SALINAS SCENE: Student seeks companies for RFID, bar code study
SALINAS SCENE: Student seeks companies for RFID, bar code study
Ryan Panos, an industrial engineering major at California Polytechnic State University at San Luis Obispo, is seeking companies to volunteer for research he will conduct on the use and effect of bar code and RFID systems in the produce supply chain.
Though not in the film, Mr. Panos was on hand Sept. 17 at Salinas-based NewStar Fresh Foods for shooting of the Produce Marketing Association's film on RFID.
Dr. Tali Freed, an industrial engineering professor and director of Cal Polys Center for Global Automated Identification Technologies, will direct Mr. Panos research project. Dr. Freed and Mr. Panos will be the only ones to see company data and are willing to sign mutual non-disclosure agreements with participating companies.
For participating in the free process evaluation, produce organizations will be provided with a free written report benchmarking their organizations processes to industry averages. All data will be reported anonymously so that confidentiality will not be lost. The only "cost" to participants will be the few hours it will take to complete the survey, yet it will yield benchmark data that point out opportunities for process improvement.
The focus of the study will be to correlate methods of data collection to error rates, labor costs and wait times at different steps in the supply chain. Growers, processors and coolers of all sizes will have a better idea of the specific financial benefits of potential automation investments within their own organization by participating in the study. The goal is to analyze the use of both bar code and RFID track-and-trace systems and correlate these uses to various process improvements that lead to greater profitability.
Further information can be found at: http://polygait.calpoly.-edu/ProdSCStudy.htm or by e-mailing Mr. Panos at [email protected].
Alien drops price on RFID labels
Morgan Hill, CA-based Alien Technology Corp. announced Sept. 13 that it is pricing its EPC Class 1 RFID labels at 12.9 cents each.
This represents a 44 percent decrease in the price of 96-bit RFID labels from Alien in the past 12 months, a big step toward providing widely available, economically viable RFID labels. Included in its product line, Alien makes RFID tags and readers.
Maria Schwartzman, product marketing manager for Alien, said that the company makes RFID tags for the transportation, Department of Defense, retail and pharmaceuticals sectors.
NewStar Fresh Foods uses Alien products at its radio frequency identification cold-chain produce-testing center.
Ms. Schwartzman was on hand at NewStar for shooting of the Produce Marketing Associations informational film on RFID. Though Ms. Schwartzman is not in the film, a representative of Alien Technology does appear in the film.
Though not in the film, Mr. Panos was on hand Sept. 17 at Salinas-based NewStar Fresh Foods for shooting of the Produce Marketing Association's film on RFID.
Dr. Tali Freed, an industrial engineering professor and director of Cal Polys Center for Global Automated Identification Technologies, will direct Mr. Panos research project. Dr. Freed and Mr. Panos will be the only ones to see company data and are willing to sign mutual non-disclosure agreements with participating companies.
For participating in the free process evaluation, produce organizations will be provided with a free written report benchmarking their organizations processes to industry averages. All data will be reported anonymously so that confidentiality will not be lost. The only "cost" to participants will be the few hours it will take to complete the survey, yet it will yield benchmark data that point out opportunities for process improvement.
The focus of the study will be to correlate methods of data collection to error rates, labor costs and wait times at different steps in the supply chain. Growers, processors and coolers of all sizes will have a better idea of the specific financial benefits of potential automation investments within their own organization by participating in the study. The goal is to analyze the use of both bar code and RFID track-and-trace systems and correlate these uses to various process improvements that lead to greater profitability.
Further information can be found at: http://polygait.calpoly.-edu/ProdSCStudy.htm or by e-mailing Mr. Panos at [email protected].
Alien drops price on RFID labels
Morgan Hill, CA-based Alien Technology Corp. announced Sept. 13 that it is pricing its EPC Class 1 RFID labels at 12.9 cents each.
This represents a 44 percent decrease in the price of 96-bit RFID labels from Alien in the past 12 months, a big step toward providing widely available, economically viable RFID labels. Included in its product line, Alien makes RFID tags and readers.
Maria Schwartzman, product marketing manager for Alien, said that the company makes RFID tags for the transportation, Department of Defense, retail and pharmaceuticals sectors.
NewStar Fresh Foods uses Alien products at its radio frequency identification cold-chain produce-testing center.
Ms. Schwartzman was on hand at NewStar for shooting of the Produce Marketing Associations informational film on RFID. Though Ms. Schwartzman is not in the film, a representative of Alien Technology does appear in the film.
