RFID intelligent production line design and management solution

In traditional manufacturing enterprises, daily management mainly focuses on product management, quality management, warehouse management, mobile Asset MANAGEMENT, on-site personnel management, fleet management, etc., while traditional manual collection and manual input methods have problems of insufficient accuracy and high error rate. Manual input can only be carried out on a regular basis, resulting in production plans that can only be submitted on a weekly or monthly basis, and cannot be accurate to the day. Production data cannot be updated in real time, resulting in a lag in production plans, which restricts the improvement of production capacity. In addition, most functional departments of manufacturing enterprises still use paper and pen to record, resulting in a large number of data errors and reducing overall productivity.

In order to solve these problems, manufacturing enterprises realize the need to adopt emerging technologies. At present, some production-oriented enterprises have begun to use barcode recognition to improve the accuracy of data entry, but barcode recognition still has some technical bottlenecks:

1. Different workers' efficiency can easily lead to uneven division of labor among groups.

2. Production anomalies and production line bottlenecks cannot be discovered in real time.

3. Low labor efficiency and low utilization of actual working time.

4. When the barcode label is not printed clearly or has folding marks, it is difficult for the barcode gun to identify.

5. Unable to track in real time, it is difficult for management to arrange work according to work status. If there is a problem with the process, it will take until the next day to eliminate it.

6. Barcode data collection requires specialized personnel to operate, and the labor cost is high.

Therefore, the production line management system represented by barcode recognition has been increasingly unable to meet the requirements of enterprises for efficient and lean production management. While deepening the modern management concept, it is of great significance to enterprises to build a production line management system with more advanced technology.

1. Specific application of RFID-based production line management

RFID technology is gradually being applied to the core of the manufacturing process. By gradually adopting RFID technology in factory workshops, manufacturers can directly obtain and link to RFID-captured information in the existing, verified and industrially enhanced control system infrastructure. In coordination with the supply chain equipped with RFID functions, manufacturers can send accurate and reliable real-time information flows without updating the existing manufacturing execution system (MES) and manufacturing information system (MIS), greatly improving productivity and significantly saving investment costs.

2. Processing of real-time effectiveness of information management

For manufacturers, timely and accurate feedback information from the production line is very important. In the past, this information could only be counted after the production was completed, which was time-consuming and labor-intensive, and sometimes human errors occurred.

Now, RFID reading equipment can be installed at each node of the production line, and RFID electronic tags that can be read and written repeatedly can be placed on the products or pallets. When the products or pallets pass through these nodes, the RFID Reader can read the information in the RFID tag and feed it back to the background management system in real time, so that manufacturers can easily understand the detailed working conditions of the production line. At the same time, combining RFID with existing manufacturing information systems such as MES, ERP, CRM and IDM, a more powerful information chain can be established to achieve timely data transmission within the correct time, thereby enhancing productivity, improving asset utilization and achieving a higher level of quality control.

3. Application in the manufacturing management process

RFID provides a constantly updated real-time business data stream. Combined with the manufacturing execution system, it can ensure the correct use of labor, machines, Tools and components. Through timely and accurate information management, paperless and contractual production can be achieved, and production line downtime can be greatly reduced, improving production efficiency.

For example, if there are one or more batches of contract products that need to be processed and produced on the same production line, but they are only slightly different in some parts, the previous production method can only produce the same model of products first, then stop the machine for adjustment, and then produce another model of products, which will cause great losses.

By implementing the RFID system, different models of products can be encoded and written into the RFID electronic tags. When different models of products enter the processing point, the RFID reader can read the information in the RFID electronic tags to enable the processing equipment to confirm which model of products to process. If there is an automatic sorting conveyor, by identifying the RFID tag, the product classification can be easily completed, so that the product can be sent to the correct production line.

4. Application of RFID technology in production logistics management

Manufacturing includes both procurement and sales, as well as the production and manufacturing of low-value materials into high-value-added products. Rapid response and agility are the key factors for the success of the manufacturing industry. And production logistics is the core link of the entire logistics of the manufacturing industry. The synchronization of production logistics and production processes is a logistics activity of the entire process from the purchase of raw materials to the delivery of finished products. Raw materials, semi-finished products, etc. move and transfer non-stop between various processing points according to the process flow, forming production logistics. It is an activity unique to manufacturing companies that manufacture products. If production is interrupted, production logistics will also be interrupted, and vice versa.

RFID technology can achieve real-time tracking and management of materials by adding RFID electronic tags to raw materials, parts, semi-finished products and work-in-progress. By reading the information on the RFID tags, production planning managers can quickly locate and understand the location and consumption of materials, thereby improving production efficiency and quality. In addition, RFID technology can also collect and process product information, helping production personnel to easily grasp the operation of the entire production line and speed up the production progress of products. Since RFID tags have the characteristics of read-write, they can provide constantly updated real-time data streams, complement each other with the manufacturing execution system, ensure the correct use of labor, machines, tools and parts, realize paperless production, reduce downtime, and promote the smooth progress of production logistics.

In addition, combining RFID technology with existing manufacturing information systems such as ERP, CRM, etc. can establish a more powerful information chain and realize data transmission in an accurate time. Through integration with manufacturing information systems, RFID technology can improve asset utilization, enhance productivity, support various online measurements and quality control, and accurately transmit data to help manufacturing companies achieve accurate production plans and on-time delivery, and improve customer satisfaction.

5. Achieve accurate information tracking

In order to meet FDA quality regulations, manufacturers need to accurately track and trace product information throughout the supply chain. At present, due to negligence in a certain link, products with quality problems may enter the market, and the most serious cases may pose a threat to the lives of consumers. Therefore, manufacturers often need to recall products. With the help of RFID systems, manufacturers can quickly query the production date, contract number, source of raw materials, production process and other information of problem products, and even accurately obtain information of a problem product as needed. In the manufacturing industry, the RFID system is used to identify pallets, select intelligent conveyor paths, verify dates and production times, automatic guided vehicles, and batch production formulas, so as to achieve real-time information management, flexible manufacturing management, accurate tracking and tracing, improve the level of automated production and production efficiency, and make production management more flexible.

VI. Suggestions for large manufacturing companies to implement RFID

The application of RFID technology will bring huge profit prospects, but it will also face challenges in implementing this new technology. For large manufacturing companies, before implementing RFID technology, sufficient preliminary planning is required to lay a solid foundation for the successful implementation of the RFID system.

1. Cost-benefit analysis

It is very important to conduct a cost-benefit analysis report for the successful implementation of RFID technology. At present, there are still problems in cost, technology and standards in the implementation of RFID technology. Therefore, some enterprises are on the sidelines in implementing RFID technology. However, RFID technology can bring huge benefits, including indirect benefits such as improving customer satisfaction. These should be included in the report and the investment return analysis should be conducted according to the actual situation.

2. Application system analysis

Before implementation, clarify the business needs of the RFID system and conduct demand analysis. At the same time, it is necessary to fully consider various factors in the development and deployment of the RFID system, formulate a comprehensive plan, and after the plan is formulated, it should be handed over to the decision-making personnel to ensure that the plan can be truly implemented.

3. Implementation plan formulation

Combined with the application system analysis report, formulate an RFID implementation plan. The implementation of RFID projects is generally divided into the start-up stage, the testing and verification stage, the pilot implementation stage and the full implementation stage. For large manufacturing enterprises, the key is how to use RFID information to achieve information integration with the existing system of the enterprise, optimize internal business processes, and improve core competitiveness. Although implementing RFID is not easy and sometimes requires reorganizing existing production lines, conducting high-quality employee training, and regularly inspecting software systems and hardware equipment, for companies with a sense of modern corporate management, the application of RFID technology will bring huge benefits.