An issue of particular importance in the manufacturing process is the ability to identify objects involved in the production process. Identification should be reliable and automatic to increase control over production processes and reduce labor.
Specific manufacturing conditions — high dust, high temperatures, presence of various chemicals, liquids — make barcodes often unsuitable for use in the production area.
RFID technology, using durable tags — resistant to environmental conditions and high temperatures, tags that can be read from a few centimeters to a few meters away in large numbers and at the same time — is an excellent tool for identification even in difficult conditions.
Automatic identification using RFID technology is made possible by tagging each object with an RFID tag, which has a unique number programmed into it. It is possible to recognize and track both objects produced in the manufacturing process and components included in the manufactured product. It is also possible to identify tools, machines and their components that are used in the production process.
Identifying an object in a manufacturing process makes it possible to track and document every movement of an object in the process, which is especially important when the products are similar but not identical (e.g., Volvo - different vehicle personalization options), and when you need to be sure that the product has gone through certain manufacturing stages in a certain order and has been inspected at all of those stages (Audi - tracking newly manufactured vehicles during final assembly and inspection activities).
Product identification in the manufacturing process also allows for the automation of activities at a given production stage - for example, reading a tag from a product can cause a cutting machine to automatically switch so that it cuts a specific pattern assigned to the product (door factory production automation).
Automatic identification of tools, equipment and containers used in the production process allows them to be more easily located, which improves the company's resource management and increases productivity - an employee does not have to look for the needed tool or equipment, and can focus on the task at hand.
Better visibility allows more efficient planning of the production process, taking into account the availability of the devices needed in it. Quick identification of equipment prevents misassignment of tools and equipment to a production process even if they look similar. It is also possible to analyze the frequency of use of a particular device, tool, more effective control on its servicing. (Tracking of equipment during production, control of AB Foods metal tanks)
Identification of components included in the manufactured object provides optimal flow of components (automation of receipt and release from the company's warehouse to the production line), reduces labor costs associated with material management and replenishment (no need to manually check what and in what quantity has been used and what is in the warehouse), allows timely replenishment of materials used in production, better planning of the production process (accurate knowledge of inventory).
Identification in all these levels significantly increases the efficiency of the production process and reduces labor costs by reducing manual processes such as counting, checking, searching, changing machine settings.