One of the largest small arms suppliers to the US Department of Defense (DoD), FN Manufacturing has implemented a turn-key RFID solution provided by IDentiTRAK Technologies and UPM Raflatac. This solution uses IDentiTRAK’s MASTERlink EDGE RFID middleware and UPM Raflatac UHF tags to meet federal RFID tagging requirements for key suppliers. In accordance with the DoD mandate, FNManufacturing is using RFID to tag several hundred crates and pallets of finished weaponry and spare weapons parts shipped to DoD installations each month from its plant in Columbia, S.C.
In the first phase of the project, IDentiTRAK tested RFID technology and UHF dipole tags that would meet DoD specifications, providing exceptional portal-based read rates of pallets at distances of up to three meters while moving at speeds of up to 15 miles per hour. The weapons’ metal content created an especially difficult scenario for RFID tagging. During the tag evaluation phase, IDentiTRAK tested several dual dipole UHF tag designs on crates and pallets containing finished weapons and spare parts to ensure 100 percent read rates. “After extensive testing and results benchmarking with our mobile proof of concept kit, the Rafsec Frog UHF tag by UPM Raflatac was the clear choice for this project,” says Jay Fryman, executive director of IDentiTRAK Technologies.
FN Manufacturing uses the UPM Raflatac - IDentiTRAK solution to read pallets twice before the inventory is loaded into outbound trailers: once before they move into the staging area and again at the loading dock. The solution uses both stationary and handheld readers to collect tag data and create carton-pallet association. Later phases of the project will more tightly integrate the tag data collected with the ERP system to verify shipments and ensure order accuracy.
