Innovative Application of RFID Smart Tool Cabinets and Shelves

In the wave of digital transformation, the power industry, as an important pillar of the national economy, is particularly important for the intelligent upgrade of its operation and maintenance management. With the rapid development of technologies such as the Internet of Things, big data, and cloud computing, the management model of traditional power supply bureaus is gradually shifting towards intelligence and refinement. Recently, relying on its profound industry experience and technological innovation, it has successfully customized a set of intelligent Tool cabinets and intelligent shelf systems integrating RFID (radio frequency identification) technology for a power supply bureau, which not only greatly improved the efficiency and accuracy of tool management, but also laid a solid foundation for the realization of Asset life cycle management.

1. Project Background and Challenges

As the core of regional power supply, the power supply bureau has heavy and complex daily operation and maintenance work, involving frequent borrowing and returning of a large number of professional tools, instruments and safety equipment. There are many pain points in the traditional manual management model: tool inventory is time-consuming and error-prone; it is difficult to find lost or damaged tools in time; the efficiency of tool search is low in emergency situations, affecting the speed of emergency repairs; at the same time, the lack of effective data support makes it difficult to conduct in-depth analysis of tool usage and cannot provide a scientific basis for optimizing inventory management.

II. Overview of RFID solutions

In response to the above challenges, the comprehensive solution of smart tool cabinets and smart shelves based on RFID technology aims to realize the automation, informatization and visualization of tool management through intelligent means.

1. RFID smart tool cabinet

1) High-precision identification: Each tool is equipped with an RFID tag. Through the dense RFID Antennas and readers in the cabinet, the tool can be quickly and accurately identified. No matter where the tool is, it can be "sensed" instantly.

2) Intelligent storage and access: In the process of taking out or returning the tool, the RFID Reader will automatically read the information on the RFID tag and record the access information, including time, personnel, tool type, etc., to ensure that each step of the operation is traceable, and realize the automatic borrowing and returning of tools, and the management of entry and exit records.

3) Real-time inventory monitoring: The smart tool cabinet system can display the inventory status of tools in real time, helping managers to understand the inventory and distribution of tools in a timely manner.

4) Automatic inventory: No need to count one by one manually, the system automatically counts regularly or on demand, and generates inventory reports instantly, reducing labor costs and improving inventory accuracy.

5) Early warning: When the number of tools is lower than the preset threshold, the system automatically sends an early warning message to the management personnel to replenish the inventory in time to avoid affecting the work progress.

2. RFID smart shelves

1) Real-time inventory management: RFID smart shelves can record the quantity and location of goods in real time and realize dynamic update of inventory. This helps enterprises to understand the inventory situation in time and avoid out-of-stock or overstock.

2) Automated warehousing and out-of-stock: Through the connection with the background management system, RFID smart shelves can realize the automatic warehousing and out-of-stock of tools. This reduces the time and error rate of manual operation and improves work efficiency.

3) Quick inventory of tools: Using RFID technology, administrators can realize one-keyboard point and quickly and easily inventory all tools. This greatly saves time and labor costs.

4) Security monitoring: RFID smart shelves can monitor the security status of tools in real time. When the goods are illegally moved or the quantity changes, the system will automatically alarm and notify the management personnel to deal with it.

III. Implementation effect and value

1. Significant improvement in efficiency

The introduction of smart tool cabinets and shelves has greatly shortened the inventory and search time of tools and improved work efficiency. According to statistics, compared with traditional management methods, the efficiency of tool inventory has increased by more than 80%, and the tool search time has been shortened by 90%.

2. Enhanced accuracy

The high-precision recognition capability of RFID technology ensures accurate tool management. Whether it is the borrowing and returning records of tools or the statistics of inventory quantity, automated and paperless operations have been achieved, greatly reducing the human error rate.

3. ASSET MANAGEMENT optimization

Through data analysis, the power supply bureau can more accurately grasp the use of tools, reasonably predict and adjust inventory, and avoid over-purchase or insufficient inventory. At the same time, the evaluation of tool use efficiency also provides a scientific basis for tool optimization configuration.

4. Improved safety and compliance

The real-time monitoring and early warning functions of the intelligent system effectively ensure the safe storage and use of tools, and reduce the risk of tool loss and damage. At the same time, the standardized management process also improves the performance of the power supply bureau in production safety and compliance.