August 14th, 2009:

pThe past 10 years has seen the development of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) rocket, making it easier for all companies to track and manage their a href=http://www.realassetmgt.co.uk/ target=_blankfixed assets UK/a. However, RFID is still not completly optimised for use. Currently the technology is too expensive and is only really used at the manufacturer level or on more expensive products.!–more– The best and most ideal use of RFID tech would be for tracking items off shop shelves./pp/ppRFID is a form of tracking, very similar to barcodes. A barcode is a visible tagging system, used to store product information, and is then read by a scanner tool. An RFID tag is a type of chip thats attached to the asset and store data about the item, this tag is then activated and read by an RFID reader device. The reader uses radio waves to activate the chip which then sends the data about the item./pp/ppHowever, a href=http://www.realassetmgt.co.uk/asset_tracking.php target=_blankasset tracking UK/a hasnt really reached this sort of level, however a large number of industries in the US have already started using the technology. New passports, public transport, museums and libraries are just some of the many services that use RFID technology. A large number of the users are government run./pp/ppAlthough many companies havent invested in RFID, they understand why its so important. In recent years the important of tracking all your company assets has become ever more important. However, the majority of companies will find auditing timely and costly. Many also find that after auditing, they have missed some of their assets./pp/ppImplementing RFID tagging chips to your items, you are able to remotely track hundreds of your assets all at the same time. This helps you to manage your assets more simply./pp/ppJust one company that is using RFID tech is Unilever. They have taken over 20,000 items on their production line and added the RFID tags. The tagging system allows Unilever to audit their items from a remote location, whereas if they had to do this manually, it would result in shutting down the production line./pp/ppThis is just one example of where RFID can help your business save money. There is a huge amount of examples out there. Another example is in the fire service, they can track equipment to save vital time. It also helps to make sure that any vehicles being sent out on an emergency are equipped with the correct tools./pp/ppUnfortunately, RFID tracking comes at a hige price. Generally the advanced tags cost around $50, definately not making it cheap to track your companies assets. Hopefully as the development fees for the tags comes down, so will the costs to buy the tags. Once more industries adopt this method of asset tracking, a href=http://www.realassetmgt.co.uk/asset_accounting/fixed_asset_management.php target=_blankfixed asset register UK/a programs will become more widely used./p