Using Passive RFID to Keep Chemicals Safe
Summary
Gallons of explosive chemicals are misplaced in a large warehouse. The manufacturer does not have a way to know an exact location – for inventory or safety. The customer also needs the ability to use the oldest chemicals first, following a ‘first-in-first-out’ methodology. To do that, the chemical containers must be serialized so the correct asset is used when needed. Using iVEDiX IoT Core and passive RFID, these chemicals are now tracked, mapped, and reported on mobile analytics. No more missing containers.
The Problem
A chemical manufacturer needs to know exactly where a 275 gallon tote of explosive chemicals is located in its warehouse even if it is traveling on a forklift. The information must be mappable.
Regulators need to know at any given time where these pallet-mounted, industrial grade, reusable bulk containers are located. If they are in the wrong place, people need to know. If the inventory is low, people need to know. In addition, if inventory is aging it should be used first. Access to this data needs to be ubiquitous, intuitive, and accident-proof. The user on the production floor needs a mobile solution. The data analyst in the office needs a way for rich data exploration and discovery on a desktop.
The Challenge
The customer needs a solution that works on the more than 40,000 metal containers ranging in size from 50 to 275 gallons. The tracking solution must be rugged, explosion-proof, and work on metal. The information it sends must be actionable. Because of industry regulation, the customer must meet specific government checkpoints or risk a fine. On-demand data and reporting for compliance is required.
Finally regular business processes need help. The customer needs the ability to order a drum and know when it is filled so shipping commitments can be met.
The Solution
Passive RFID ATEC certified sensors and readers created to work on metal are implemented throughout the warehouse. All 40,000 containers get a sensor. Various warehouse checkpoints are set with readers. Using the iVEDiX IoT Core, the data generated from these sensors and readers are gathered and made actionable. The customer can see assets in real-time on a map of the warehouse through digital zonal location and process state markers. This provides visual verification of the exact location of a drum and the state lets the customer know which is the oldest so it can be used first.
If it moves, the customer knows. Alerts sound if a processing threshold is exceeded or an inventory threshold is not met. Real-time and profile-based notifications are implemented in the iVEDiX IoT Core. Multi-channel notifications-email, SMS, or ‘In-App’ – can sound before a production problem happens (based on thresholds/conditions) in order to facilitate enough time for an intervention. This makes the right people aware of issues while there is still time to affect outcomes. Since the iVEDiX IoT Core is available on mobile and desktop, all users can access the information they need in the method they prefer. iVEDiX also offers onsite training and go-live support to ensure a successful implementation.
Small Steps for Large Gains
Summary
A chemical manufacturer does not know where its highly customized and expensive containers are. It is easier to build new at great expense than track down the whereabouts of an existing container, understand how it needs to be cleaned, refilled, and shipped back to an awaiting customer. To make it more complex, the manufacturing lead time for these containers is measured in months, and sometimes process changes mean a specific container type can become obsolete after its expensive replacement has been ordered.
These containers house potentially explosive chemicals. The need for real-time tracking and communication could save a life. Since these containers are designed to contain volatile chemicals, they are DOT (Department of Transportation) regulated. iVEDiX helped this manufacturer understand its micro-processes to save time and money. Now more containers are shipped faster and more safely thanks to the iVEDiX IoT Core.
The Problem
A Fortune 100 global firm acquires a new chemical manufacturer that supplies the semiconductor industry. Supply variance is costing the firm time and money. Now it needs to implement asset tracking of volatile chemicals and then integrate that tracking data into its existing SAP ERP system. The solution also needs to scale across all global sites on demand.
Containers are sometimes lost to damage and need extended time to be placed back into circulation. (Reusable containers must follow a strict workflow to get to the correct process point on time.) Other high-value inventory just goes missing because containers would end up in hallways. Without an easy classification system, the staff is unsure where to put incoming pallets, making the asset tracking problem even worse.
The balance between the size of the container fleet and the order demand creates an additional issue. If the containers are not returned in a timely manner or if a container’s DOT inspection date expires, then an order goes unfilled. The customer, unable to measure the number of turns on a container, cannot determine what has been fully expensed.
Since the material being used and moved is dangerous, knowing the history of the asset, its contents, and the process state reduces safety incidents. The firm needs to stay compliant with regulatory and customer mandates on container certification. These regulators require on-demand transparency of all process metrics.
The Challenge
Not only is the current asset tracking method manual, but it is also based on staff entering identification and status information on paper hang tags. There is no way to know where a container is except to walk the warehouse looking for it.
The new system must integrate with the customer’s existing SAP system but it can take the SAP team months to make system changes and the asset tracking problem is critical now.
Furthermore, the customer works with reusable chemical containers. The customer knows when a container is ready to ship but not when it is expected to return. Once a container returns it must be cleaned according to government regulations based on which chemical was in the container previously. Any mistake can cause a fire and a fine. SAP knows the macro status of the process but micro-processes are not documented or well understood. Each container needs to be certified by specific dates or face a government fine. The customer has no way to prove they were following regulations in order to avoid these fines.
The Solution
Using barcode data and the iVEDiX IoT Core, the customer is able to map where a container is in its lifecycle – cleaned, filled, shipped, returned – how long it has spent in each phase and what chemicals were in which container. If something goes wrong in a location or skips a step, the iVEDiX Core sends varying levels of alerts from critical to informational. Any container exceeding an established threshold triggers an alert. Any time a container is moved, it triggers an alert. This, plus an audit trail of all actions, allows the customer to provide the process transparency needed by regulators. The iVEDiX IoT Core continually communicates with the SAP system to let it know when specific milestones are hit.
A container that is not cleaned cannot be shipped. Before the iVEDiX implementation, the customer would simply make another high cost, highly specialized container rather than sort through the specifics of its sub-processes. Now actionable intelligence is accessible through both the iVEDiX IoT Core and iVEDiX Glass a desktop and mobile data analytics application that allows the customer to see, modify, and share process flow reports. Supply and quality variances can be tracked and acted on.
The iVEDiX IoT Core also provides a flexible way for the customer to configure rules that match its business. Such rules can automatically change the state of an asset once it enters a specific location. Parent-child relationships can be set to keep related assets in tandem.
This easy flexibility, high level of customization, and quick turnaround of needed adjustments mean the iVEDiX team can provide solutions in days instead of weeks. iVEDiX also provides on-site training and go-live support to ensure a seamless delivery.
Finally, the iVEDiX solution creates a feedback loop with the customer’s SAP system. iVEDIX IoT Core receives data feeds from SAP to kick off processes and update status. iVEDIX IoT Core then sends asset movement history and other metadata back to SAP. Keeping all systems synchronized in tracking the customer’s data.
Using Passive RFID to Keep Chemicals Safe
Summary
Gallons of explosive chemicals are misplaced in a large warehouse. The manufacturer does not have a way to know an exact location – for inventory or safety. The customer also needs the ability to use the oldest chemicals first, following a ‘first-in-first-out’ methodology. To do that, the chemical containers must be serialized so the correct asset is used when needed. Using iVEDiX IoT Core and passive RFID, these chemicals are now tracked, mapped, and reported on mobile analytics. No more missing containers.
The Problem
A chemical manufacturer needs to know exactly where a 275 gallon tote of explosive chemicals is located in its warehouse even if it is traveling on a forklift. The information must be mappable.
Regulators need to know at any given time where these pallet-mounted, industrial grade, reusable bulk containers are located. If they are in the wrong place, people need to know. If the inventory is low, people need to know. In addition, if inventory is aging it should be used first. Access to this data needs to be ubiquitous, intuitive, and accident-proof. The user on the production floor needs a mobile solution. The data analyst in the office needs a way for rich data exploration and discovery on a desktop.
The Challenge
The customer needs a solution that works on the more than 40,000 metal containers ranging in size from 50 to 275 gallons. The tracking solution must be rugged, explosion-proof, and work on metal. The information it sends must be actionable. Because of industry regulation, the customer must meet specific government checkpoints or risk a fine. On-demand data and reporting for compliance is required.
Finally regular business processes need help. The customer needs the ability to order a drum and know when it is filled so shipping commitments can be met.
The Solution
Passive RFID ATEC certified sensors and readers created to work on metal are implemented throughout the warehouse. All 40,000 containers get a sensor. Various warehouse checkpoints are set with readers. Using the iVEDiX IoT Core, the data generated from these sensors and readers are gathered and made actionable. The customer can see assets in real-time on a map of the warehouse through digital zonal location and process state markers. This provides visual verification of the exact location of a drum and the state lets the customer know which is the oldest so it can be used first.
If it moves, the customer knows. Alerts sound if a processing threshold is exceeded or an inventory threshold is not met. Real-time and profile-based notifications are implemented in the iVEDiX IoT Core. Multi-channel notifications-email, SMS, or ‘In-App’ – can sound before a production problem happens (based on thresholds/conditions) in order to facilitate enough time for an intervention. This makes the right people aware of issues while there is still time to affect outcomes. Since the iVEDiX IoT Core is available on mobile and desktop, all users can access the information they need in the method they prefer. iVEDiX also offers onsite training and go-live support to ensure a successful implementation.
Small Steps for Large Gains
Summary
A chemical manufacturer does not know where its highly customized and expensive containers are. It is easier to build new at great expense than track down the whereabouts of an existing container, understand how it needs to be cleaned, refilled, and shipped back to an awaiting customer. To make it more complex, the manufacturing lead time for these containers is measured in months, and sometimes process changes mean a specific container type can become obsolete after its expensive replacement has been ordered.
These containers house potentially explosive chemicals. The need for real-time tracking and communication could save a life. Since these containers are designed to contain volatile chemicals, they are DOT (Department of Transportation) regulated. iVEDiX helped this manufacturer understand its micro-processes to save time and money. Now more containers are shipped faster and more safely thanks to the iVEDiX IoT Core.
The Problem
A Fortune 100 global firm acquires a new chemical manufacturer that supplies the semiconductor industry. Supply variance is costing the firm time and money. Now it needs to implement asset tracking of volatile chemicals and then integrate that tracking data into its existing SAP ERP system. The solution also needs to scale across all global sites on demand.
Containers are sometimes lost to damage and need extended time to be placed back into circulation. (Reusable containers must follow a strict workflow to get to the correct process point on time.) Other high-value inventory just goes missing because containers would end up in hallways. Without an easy classification system, the staff is unsure where to put incoming pallets, making the asset tracking problem even worse.
The balance between the size of the container fleet and the order demand creates an additional issue. If the containers are not returned in a timely manner or if a container’s DOT inspection date expires, then an order goes unfilled. The customer, unable to measure the number of turns on a container, cannot determine what has been fully expensed.
Since the material being used and moved is dangerous, knowing the history of the asset, its contents, and the process state reduces safety incidents. The firm needs to stay compliant with regulatory and customer mandates on container certification. These regulators require on-demand transparency of all process metrics.
