Hybrid RFID Tag fights Baggage Loss in Cruise-line Business (Business case sharing)

"The cruise ship has set sail, and I still haven't received my luggage." This complaint is the worst nightmare for any cruise ship hotel director. "It may take weeks or more to recover the lost luggage, or never." A hotel director of a luxury megaton cruise ship reported.

To find one lost-baggage may seem challenging enough. However, the embarkation is even more challenging; during each embarkation process, their staff has to load up to 6000 pieces of checked baggage on board and deliver them to the correct rooms within just 2 hours, all taking place behind the sight of the boarding passengers.

How to deliver passenger's the "checked-luggage" into the correct cabin (100% correct with zero lost) during a short-embarkation time? It is a big question which troubles all cruise lines.

A cruise line in Hong Kong has recently made the best uses of NFC and UHF combined card (dual frequency tag), to keep track on all passenger's "checked-luggage" (the baggage to-be-delivered to rooms by porters and cruise staffs).

During the embarkation, all luggage will be attached with a dual-frequency tag on, with a listing of the guest's name and cabin room number using re-writable ink.

Hundreds of UHF RFID readers and thousands of IP cameras has been installed on the ceiling on board to monitor the whole process of baggage delivery starting from port-side check-in, loading on a trolley, boarding by staff, and individual delivery to the cabin, to prevent any loss of baggage.

(Photo shows Luggage pictures are captured by smartphone app and stored in the system.)

Dual-frequency tags provide the best mix of equipment on the ship. Stationary RFID readers use UHF (ultra high frequency) for long range reading, they are strategically positioned inside the cruise ship, such as shell door luggage lobbies, halls, aisles/passageway and lift lobbies; sensitive enough to capture the passage of any tagged luggage.


On the other hand, HF (high frequency, NFC is one of the HF) is used in check-in and staff's delivery confirmation because HF/NFC is a very common feature on staff's handheld terminals. These staff's multi-function handheld terminals are always installed with numerous apps for other business flow such as voice-com, tasks-assignment or reporting, which would be very expensive and bulky to equip UHF features.

All baggage-delivery staff will use HF mobile android handheld for 1-to-1 baggage scanning, and also record the room number after they have delivered them, simply by tapping the handheld on the door tag. The baggage's image is also recorded in the system, just in case.

In case there are lost-baggage reported, this baggage tracking system will tell the baggage location whether it is on the ship or still on the port. It is very common due to the overloaded x-ray machines or detained by security, and the passengers on board weren't notified.

The system owner has soon found this system really does pay off by reduced luggage lost and late departure penalty from the port;  It also rebuilds the confidence of passenger to use checked-luggage service; Faster embarkation does boost the income from other entertainment business on board. And finally, the improved cruise line brand image is also invaluable.

The comprehensive UHF RFID reader system installed on board will further extend their functions to the SCM (supply chain management) in cargo loading, hotel-asset tracking such as uniform or linen tracking (prevent the loss of hotel towels) and personnel location tracking, etc.

For any inquiry, please send email to sales@hk-rfid.com

www.hk-rfid.com

Material testing labs use RFID to trace specimen progress and release certificate (Business Case Sharing)

Hong Kong RFID ltd has installed a RFID-enabled specimen tracking system (RFID-TSDS) for a commercial construction material testing laboratory in Hong Kong. The testing lab wants to improve their professional corporate image and specimen traceability, so they are now using RFID as a tool to trace the process from collection til the printing of reports.

During the on-site sampling, the gathered sample will be given a specimen ID, with the GPS location and staff  ID recorded using a mobile android terminal. The samples will then be shipped to laboratory by a league of vehicles. The ID will be associated with a series of measurement equipment, environmental conditions measurement, and the testing results/photos by automatic data acquisition, with the least human interruption. And finally, the lab manager can review the data and sign the report with their professional judgments or comments.

The installed RFID system supports 2 types specimen; steel rebar, and concrete sample cube. The far-range UHF technology provides continuous ID-reading during sample measurement, even when doing disruptive compression test or elongation test. This system ensures a 100% association of Sample ID with the measurement data and avoids manual tempering the testing results. And of course, the UHF has it's unique innate ID being recorded and memory being well-protected from copying and overwrite.

Equipment that supports RFID. 

• Compression test equipment (INSTRON)
• Bending and elongation test
• Weight measurement
• 3D size measurement

For more information, please direct contact: Sales@hk-rfid.com

Bakery Shop uses Washable RFID to ensure Uniform Hygiene (Business Case Sharing)

A 50-year-old Japanese bakery (the client) in Hong Kong uses washable RFID tag for uniform tracking. This specialized system will assist the company through the entire life cycle of each individual uniform from purchasing to daily use, cleaning, and disposal.

Hygiene is very important for food industry, from production to retail shop front; The client has newly set up centralized laundry-house, deployed latest system, to manage employee's uniform;

The system works by embedding a UHF tag inside each uniform before distributing to each employee. The UHF tag is specially designed to endure laundry washing cycles. Each UHF tag also carries a unique ID so that the company can sort out different uniforms and know that where the uniform comes from (which shop) and who it belongs to (employee).

Each tag can withstand over 200 cycles of dry-cleans; and more for standard washing.

With this solution, we can see how a centralized uniform laundry can improve their process efficiency by easier sorting using RFID, i.e. fully utilize the wash drum space by mixing different origins of uniforms; and sort the uniform effectively before delivery.

It also helps companies to better control the hygiene and condition of employee's uniform and hence they can present a neater, higher quality and more professional image to customers.

Step 1 Tagging: iron the washable RFID tag, 200C for just 10sec
Step 2 Associate: link the clothes with labor ID or retail shop location
Step 3 Trace: start washing count, and monitor through website

Overall, this customized laundry tag solution can help the company to achieve:
1. Enhanced uniform laundry efficiency and down-costing
2. More accountable and visible distribution network
3. Loss and damage reduction, and most importantly
4. Effectively control uniform hygiene standard and present a better brand image

(photo shows the ironing process to adhere heat sealable RFID tag on uniform)

Keyword: Gym, hotel, linen, hospital, uniform, washable, fabric, RFID

For details, please contact sales@hk-rfid.com OR visit http://www.hk-rfid.com/asset--management-system

Asset Management and Maintenance of Casino Furniture using RFID (Business Case Sharing)

A casino in Macau has recently deployed our RFID solution into the management of their furniture and equipment. It has been told that the traditional management method, used by the casino, was inefficient. As there are wide varieties of furniture and equipment inside the casino, ranging from tiny objects to bulky objects, it was difficult for the casino to maintain a clear management system with detailed activity record and repair history.

Not traditional, Not Barcode, It's RFID
We have provided a tailor-made RFID AMS solution to the casino for specifically managing furniture and equipment. Every furniture and equipment are tagged with a RFID tag and therefore each of them possesses a unique ID. Using RFID can ensure the casino a more stable, secure and enduring method to identify and manage all assets. Besides, RFID provides a relatively longer reading range than other method like the barcode. It is far more efficient and effective for the casino to manage large quantities of a bulky object.

Specialised web-based management system
The management system is based on the webpage to ensure a wide adaptability.  All RFID readers are connected to the system and all data read from the tag will be collected and stored. A full record of activity and repair history of each asset will be available on the web-based system. A multi-party log-in function is also made available in this case as to provide access to other parties (other than the casino) to record the repair history.

Integratable with 3rd party AMS software
Besides using the AMS software provided by us, clients can also integrate our RFID system (tags & readers) with their current using AMS software like IBM Maximo or any other desired AMS software outside. Flexibility is greatly enhanced through the improvement on the compatibility.

For details, please contact sales@hk-rfid.com OR visit http://www.hk-rfid.com/asset--management-system

Coffee Machine Rental Business using NFC for CRM (Business Case Sharing)

A catering food provider who also runs a business of Café machine rental has used NFC tag for asset tracking and rental service renewal. 

Faster Rental Renewal
Their clients (catering business owner) can now check the rental service, tapping a Smartphone on the NFC tag on the machine; and reorder coffee beans or ice-cream in the future.

The “total coffee solution” provider provides catering machines which include all sorts of fully/semi-automatic coffee machines; capsule systems; brewer and even ice-cream refrigerators. They also provide coffee-business consultancy, after sales care and maintenance of the machines.

Do Not Use QR-code or Barcode
Professional coffee machines are not cheap to own and to run. The on-going maintenance and managing of such distributed assets always troubled the client. While the barcode is the easiest and cheapest solution, the label is vulnerable in catering environment where is always wet and crowded. While QR-code shares most of the NFC functions but its copiable, good for marketing but it is easy to cheat for any asset tracking or attendance taking. 

Locate the Asset by GPS
By tapping smartphone (with a business App installed) on NFC chip, it can provide an instant linkage between machine ID (on NFC chip) and the GPS location of the smartphone. The machine owner can well-aware of the machine location and the condition as reported by the technicians/users on-site, through a simple web-access.

This GPS information also helps to trace the business location which may be bound by rental contracts. 

The use of NFC on-metal tag becomes easier as the NFC smartphone is so popular and affordable. 

Faster Replenishment

In the future, the café shop owner can also replenish the consumables through the NFC tag to order to run the business; such as coffee capsule, coffee beans, sugars, milk, etc.

Hong Kong RFID has provided the NFC on-metal tag and developed an App for this application. This system also fits for any business which involves frequent machine or equipment ID checking for stock-take or maintenance operations; such as Audio Video equipments, refurbishing service or cleaning services. 

More about RFID-enabled asset management system, LINK.

For details, please contact info@hk-rfid.com

Pipe tracking using Passive RFID

Water Pipe is a highly concerned issue in HK recently for material safety issues. Pipe tracking is also very highly concerned in fuel and power delivery . To ensure or even enhance pipeline safety, a good tracking, recording system is required. Auto-ID system can provide a faster data retrieval  when comparing to visual methods, which data and drawing of the pipeline are hard to obtain or hard to understand. 

With RFID, Information of the pipeline network can be all stored in tiny tags that are easy and convenient to read or write by RFID reader. 

Such as below:

A tiny RFID tag with an industrial ring that can firmly hold on any rod-shape object

A tiny RFID tag with an industrial ring that can firmly hold on water PVC pipeline

RFID system can be applied throughout different processes includes sampling, construction, 

installation and usage stage and possibly provide functions like pipeline tagging, direction tracking, material record and worker maintenance record.......

If you are interested in applying RFID system in your pipeline network, there are few concerns you need to think it through:

1.  Installation method, in-situ or pre-tagged? 

2.  Weather proof of tag? how about explosion-proof?

3.  Any reading range concerns?

4.  The readers and the web-data to back up this system

More information be found in this link.

Feel free to contact us by email: info@hk-rfid.com

Smart label tells DRY or WET, by Smartrac

In Shanghai C-star exhibition, we have successfully demonstrated the latest sensor label; the Sensor Dogbone label by Smartrac, Inc. 




In this demo, by turning the water bag up-side-down inside the box, we can simulate the situation of dry or wet situation; and the RFID label outside the box can sense the moisture content inside. 

Reader in demo: NordicID Sampo
RFID Tag in demo: Smartrac Sensor Dogbone

This latest moisture sensor tag is a passive RFID tag, provided by Smartrac. Without battery and any probe in contact with the content, it can return the sensor code which can tell the RFID reader whether it is "DRY" or "WET". It will have temperature sensing option soon. 

Why sensor label?
- no battery is needed
- no direct contact (no rusting problem for sensor probe)
- low cost

There are wide applications not limited to food/medical logistics, also diapers, planting sensors, moisture/temperature sensitive products. 

Contact us for more information: sales@hk-rfid.com

Tiny-NFC label Challenge

Size does matter, in NFC's world, larger label size  is critical for small items, even more important then large memory size.


However, small size also makes it hard to scan, especially when you have no clue where to scan on your mobile device...Good NFC scanning experience is most important. So, I will demostrate several types of tiny NFC tag and provide some hints reading them.These tiny tags are quite useful to apply on small objects, such as tools and jewellery brands / hang tags or items.

RFID-enabled Building Component Database System (BCDS)

HK RFID has over 5 years of experience in implementing RFID in construction industry in HK. Our client bases cover all local developers and contractors. This RFID system can easily integrate with the logistics flow, quality assurance flow and BIM, it is highly praised and recommended by property owners. 

Turn-Key Solution
Regarding this RFID-enabled building component database system, we provide total solutions including hardware and software, as well as consultancy on how to implement in different construction materials.

Partnership
We are looking for interested overseas partners to promote, offer support and implement the same system to overseas market.

For any enquiry, please contact HK-RFID sales representative.

Or visit our website for more product information.

www.hk-rfid.com  |  www.active-rfid.net