Saturday, April 27, 2013

Improving Your Business Efficiency and Security With RFID Solutions

RFID stands for "radio-frequency identification," which involves using a small electric device to track items. This device consists of a tiny chip and an antenna and it serves the same purpose as the magnetic strip on a credit card or the bar code commonly found on product packaging. RFID solutions help businesses track inventory and vehicles, perform access control, and check-in truckloads of cargo.
How RFID Solutions Work
Tiny RFID chips are integrated into devices such as tags, cards, and labels. To retrieve identifying information from these chips, the RFID device is scanned by a compatible reader. For example, RFID chips may be integrated in identification badges that employees pass by a reader to gain access to the workplace.
RFID tags can be installed on vehicles such as cars, trucks, and trains. A moving car equipped with an RFID tag will activate the gate arm when the vehicle nears the area, causing the arm to rise so the vehicle can enter the lot. Readers may have long operating ranges, allowing users to track equipped trucks and trains from long distances. Tags can even be combined with Global Positioning System technology for real-time mapping of vehicles and assets.
Unique RFID Solutions
Farmers know that livestock tend to have minds of their own, wandering far into open pastures. Without a tagging system, a farmer will not know whether all livestock has traveled back to the farm. RFID tags allow farmers to verify that their herd is accounted for and no animals have strayed over from a neighboring farm. The same idea applies to car dealerships, where it can be difficult to identify the correct make and model without walking the entire lot. After attaching an RFID tag to each vehicle, it is easy to differentiate the cars and locate the correct vehicle from a distance.
Many office buildings have rooms filled with cartons of archived files. Trying to find a desired file is like looking for a needle in a haystack. If an RFID tag is affixed to each carton and the cartons are inventoried in a special software system, the process of locating a file takes minutes, not hours or days, saving employees time, lost productivity, and lots of frustration.
Why RFID Solutions Are the Best
RFID is the preferred technology to bar codes and magnetic strips for several reasons. An RFID device does not need to be swiped through or over a reader. RFID chips work within a few feet and up to 20 feet from the appropriate scanner. The scanning device can read the RFID tags on all products in a grocery bag once the bag is placed on the scanner. A cashier will see a product list and the total purchase amount on a monitor.
Far from being a newfangled technology, RFID has been around for more than a half-century. It has become more common because the devices have recently become small and inexpensive enough to be considered throwaway items. This means that RFID should be feasible for businesses of all types and sizes.
Online River offers business owners RFID Solutions as well as security equipment, loyalty programs, and crowd control equipment. We are the true one-stop-shop for business owners who want to increase their security and efficiency while at the same time improving their customer loyalty. For more information and a complete listing of our services and products, click here.

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