From production line automation to precision process tracking. RFID tracking systems for manufacturing that integrate with your existing systems.
Manufacturing environments vary enormously. But what they share is the same underlying challenge: knowing where things are, what stage they’re at, and whether the right steps have been followed in the right order.
RFID tracking systems for manufacturing solve that problem at the point it occurs – on the production line, in real time, without manual data entry. Fixed readers at key stages update your ERP or production management system automatically as components, materials or assemblies pass through. The result is greater visibility, fewer errors and production data that’s accurate because it’s captured automatically rather than entered by hand.
Syngenta is one of the world’s largest producers of agricultural chemicals. At its Grangemouth manufacturing centre in Scotland, five plants produce crop protection products for farmers worldwide, processing around 10,000 bags of active ingredients every year through a complex production and distribution process.
Tracking those bags manually, via Excel spreadsheets and manual ERP data entry, meant errors, delays and limited visibility of where ingredients were at any point in the process. CoreRFID designed and implemented an RFID tracking system that follows every bag from filling through to the final production line or dispatch. Fixed readers and handheld scanners update the ERP automatically at each stage.
Given the risk of explosion within the plant, all hardware was specified and supplied to ATEX standards. It’s a requirement CoreRFID has experience delivering across industrial environments.
Paul Johnston; Automation & Information Systems Manager | Syngenta Grangemouth
Vaillant Group is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of heating and ventilation technology. At its Belper plant in Derbyshire, boilers move through a 15-stage assembly process on a one-man-build approach. Each chassis follows a specific sequence depending on the final specification, and maintaining the correct order across multiple production lines is critical to product quality.
CoreRFID implemented an RFID system that tracks each chassis through the assembly process and controls the tools at each stage. When a chassis arrives at a station, the system identifies it and powers up only the tools required for that step. If a chassis is at the wrong stage, the tools won’t activate. If it’s removed from the line because parts aren’t available, it returns to the correct stage automatically when production resumes.
The system also reduces energy consumption by powering tools only when they’re needed, contributing to Vaillant’s wider carbon reduction targets.
Richard Sainsbury | Vaillant group
Ulster Carpets manufactures Axminster and Wilton carpets for some of the world’s most prestigious hotels, casinos and cruise liners. Every carpet is made to order, which means the yarn on each bobbin needs to match the exact colour specification of the carpet being woven. Getting it wrong means stopping the loom and losing production time.
CoreRFID introduced RFID in 2008 to give each bobbin a unique identity and match it automatically to the correct weaving specification. Hand-held scanners allow staff to verify the right yarns are in place before weaving begins, and data uploads to the Ulster Carpets database instantly. In 2020, the system expanded with a further 10,000 tags. Ulster Carpets continues to work with CoreRFID periodically, tagging new components as the business grows.
