Softly, softly approach to RFID projects

by Gary Hartley on 2011-03-21

RFID (radio frequency identification) isn’t exactly headline news in New Zealand—but make no mistake; it is exercising the brains of smart people in organisations throughout the land and for all the right reasons!   

Fact is that New Zealand has many cases of the technology being under development or implementation in an array of industries. But progress is being kept deliberately low-key or even secret.

Right now, there are numerous  projects underway in the use of RFID for management of valuable assets and inventories, for tracking and tracing products, and for better access to accurate documents. In all cases, the common factor is an organisation – it might be a business enterprise, public infrastructure provider or Crown entity—that must operate in a complex, demanding environment.

Those smart folks referred to above can see big potential in being able to uniquely identify objects and to ascertain remotely their status and whereabouts with speed and least cost. These are, of course, exactly the types of benefit that a well-designed RFID system will deliver. Worldwide, the RFID of choice for many applications is for the ultra high frequency (UHF) version of the technology and UHF based on global standards because of the flexibility it offers.

The fact is that New Zealand has had various RFID applications in place for years—typically in the LF (low frequency) form. The livestock sector is a prime example where LF is used -  in meat processing plants and for sheep and cattle identification to help on-farm record keeping, especially around weight gain for example. Similar technology is used in some libraries to track the movement of books.  And while LF is currently considered fit-for-purpose in these applications, significant developments in the UHF version especially around improved hardware performance and lower hardware prices are providing good reason to challenge the LF incumbents.  

Today’s projects—beyond public view as they generally are—have rather more hard-edged cost saving and/or service efficiency drivers.  There is an entertainment industry player, for instance, who has put LF tags on its assets for some years but is now looking at a more comprehensive approach using UHF RFID and the EPC suite of standards (The Electronic Product Code).  UHF enables much longer read distances and faster capture of more data – things that really matter when you have complex plant and equipment to operate and maintain in harsh environments, and major imperatives around human safety and regulatory compliance.

Most applications of RFID worldwide – the main exceptions are apparel retailing and supply chain logistics in certain industries– are still in the development phase. There are questions on precise workability and cost/benefit return case-by-case: The organisations concerned are investing in intellectual property (IP), not just RFID tags, readers and supporting software.  It is their IP, their competitive advantage and their right to commercial confidentiality.

But it is good for the rest of us to know that New Zealand companies and public entities are definitely awake to the efficiencies and cost savings offered by UHF RFID. And what’s more, they are working to secure benefits for themselves (and ultimately for the New Zealand economy).

There are primary sector businesses working on applications specific to their needs. I mentioned livestock farming:  New initiatives are underway there and also in horticulture, forestry and fishing. There are large public service entities with RFID projects which should, over time, vastly improve their management of plant and equipment, documents and information, and even people. Various organisations, at regional and national level, are at various stages of developing applications that can benefit public security, health and wellbeing in various ways.

GS1 New Zealand and the New Zealand RFID Pathfinder Group, as vendor-neutral experts in technologies for UHF RFID, are ready to provide guidance for any serious attempt at its development and implementation in this country.  We can see much, although not all, of what is happening today –and it is exciting even if “softly softly” is the by-word just now and where the projects and trails are  largely out of public view. No news is not an indication that nothing is happening with RFID in New Zealand – it is, it’s just under the radar.

What we see most of all is the growing potential for RFID to add value in many different sectors, combined with Kiwis’ innate capacity to pick up and run with that potential.  We need to give them the time and space to do it in their own, innovative way!

By Gary Hartley, General Manager—Sector Development for GS1 New Zealand and Secretary of the NZ RFID Pathfinder Group Inc;