RFID won’t go away if you ignore it. Yes, it has the potential to be high cost and low return if executed incorrectly. But if planned and implemented carefully, this technology can provide many advantages. Here are some suggestions to get you on the right path.

Get RFID Educated—
• Attend conferences and technical forums.
• Benchmark existing RFID implementations and talk to other companies who have successfully deployed RFID.
• Dedicate resources to stay on top of the facts.
• Ignore the hype and get to the bottom line.
Many companies have documented their commercial installations along with their benefits. Take advantage of what others have done successfully.
Find a champion who understands the long-term benefits of RFID enablement. Without upper management support, it will be difficult to achieve those benefits.
Understand where you want to be today, tomorrow, and ten years from now. Think forward in your deployments, building on them in a modular fashion that will increase your return.

Start Small with RFID Pilot Work— And keep it simple. There are too many factors to consider when attempting a pilot. Document and manage the implementation process, and learn from your mistakes. Not all RFID pilots will be successful. One pilot does not prove the whole system. Replicate until you have it correct. Expect hurdles.

Create a Dedicated Team—Look for passion and enthusiasm for the work. Identify people who understand business processes and are fluent in information technology.
Think about starting in a small research environment before attempting at a production facility. If not in-house, find a lab your team can spend some time in and understand the equipment hardware, software, and installation processes before you attempt a pilot. If you use an RFID integrator, check its successes and their failures. Make sure it has a solid history of RFID implementations in the real world.

Involve Plant People—Before beginning your pilot, educate manufacturing sites about RFID. The more people know, the more engaged they will be. Education and exposure to RFID facts will prevent rumors and fears about endangered privacy. Don’t be surprised when you hear unfounded comments. Use facts and data to inform and expect resistance.

Share as much as possible about the RFID benefits and manage expectations. RFID implementation is not a cure-all for inventory management or a ticket to cost reduction. Admit you are on a learning curve and want to learn what works and what won’t work.

Don’t Bolt—Bolting RFID onto existing processes or systems usually does not provide major benefits. Processes will need to change in order to take advantage of real time information systems like RFID. Understand the impact on your current legacy systems.
RFID requires integration in order to be fully functional. Engage resources from manufacturing, information technology, and business process arenas. Identify, from the beginning, the impacts on existing infrastructure. This will help you plan how to support commercial installs.

Installing RFID equipment and applying tags is not the difficult part. Identifying process changes and integration into information systems are the challenges. Doing these well ensures a successful RFID enablement.

After Pilots, Look for These Wins—
• Inventory reduction (10 to 40 percent has been claimed);
• Product and process flow improvements (cost reduction and better efficiency);
• Asset tagging — real-time asset locating (reduced asset costs and efficient deployment);
• Automated maintenance records (accurate and accessible information);
• Eliminate redundant process and data flows (real-time, accurate information – reduced error rates); and
• Paperless shipping and receiving (increased accuracy, reduced cost of purchasing or shipping processes).

Further Deployment—Commercially deploy RFID systems where there is a business case. Replicate where there is value, and document all pilots whether successful or not. A pilot today can have a low return on investment, but done two years from now could prove valuable. Expect change and be flexible with your pilot testing. Some of the highest returns are not always obvious at first look.
Share Successes and Learnings—Spread word across your company. The best source of this information is other employees. Major benefits can accrue from RFID implementation if done in an organized manner.
Developing best practices for assessing a business case,
implementing a pilot, and documenting your results are the keys to successful commercial deployment.OBM

Jeanne McCann, PMP, CPIM, is a senior project manager with the Research and Development group of Weyerhaeuser Co. She is a professional project manager and has been working in this role for Weyerhaeuser for more than 10 years. She is leading the RFID efforts and has been actively working with RFID for more than four years. Before Weyerhaeuser, she worked in operations and materials management for other large corporations.

RFID In Person

To get a concentrated dose of in-person input on RFID implementation, join the staffs of Official Board Markets and its sister monthly publication, Paperboard Packaging, for a panel discussion at the site of NA2006, the Material Handling Industry of America Show. Participants will get the latest updates on RFID, compliance issues, and technology advances.

The panel discussion will run from 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 29 at Cleveland’s I-X Center. Panelists and subjects will include:

• Lee Shillito, president, Triad Packaging:“RFID Opportunities and Challenges for Packaging Suppliers”

• Cliff Patterson, commercial sales manager,
International Paper’s ASURYS Group:
“RFID Packaging Lessons Learned from The Lab Environment”

• Robb Clarke, PhD, Michigan State School of Packaging:
“What Packaging Suppliers & Customers Need to Know about RFID Before Buying into It”

• Col. Alan Will, logistics modernization officer for II Marine Expeditionary Force:
“RFID Packaging Lessons Learned from the Battlefield”

During the discussion, the results of the Paperboard Group’s exclusive RFID application study conducted with Dr. B.S. Vijayarman and Dr. Barb Osyk from the University of Akron’s Management Department will be presented.

The entire panel discussion will be available as a podcast to download after the event.
To register to attend the conference, visit www.Packaging-Online.com/RFID.

For more information, call Tom Andel at 216-706-3730 or email tandel@questex.com.