authenticity of products they are about to purchase. More information about Valmarc and their work can be found here.

Also on hand were displays of innovative RFID label printers from our partner, Zebra Technologies, which everyone had a chance to test out.

It was gratifying to hear that our seminar helped people gain a better understanding of DoD labeling. One person made the comment that “you try to read (the) MIL-STD-129 and your eyes glaze over and things go fuzzy” but the seminar answered many of his questions. An individual who has been working with government contracts for a while said “Winco ID has been a big help over the years – they take a lot of the guess work out of it”. All appreciated the active feedback and discussion that took place during the seminar, the examples of labels, and the equipment displays.

Look for notification of our next seminar in the near future. If you can’t make it to one of our seminars, then give us a call at (603) 598-1553. We’d be happy to bring our seminar to you, if you are a local business. Or we can provide a webinar, tailored to answer your specific questions. You don’t have to be overwhelmed with compliance labeling issues – we can help.

Things may have seemed quiet for a bit on the subject of MIL-STD-129 Department of Defense military labeling standard. Not as quiet as you may think. Reports show both MIL-STD-130 and MIL-STD-129 have been more heavily enforced in the field.

Earlier this year, the US Government made the following announcement to the attention of DLA Suppliers with important information regarding Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) component of MIL-STD-129.

“Effective October 1, 2011, all non-compliant passive RFID shipments will result in a negative impact to suppliers past performance history.” This affects you if you have or your customer has a DoD contract and ships stock to a DLA (Defense Logistics Agency) depot listed in the clause at DFARS 252.211-7006.

The announcement also states: “In addition to tagging shipments, an advance shipment notice is also required. The receiving report in Wide Area Workflow (WAWF) serves as the advance shipment notice. If the advance shipment notice is not submitted before your shipment arrives at the depot, you are in non-compliance.”

Anyone who has been tagging with RFID tags can tell you that the data associated with these tags can create a lot of data, quickly. As it does, it becomes more important for you to automate the data transmission process with the WAWF. Not only will it save workers time, accuracy increases and transmission costs can be minimized or eliminated. Since this is a large part of how you get paid, there is great incentive to get your ASN done quickly and correctly.

With so many deadlines and demands made on business today, it may be that until you know it will be enforced, it may slip behind in your priority. This is not one that should be left to your DCMA inspection to find out. Errors and delays can be expensive, penalties can exceed your shipment’s profit, and now it could cost you your (or your customer’s) contract.

How Can Winco ID Help You?

Winco ID has been educating our customers and those interested in compliance with MIL-STD-129 and MIL-STD-130 in our regional seminars, webinars, and on-site presentations. Either way, in just a few hours you will learn what you need to do to make and verify your labels correctly, manage the associated data over the WAWF, and know you are in 100% compliance. Read more here.

In addition to simplifying the process to fit in your workflow, we’ll show you how to extend your investment in compliance labeling, UID and RFID. You’ll learn how easy it is to track items in your business, deter counterfeiting, and protect your brand.

If you would like to talk to us about your DoD or any other kinds of labeling challenges you have, give Winco ID a call at 1-800-325-5260 X237 for more information. Need 100% compliant labels? Ask about our pre-printed label service to meet deadlines and impress your customer. For seminar info, please visit our events page.

______________________________________
Additional Resources Recommended by the DLA:

A complete list of passive RFID requirements for suppliers can be found at DFARS 252.211-7006. You can view the clause at this link: http://www.acq.osd.mil/dpap/dars/dfars/html/current/252211.htm#252.211-7006.

Additional information regarding RFID (Including a copy of the DOD Suppliers Passive RFID Guide)is available at: http://www.acq.osd.mil/log/rfid/index.htm.

WAWF online training site for a complete module on entering RFID tags.

Do you need your labels to be in compliance with MIL-STD-130 or MIL-STD-129, but aren’t sure where to start? We have some options that might help.

One option is to have us print them for you. You can take advantage of our label printing service and get 100% compliant RFID and UID preprinted labels. When you need compliant labels but don’t have the volume to justify investing in printing systems, then let us print them for you. 

Another option is to create your own labels. We can put together a complete label printing and verification solution. Create bar coded or RFID labels with our label design software and thermal transfer printers, encoders, and verifiers.

Managing all of the data is no easy task, but we have software solutions to manage uploading data to the UID registry. So if you are overwhelmed with entering and supplying data to the DoD, we can help with that too.

Perhaps the best option is to attend our upcoming seminar – “Demystify DoD Labeling” – taking place in Nashua NH on Thursday, Oct 20. Our half-day event helps you find out more about the labeling requirements of MIL-STD-130 and MIL-STD-129. For more information about this seminar, and to register, click here.

If you unable to attend out seminar, please call us and we can put together a webinar for you. To find out more about compliance in labeling, take a look at our ebooks; MIL-STD-129 & RFID and MIL-STD-130 & UID. Compliance doesn’t have to be cumbersome. Call us today and we can discuss the approach to labeling compliance that is right for you.

The US Government is under pressure to reduce spending without sacrificing our military forces. One of the first areas for improvement was inventory control. The US Government now requires anyone who ships product to the Department of Defense to comply with strict mandates for labeling pallets, cartons and products to enhance the accuracy and rapid response capabilities of our military.

Mismanaged inventory costs billions of dollars

What does that all mean for you?

If you or your customer supply goods to the Department of Defense, you will need to comply with MIL-STD-130 unit identification labeling which may include UID, or MIL-STD-129 pallet and carton labeling which may include RFID. Depending on the terms of the original contract, you may need to comply with both.

Here are 3 Reasons to Attend Our DoD Labeling Seminar

1. You have to comply-it’s in your Contract.
   In a few hours you will learn what you need to know to be in compliance AND know you are in compliance. This includes getting the right labels, right data, and right format to meet all the requirements of MIL-STD-130 and UID, MIL-STD-129 and RFID.
   You don’t have to comply – YET!  Your customers may hold Defense Contracts with MIL-STD-130, UID, MIL-STD-129, RFID requirements. As subcontractors, this may mean YOU have to provide labels that comply.
2. Automate the transmission of  the required data to the DoD via the WAWF
   Learn how this software solution that fully integrates RFID, UID, WAWF and the UID Registry can help you unify the UID and RFID workflow process into your existing business processes for added efficiency.
   Overwhelmed with mounds of data? Are you having trouble tracking the data associated with nested containers? Are you paying electronic transmission fees? You’ll be amazed at just how easy it can be and save on costs.
3. Need to do more than comply? Go beyond the DoD compliance
   The same principles of barcoding and labeling you use to comply with DoD mandates can be used to increase productivity and efficiency in your everyday business, too. Come see how asset tracking, traceability, mobile printing of labels and data capture at the point of activity can all be used to increase productivity. See how small changes to your labeling process can mean big differences.

Can 3 hours make a difference in your DoD Labeling Compliance? Here are a few things people who attended our DoD Labeling Seminar had to say:

“I learned a lot in a very short period of time.”
“The information was good and it was presented in a way that made it easy to understand.”
“I was happy to learn better ways of dealing with the data transmission part of DoD compliance.”

Deadlines are being enforced, and regulation details are numerous. Mandates are changing; making it difficult for some to comply and others to know when they are truly in compliance. Those who are not ready or are found to be non-compliant face the possibility of incurring high penalties, delayed shipments and loss of contract business.

Know your options, how to get in compliance quickly and easily and be sure your business is protected. Winco ID and our partners offer a resource of compliance solutions. To help you get started and prepare for our seminar, our ebooks will help you get started. Download our MIL-STD-130 eBook and a copy of our MIL-STD-129 eBook.

Attend our seminar on October 20, 2011 in Nashua, New Hampshire. Learn what you need to know to comply with Military Labeling Standards and make the right choices for your success.

Learn more about the seminar here or register on line here.

Our seminar is free but preregistration is required.

If you are unable to attend, or need to comply now, please call Winco ID at 603-598-1553.

One thing that I’ve been searching for is a simple handheld RFID reader that can perform simple tasks without costing a fortune.

As part of this search, I recently had the chance to check out the Tracient Reader which looked as though it might fit the bill.

Contained in the box is the reader, a USB cable and a CD that has the documentation and some applications to get started.

The reader itself couldn’t be simpler. It’s a black plastic paddle shape with just one button and a couple of LEDs. It has a single USB port for connecting to a computer, which also charges the battery.

After unpacking everything, I plugged in the USB to get charging and installed the software. There are 3 applications on the CD – RFID Control Panel, RFID Sync and RFID Wedge. Of these I only really used the Control Panel to allow some setting of my reader.

The Sync app is intended to downloaded saved reads from the reader to a host computer and the Wedge app is to allow use on a PDA or mobile computer. I found that I could connect to my LXE Tecton device quite happily without needing to use this.

I tested the Tracient Reader by connecting to both the LXE mobile computer and to a lap using Bluetooth. I had to go into the Control Panel app to switch on Bluetooth and I was ready to go.

With the LXE Tecton, I simply activated Bluetooth and the Tecton could see the reader right away. I had the option to pair as a scanner and having done this, was ready to start collecting RFID data.

Pressing the big button on the Reader sets it off looking for tags and any that are found are sent right to the Tecton – in this case I was simply capturing the data in WordPad. There are various settings in the Control Panel App that can allow the user how to handle and format the RFID data.

The performance of the Reader was quite impressive. I could read RFID tags over about the same distances as I could with my Symbol 9060 reader (that costs a heck of a lot more) and with both the laptop and Tecton, the Bluetooth connection was fine for at least 15 feet.

For someone looking for a tough industrial RFID to use all day, the Tracient probably isn’t the device to use – you’d be better off with something like the Symbol MC3090Z or 9090. However, if you need to be able to capture RFID data from time to time, without the cost and bulk of a dedicated reader, this might be the way to go.

Tracient Padl-R Reader

Pros

• Lightweight design
• Simple to use
• Easy to connect to devices
• Pretty good read range
• Made in New Zealand (I thought this was cool anyway!)

Cons

• Not industrial toughness

Would I buy it? For the right application, yes, I would!

What about you? If you have a need to RFID enable some of your devices, this might be a good solution. Give me a call at 603-598-1553 x237 and let’s talk!

Over the last few years, RFID technology has gotten to be pretty good at keeping track of assets – at least in terms of letting us know where they actually are.

Our partners at InfinID Technologies (who are always thinking way too hard about things) have come up with a way to make RFID tracking much better. The new V-Tag can not only track the location of items, but the temperature, humidity, vibration and shock as well.

In addition, V-Tags can talk to each other to create their own instant mesh network – this means that even if a V-Tag is out of the range of a reader, it can send its data via other tags on the network. This reduces the infrastructure needed and this is because multiple tag IDs are received by the reader via multiple diverse paths. This also overcomes effects such as the “center box problem” in a pallet or case where the tags on the inside of a pallet or case are shielded from direct line of sight to the reader. In the V-Tag system, tags on the inside reach tags on the outside which do have line of sight, and their IDs are relayed to the reader.

V-Tags can be used in conjunction with AssetWorx! the RFID tracking solution made my InfinID.

For example, using the AssetWorx! module for V-Tags, simply install AssetWorx! and the V-TAG module and immediately have the ability to:

• Associate V-Tags with assets or shipments;
• Set thresholds for temperature, humidity, shock and battery level;
• Receive and view tag alarms for threshold exceeded events;
• Receive and view current and historical hourly sensor reports;
• Generate graphs of hourly sensor reports;
• Set alerting rules for tag movement;
• Verify shipment contents for both shipping and receiving;
• Monitor gateway and tag status.

Want to learn more about how V-Tags and AssetWorx! can help keep you in control? Call me at 603.598.1553 x237 and we can set you up with an on-line demo.

If you go to a centralized printer to pick up your labels and apply the label elsewhere, you not only waste time and take away from productivity, but this leaves a wide margin for error when the wrong label is picked up or applied to the wrong item.

Small, portable, Thermal Transfer and RFID Printing

It is proven that productivity and accuracy are increased by printing and applying labels at the point of activity. For some, the additional challenge is labeling items that are:

• located in remote areas of the warehouse.
• subject to harsh environments of the desert or out in the growing fields.
• require the durability of thermal transfer print for readability over longer life cycles.
• perishable or have an expiration date.
• moving fast, reserved for production or customers, or critical to operations and must be tracked in real-time.
• large, over-sized items or items stored outside.

No matter where you have to label or what you have to label, with Zebra’s P4T mobile printer, you can print long-life bar code labels and documents up to 4″ wide that withstand harsh and outdoor environments.

With so many mobile computers and printers available, why is the P4T/RP4T mobile printer different?

Zebra P4T and RP4T mobile printers are the world’s first mobile RFID printing solutions with dual print methods (direct thermal and thermal transfer) in a single printer.

Watch this short video to see:

Watch the video to see simple change of labels and ribbon cartridges.

• the importance of labeling at the point of application.
• how easy it is to load ribbons and media.
• the power of RFID and thermal transfer image durability in harsh environment applications.
• the P4T in action – indoor and outdoor applications in government, manufacturing, transportation and logistics and mobile field service.

Long-lasting, element-resistant thermal transfer labels, tags and receipts and RFID labels can be printed where and when customers need them, providing enhanced data and asset tracking accuracy as well as improved workforce efficiency.

Think of how useful that is when tasked with labeling large containers, shipment pallets, and complying with MIL-STD-129 and RFID requirements for the DoD (and have limited RFID printers or none.)

Do you need to print durable, long lasting labels to withstand the elements of the outdoors? Do your labels remain readable for as long as you need them to? Do you need different kinds of labels in different locations including encoding RFID smarttags?

New products are emerging on the market to enable distributed and mobile printing. For more information or to see if Zebra’s P4T fits your applications, please contact David Holliday or call 1.603.598.1553 X237.

Just about every organization has assets that need to be kept track of. Where they are, when maintenance or calibration is due, the current value – everything needs to be accounted for.

In the past, asset information would be kept using pencil and paper, lists that would be filed away until needed.

More recently, asset information would be kept in a database – maybe a simple spreadsheet or perhaps using a dedicated asset tracking application. Adding barcodes to the labels applied to each item also help to speed up the process.

The main problems with using barcodes are the fact that a direct line of site to the asset label is needed as well as a lot of individual scans need to be done when taking an inventory of a lot of items – in a data center for example.

One way to help with this is to use RFID tags as the asset identifiers.

We have found that EPC Gen2 RFID tags are great for this application – having good read range and also being quite inexpensive.

We have put together a great RFID Asset Tracking solution that contains everything needed to get going:

AssetWorx! RFID Asset Tracking Software - is simple to set up and use, but powerful enough for just about every organization

Motorola MC3090Z Handheld Reader – The performance of this device is just astounding!

TM4 RFID Tags for Metal Mounting- in the past, trying to tag metal object was a real problem. The TM4 tag is small and unobtrusive, but has really good read performance on metal objects (works on non-metal assets too, but with reduced performance)

Synthetic SmartLabels – use these for tagging non-metal items such as chairs and desks.

When RFID first became trendy a few years ago, one of the hope was that it would provide a means of identifying all the assets in a room with one simple read.

We are not quite to that point, but tags that are made today, along with much improved RFID readers, (such as the MC3090Z) really do allow audits of asset inventory to be made really quickly and easily.

Taking inventory of a lot of assets using AssetWorx! or RedBeam is very fast and the handheld application shows right away which ones have been located and which assets that are supposed to be in the room have not been found.

Do you happen to be the custodian of assets in your organization? How can we help you make this job easier?

Call me at 603-598-1553 x237 to discuss how barcodes or RFID might work for you!