RFID realizes the accurate collection of African asphalt company customers’ purchase data
According to multi asphalt, a South African asphalt company, the deployment of RFID solutions can automatically identify the trucks that transport products from the asphalt mixing plant and the amount of asphalt they transport, reducing human errors and saving labor time at the site.
(Remark: This RFID solution is provided by milestone integrated systems, a South African integrator. It can obtain the ID of each truck entering the site when it weighs no-load, and then capture the ID again when it exits the site with full load, so as to automatically record which company has purchased asphalt products, as well as the quantity and time of purchase.)
The integrator first installed keonn’s advantreader UHF RFID reader and advantena SP12 antenna at two sites of multi asphalt, and is expected to deploy RFID technology at all 16 sites later this year. Each truck entering and leaving the asphalt mixing plant is assigned a passive UHF RFID tag, which is pasted on the windshield and can transmit data to the reader installed on the weighbridge at the entrance and exit.
With this technology, it will be able to solve human errors in manually entering data on trucks and their loads in the company’s facilities, according to multi asphalt.
Multi asphalt is the largest commercial asphalt manufacturer in South Africa, owned by AECI, a supplier of industrial application solutions for mining, water treatment, etc. Brad straiton, a business analyst at multi asphalt, said the company has 16 plants across South Africa, mainly producing hot and cold asphalt products.
In general, builders and other customers come into the company’s premises to buy asphalt, which is then charged by weight. The traffic at each site is different, Stratton said. RFID technology was initially deployed at a site in Cape Town, where about 30 trucks come in and out every day; The second pilot, also in Cape Town, receives up to 170 trucks a day.
Before deploying RFID technology, the company used manpower to collect data manually. The weighbridge operator will identify each truck entering and leaving the company’s facilities, record the detailed information of the truck and the purchased product information, and then input the above data into the computer system. However, the operator may make mistakes when inputting data manually, resulting in billing errors and losses to the company.
In addition, the efficiency of the weighbridge needs to be improved. Due to the large truck flow at each station, the speed is very important to avoid truck congestion at the entrance.
RFID for Vehicle, How is it works in the application?
To this end, the company started working with milestone in 2019 to create solutions; Last year, it started a pilot project in the first site, applying the label to the windshield of the truck. The details of the truck company are linked to the unique ID number of the label in the software (we called RFID Windshield Tag) The company also uses a handheld RFID reader to debug each tag and then apply it to a designated truck.
Two weighbridge devices are installed at the station, one at the entrance and the other at the exit. Each weighbridge has a fixed reader and multiple antennas. Milestone uses the existing structure to install the RFID antenna.
‘the reading distance of the antenna is enough, ‘says Jim haantjes, sales director at milestone. When the truck enters the entrance, the driver will park on the weighbridge, where the antenna will capture their windshield tag ID. The reader then transmits the data to the software of the multi asphalt to indicate that a particular vehicle has arrived. When the truck is weighed on the weighbridge, the tag ID is associated with the weight of the truck. After weighing, the driver can drive the car in.
After loading, the driver drives the truck up to the weighbridge at the exit, where the RFID tag will be asked again. The ID number is transmitted to the software along with the new weight of the truck, which will calculate the full load weight of the truck. This instruction will prompt the system to create an invoice containing all relevant data. The truck load at the first test site is usually between 7 and 10 tons, Stratton said.
After adjustment, the software of multich asphalt will automatically receive the truck ID data when driving to the entrance weighbridge. The software automatically calculates all relevant information such as purchased products, company, billing address, truck ownership, etc. This poses a challenge for milestone, hantejie recalls, because the software needs to be configured to accommodate RFID tag data read using keonn software, and then link that data with the rest of the internal software process to create an invoice for the truck company“ This part was done by the software engineers at multi asphalt. ”
The coding of RFID tags applied to each truck presents another challenge, hantejer said. Therefore, the company has established a system to obtain the ID from the vehicle license plate, and uses keonn’s handheld reader to inquire about the new tags being applied, so as to link the license plate data with the ID number, so as to create records in the software. Keonn developed an application on the handheld reader to encode the RFID tag of the truck according to the license plate number of the vehicle. Keonn’s application programming interface is used in the IT Department of multi asphalt.
After extensive testing at the first site, the system began to expand to the second site to determine how RFID technology is applied to a wider range of scenarios. At the second test point, the load per truck is usually between 10 and 14 tons. Both sites are close to the company’s headquarters in Cape Town, where staff will assist in checking RFID tests. Since the solution was put into use, the data of products purchased on site has been almost 100% accurate, according to multi asphalt.
RFID’S Benefit
Stratton said the system ensures that trucks automatically capture the correct information when they arrive at the weighbridge and eliminates human input errors, thereby preventing economic losses. The solution is currently running well and is expected to be promoted in 14 other sites in South Africa“ We are also looking for other ways to realize the advantages of RFID technology in further business development. ”