The experience gained in the development of custom RFID systems has allowed us to design, for a very important airline, a tool tracking system to monitor their extraction from the drawers and their subsequent reinsertion at the end of use by aircraft maintenance workers.
The customer had complained about a problem with tools being lost/forgotten on aircraft after being used in routine maintenance.
Specifically, Rfid chests of drawers equipped with electric locks and an anti-tipping system that allows the opening of one drawer at a time were created based on the customer’s needs.
Several RFID antennas were positioned on the warehouse ceiling, approximately 3 meters high, directly above the drawers and specific RFID UHF labels were placed on each tool.
The authorized operator equipped with an NFC identification badge accesses our software and identifies the tool of interest. The software unlocks the electric lock and opens the drawer in which the tool is located while the antennas detect, in a few seconds, the extraction of the same from the drawer. The software records the exit of the tool from the warehouse and the operator who took it from the drawer.
After using the tools, the user accesses the reserved area of the software again through a special login. The system unlocks the electric lock and opens the drawer in which the tool must be placed. In this way, the return of the tool that in the meantime has been detected by the Rfid antennas is recorded.
Rfid technology has been of great help to the customer in monitoring the withdrawals and returns of tools to the warehouse. This system could also be used as an anti-shoplifting system since it monitors the withdrawal and subsequent return of the material.