RFID for Asset Tracking

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!