Running an efficient yard can be a major challenge. Ideally, you need to know where your inventory is at all times, maximize space and dock door usage, and minimize the time spent on locating resources and moving trailers.
But these goals can seem impossible to reach with manual processes and a lack of complete visibility into your yard and operations.
This is where AbeTech’s Intelligent Edge solutions featuring radio frequency identification (RFID) can be an excellent technology strategy to help you automate control of your yard and manage it much more efficiently and effectively.
RFID helps automate manual yard processes, provides real-time visibility into the location and condition of your inventory and assets, and delivers operational insights to streamline your management processes.
Here’s how it works
RFID is a wireless radio frequency technology that functions much like Wi-Fi. With RFID, you print a label or tag that’s encoded with a unique identifier and contains two tiny wireless transmitters to transmit and receive wireless radio signals.
The label or tag gives each asset a unique ID, and when it communicates with an RFID reader, the item can be identified and located in real time to within a few feet.
Unlike barcode labels, which rely on line-of-sight scanning and physical access to the label, RFID works wirelessly and remotely. You can read RFID tags or labels remotely, with ranges determined by the type of tag and RFID technology you’re using.
Multiple labels or tags can be read simultaneously as well, so you can locate, track, and update numerous items with a single read. In a yard, this means you can quickly and easily identify, locate, count, and track everything from trailers to materials and inventory.
Our customers do this by using Zebra handheld RFID readers or Zebra fixed RFID readers stationed in specific locations strategically chosen during the Discovery Workshop and Initial Solution Design phase of your project. With a handheld reader, you can walk or drive through the yard or a dock area and automatically take inventory or locate an item or trailer.
Alternatively, you can use fixed RFID readers mounted at dock doors or other strategic locations in your yard to automatically track tagged items as they move through the dock or into and out of specific areas.
Combined with Zebra’s SmartPack™ Trailer software as well as cameras and sensors, you can even create a fully automated system to help direct and optimize trailer loading for better accuracy, efficiency, and space usage.
3 Main Benefits of RFID in the Yard
- Eliminate bottlenecks.
RFID allows you to know where all your inventory, trailers, and assets are located, so it’s a great way to eliminate bottlenecks. You can use RFID location data to coordinate all your inventory and trailer movement for maximum efficiency.
- Reduce costs and saving time.
With RFID, your workers don’t have to waste time trying to locate anything you tag in your yard. They can quickly find an item or use historical data to determine its last location. RFID’s automated tracking and locating will also help you maximize your dock door and trailer space usage, so you ship less air and reduce fuel costs.
- Increase yard throughput.
With RFID-enabled data and insights at your fingertips, you can intelligently plan and assign resources and staff to the highest priority areas and shipments. All it takes is the right RFID hardware and the right software application or integration with your existing yard management software.
How to Learn More
To learn more about RFID for better yard management and explore this technology for your business, contact our team at AbeTech to arrange a free discovery call.
