The Engineering Economics of RFID in Specialized Manufacturing - Essay Example

? Full Paper The Engineering Economics of RFID in Specialized Manufacturing Apart from providing great advancements to improve industrial engineering, RFID has also shown its contribution in specialized manufacturing sector. The objectives for industrial engineer sector are to guarantee production of specialized products and tools by using cost effective methodologies. If an organization fails to produce the required product within the allocated manufacturing cost, they may lose the customer as well as suffer from high audit cost, high labor cost and consequently lost sales. A study from (Jones et al. 285-303; Jones et al. 285-303) highlighted cost reduction in non-calibrated tools by implemented RFID solutions. Calibrated tools are vital for quality production and require constant tracking for most advantageous labor efficiency and productivity. The RFID solution will track the calibrated tools and reduce cost significantly. The study also concludes the calculation of a net present value analysis as compared to do-nothing scenario, , by deploying the RFID technology, the cost saving figures were approximately $ 60,000. By implementing RFID, other areas can also be integrated to save more cost and produce efficiency. Therefore, RFID integration in specialized manufacturing is beneficial in terms of cost, efficiency and tracking. Moreover, asset management systems that are integrated to Enterprise resource planning (ERP) will be useful when integrated to RFID technology. The objective of asset management systems is to locate accurate assets, specifically at the exact time, and present information about each, along with its status. In order to carry out processes in asset management systems, a tag is attached to each asset, which allows the transmission of information, by frequency identification to the reader. After receiving the data, the reader sends it to the inventory management system for tracking the location via the production facility (Jones et al. 285-303; Jones et al. 285-303). 2 Automated Manufacturing and Logistics Control The other dimension of RFID is passive RFID that is implemented in automated manufacturing and logistics control. The passive RFID technology is beneficial for any business process requiring fast flow of items. Moreover, passive RFID systems transmits energy entirely from the reader devices called transponders which are relatively inexpensive, making them the ideal choice and easy to apply for manufacturing and logistics control systems. Likewise, these transponders are easy to fix on the object for identification. Furthermore, RFID technology facilitates real time object visibility with high accuracy providing organizations to continuously identify and locate all items with real time data management (Keskilammi, Sydanheimo and Kivikoski 769-774). 3 Real World Examples In order to gain a better idea, some real world examples will illustrate the operations and processes that are facilitated by RFID in organizations. This section will describe some real world examples of implementing RFID for improving the efficiency of production in a department for packing integrated circuit. Liu and Chen conducted a study in 2009 for improving production efficiency in an integrated-circuit packaging house by implementing RFID technology. The integration with electronic framework, RFID technology, and ERP system was implemented along with Oracle AIM. The system reflected two modules named as electronic receiving modules and inventory transaction module respectively. The conclusion and results highlighted the implementation of electronic receiving module is utilized to enhance accept / check operation issues, operations associated with stock-in-record processing and document hauling operations. On the other hand, inventory transaction form is capable to handle demands for entry information related to accounting, transaction form request related to inventory, transaction records and processing replacement. By implementing RFID integrated electronic control system, the processing takes less time along with elimination of client’s complaints to a minimal level along with reduction of penalties. Moreover, manual operations eliminated by electronic control system along with a significant reduction in labor and operation cost for the packaging house. Moreover, ‘Yard operations’ is a “solutions such as access, in/out control, equipment pool and yard location. This allows companies the ability to maximize asset utilization for operational planning, and minimizes time-consuming yard checks, equipment searches and lost equipment with time and date verification for management reporting. Intermec products are used in a wide range of Yard Operations applications, including Asset Tracking, Dispatch, Labor Productivity, Paperless Repair Operations, Parts Inventory, Asset Utilization, Fleet Yard and Gate Management, Overage, Shortage or Damage and Security Compliance” ('Intermec Transportation and Logistics Solutions: Yard Management ', ). RedPrairie has integrated RFID technology with yard management via a new module for warehouse management. RedPrairie productivity solution provider with “34,000+ customer sites, Over 20 sales and service offices globally, Global headquarters in Alpharetta, Georgia, Approximately 1,100 employees and customers in over 40 countries” ('About RedPrairie ', ). The features of this solution provides advanced visibility by integrating RFID technology to monitor and trace trailers from ‘check in’ and ‘check out’ gates. RFID passive tags are used, to track the movement of trailers ('RedPrairie Introduces RFID Solution for Yard Operations', 38-38). 4 Security Issues RFID also have some drawbacks in terms of security. The hackers try to breach the system by several different ways. If a malicious attacker breach in to the system, to disable an RFID tag, the hacker will pose a considerable risk related to that when entirely destroying the tag or fetter it in the process for a sufficient duration. The attacker will try to physically remove the tag or cause a physical harm to it in order to make an RFID tag malfunction. Moreover, ‘kill’ command is executed for disabling a tag; the hacker can execute this command to illegally execute tags, which will assure to achieve malicious goals. Switching tags between two different items will eventually split their prices. This kind of attacks is proficient and applicable on barcodes by shoplifters. Even though, RFID tags are embedded with physical protection to eliminate these kinds of attacks. Various other tags are vulnerable and easy to split from one item to another to pay less at the checkout point. This hacker does not require any technical knowledge to perform this kind of attack. This attack has certain limitations and cannot be executed on large number of tags. Correspondingly, the destruction of tag follows same rules and theory. Attacker may attempt to apply pressure or extend efficient chemical substances or the cause of having a tiny cut to the visible antenna to render the tag to pass it through checkpoints. Essentially, physical damage is not the cause of attacker only; the tags can also be tempered by friction or high temperatures. Some tags becomes dead due to consumption of the batters installed in them, as passive tags are better in this scenario because they generate power from radio waves. Furthermore, RFID tags can be easily damaged quickly by applying an electrostatic discharge from a conveyor belt in any industrial environment or any produced high-energy waves due to their compassion to static electricity; this damage is carried out with both intentionally and accidentally. 5 Conclusion The contribution of RFID in industrial engineering is highlighted with the following advantages: The ability to save cost by eliminating redundancy, Valuable processes for optimizing and planning reporting features, Synchronization of data and the flow of information from trading associate within the organization, To successfully address the strategic challenges for Supply Chain Management. The coursework also defines the contribution of RFID in specialized manufacturing and ‘logistics control’. Some of the real world scenarios are also discussed where RFID is successfully implemented and operational. The real world scenarios include the integrated circuit packaging house and yard operations. The security issues related to RFID are also defined in detail, providing an overview of security breaches and their consequences. RFID is an emerging technological evolution in terms of supply chain management, industrial engineering and logistic control operations. It is a great future prospect for industrial engineering students, due to its significant involvement in the supply chain management. Likewise, RFID is an emerging technology that requires appropriate training and skills and industrial engineering professionals must emphasize on RFID, to lead the industrial revolution (Jones 29). Work Cited 'About RedPrairie ', . 'Intermec Transportation and Logistics Solutions: Yard Management ', . Jones, Erick C., Michael W. Riley, Rodrigo Franca, et al. 'Case Study: The Engineering Economics of RFID in Specialized Manufacturing', Engineering Economist, vol. 52/no. 3, (2007), pp. 285-303. Jones, Erick C. Chung,Christopher A. 'EDUCATION in Modern Solutions', Industrial Engineer: IE, vol. 40/no. 8, (2008), pp. 29. Keskilammi, M., L. Sydanheimo, and M. Kivikoski. 'Radio Frequency Technology for Automated Manufacturing and Logistics Control. Part 1: Passive RFID Systems and the Effects of Antenna Parameters on Operational Distance', International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology, vol. 21/no. 10, (2003), pp. 769-774. 'RedPrairie Introduces RFID Solution for Yard Operations', Apparel Magazine, vol. 50/no. 3, (2008), pp. 38-38. Read More