IoT & Business Technology Transformation
BJC HealthCare has achieved incredible results during the first year pilot of BJC SuppyPlus End-to-End Supply Chain Visibility (E2ESCV) project, partnering with Cook Medical and Cardinal Health,
eChain Technology is pleased to present our comprehensive asset management solution, the eChainRF Advanced Asset Management solution (eChainRF AAM). eChainRF AAM is an integrated hardware/software solution that incorporates long-range RFID technology with an advanced Asset Management platform to automatically track assets and inventory in real time, triggering reorders, expired stock notifications and alerts as needed. eChainRF AAM allows multiple groups to effectively manage and track assets, asset interactions, and asset workflows from multiple locations across the planet.
The eChainRF AAM solution is a cloud-based asset management application, automated by RFID technology installed at the client’s location. Asset location and movement data is captured by the RFID infrastructure and communicated to the external cloud-based application servers and storage via an Internet connection. Local users interface with and retrieve information from the cloud-based application using standard PC computers via a secure Internet URL.
Our system supports role-based access with granular user and group item level permissions. It has the flexibility for multiple, customized classifications and groups of assets such as fixed assets, computers, documents, equipment, people, etc.
Automated Item Management
The eChainRF AAM system is a modern asset management solution that utilizes RFID technologies to provide and automate total item visibility and control. Our open framework and template-based approach allows rapid implementation and customization to meet many organizations’ asset tracking and management needs.
The eChainRF AAM system architecture allows for superior scalability, allowing the solution to extend asset tracking to multiple existing locations and adapt to add/incorporate future locations. The system is hosted in a secure, managed, cloud-based site.
eChainRF Mobile
eChainRF AAM is a true solution for your asset management needs, built onto high-performance cloud-based servers and designed from the beginning to work with massive streaming data generated by RFID tag reads.
eChainRF was created to be infinitely flexible and rapidly implemented, supporting multiple business and asset management scenarios, with the ability to add/customize fields and to track assets based on those fields, and in multiple languages. eChainRF AAM captures, reports and archives the full asset history of events such as item location, transfers, custodial stewardship changes, audit events, and final disposition.
This solution has the added capability of configuring alert conditions and automatically generating notifications when these alert conditions have been met. Examples of common alerts configured for previous customers include assets moving into restricted areas, monitors to inform administrators of expired and expiring assets, and notification alerts related to required maintenance schedules.
eChain BYOD iPhone
We also understand the value of mobile tracking, and have integrated executive mobile devices for RFID and Barcode scanning integrated into our solution. We support Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) and have an integrated asset scanning application that works on smart devices using the camera and GPS with barcode and location.
Our solution supports multiple inventory and asset-related activities (Procurement, Receiving, Work-in-Process, Service/Maintenance, Damaged Goods Management, Quality Hold, Repository Storage, Leasing, and Loaning.
Our Role-based security allows access and visibility to specific roles (i.e., Service/Maintenance, or Locations (Stock Room A,).
eChainRF Reports Dashboard
eChainRF AAM provides advanced asset management for real-time asset visibility utilizing RFID technologies for automated transactions and interactions. eChainRF AAM captures, reports and archives the full asset history of events such as item location, transfers, custodial stewardship changes, audit events, and final disposition.
eChainRF AAM is traditionally an integrated hardware/software solution that incorporates RFID technology with an Asset Management platform that automatically tracks assets and reorders inventory as needed from multiple warehouses or stock locations. eChainRF AAM currently interfaces with Impinj Passive UHF reader infrastructures, and provides support for handheld RFID readers
eChainRF AAM employs a centralized, cloud-based architecture, connected to RFID and barcode infrastructures via the web. Transactions can be automated with RFID/Barcode, or manually input. It utilizes a relational database, which allows isolation of asset data to a group of users via such methods as multiple databases, separate tables, flags in the records, or other, as required by client.
eChainRF Drill-down Charts Display Assets by Location
Features include:
eChain Technology opens its first international branch office in Osaka Japan effective 14 September, 2014. “We see Osaka as an emerging tech center in Asia,” states Lewis Kilby, President of eChain Technology. “There are many companies in Japan that are aggressively pursuing ways to use RFID technology, who have been very responsive to our solutions and capabilities. We are also working closely with several Japanese companies who are manufacturing next-generation RFID technology. Opening a branch office in Osaka gives us direct access to, and removes barriers for us to do business with the traditionally honor-bound Japanese society. This is a perfect match for the way we have always done business since our founding in 2001.”
Historically, Osaka was the center of commerce in Japan, and several major companies like Panasonic, Sharp and Sanyo are still headquartered in Osaka. Recently, however, Osaka has been heavily investing in technology innovation to create a hub for competitive technology advantage. Witness the Osaka Innovation Hub (http://www.innovation-osaka.jp/en/aboutus). “A huge factor in our decision to select Osaka over Tokyo for our first Japan office was to be close to, and be a part of the exciting energy of the Osaka Innovation Hub,” says Mr. Kilby.
If you are interested in reaching out directly to eChain Technology, Japan, please contact Yoshiko Kubo at ykubo@echaintechnology.com.
Osaka Innovation Hub
Global Innovation Osaka (http://www.innovation-osaka.jp)
An epicenter of innovation, continuing creating a ripple effect of passion for technology, strong desire for success, and result-oriented mindset, helps you grow.
Osaka Innovation Hub delivers Japanese ideas for technology, creating a competitive advantage and information about exciting, emotional, or unexpected series of events made by those involved in a variety of activities in full swing to commercialize new products and services.
The development and commercialization of technologies based on a business cluster, which has been spawned by a lot of small- and medium-sized companies that manufacture a variety of products, may proceed to the destination in Osaka Innovation Hub, which concentrates its efforts on fostering technology innovation as a competitive advantage.
Supporting Venture Creation and Commercialization
The super producer has a proven track record of success in conducting technology commercialization both domestically and internationally to speed the process of venture creation and commercialization.
Conducting Partner Search and Teaming
To start off with a series of activities for business creation, Osaka Innovation Hub helps get in touch with not only those who own unique and competitive technology but entrepreneurs and technology-focused companies who strive to make use of it for profit.
Supporting Processes for Innovation
Umekita’s central location in Osaka Prefecture, its ease of access by car and public transportation, and its highly skilled labor force have attracted an increasingly varied residential and commercial mix. Osaka Innovation Hub makes an effort to support the entire commercialization process with services, ranging from in-depth technology seeds research to more deliberate business planning.
Building Worldwide Network for Human and Funding Resources
To deploy business globally, not only does Osaka Innovation Hub concentrate its efforts on building worldwide human capital network through such events as international conventions, it also introduces a variety of its fundamental activities and delivers information about technology, owned by the Osaka-based companies.
An Incubator for Tomorrow’s Leaders Who Make a Difference Globally
Through onsite learning programs to be prepared in Osaka Innovation Hub, entrepreneurs have opportunities to participate in a remarkable range of activities that are related to the latest business topics and state-of-the-art technologies. Accordingly, they can reduce the level of stereotype threat, foster and exercise entrepreneurship, and take part in an international competition.
I have just returned from my second incredible visit to Japan this year. Still fighting jet-lag, so 5:00 AM is the perfect time to reflect and share my thoughts and experiences. Like last time, this trip was imprinted with natural disasters. Japan’s Mount Ontake volcano erupted while I was inbound, we performed RFID cycle count control tests in Typhoon Phanfone, and departed the day before ‘powerful’ Typhoon Vangfong hit Japan’s main islands.
Many companies in Japan are seeking ways to use RFID, and Japan’s government supports and promotes RFID advancement. eChain Technology has been fortunate to have great access to the Japan’s forward thinking companies, and this influence has helped guide the development of our RFID solutions that include fast cloud-based applications, multi-language, multi-byte interfaces and databases, and wireless (WiFi) capable RFID reader and application infrastructure.
During this visit, we had opportunity to implement a pilot solution/Proof of Concept (PoC) in a traditionally unfriendly environment for passive RFID – a commercial equipment rental company. We were asked to test whether our application would work on fueled generators, pressure washers, construction lights, steel carts, etc. in an open/covered concrete bunker facility with steel shelves and rows of heavy equipment stacked to the ceiling. If that weren’t hard enough, the client wanted “instant inventory cycle count,” and thus, we were asked to achieve a high level of reads after the system had been turned off for days at a time.
I am impressed to say that our pilot system successfully averaged 93-94% read accuracy over 3 cycle-count tests in the commercial equipment rental environment.
While in Japan, we had the opportunity to talk with several other companies working with, or looking for RFID solutions for extremely different types of applications. Tracking medical tools and equipment, raw materials for fabrication, and working with a global leader in mechanic tool manufacture. We had the opportunity to meet with an engineering company who is doing exciting things with UHF antennas – very thin and powerful – for bookshelf application and portals.
If you are interested in learning more, please “like” this post, and send me a note. We will be compiling more information about these and other very interesting projects we are working on and glad for the professional insight and support. Thanks!
Best read range for small UHF RFID tag.
I recently had a client discuss a need to track many things that are small and thin – very important documents. The actual business case was to receive hundreds of documents each day, disassemble, sort, reassemble and group these documents and then mail out batches. Not one document could be lost, stolen or mis-routed.
I’m sure that there are lots of ways to skin that cat, but in this case, we were looking to see if far-field UHF passive RFID (pRFID) would work for this client. Passive RFID has come a long way in the past year and the hype of the Internet of Things has been great to put this technology into the front of the public conscience. pRFID is an extremely flexible technology with many variations that work in many different situations.
For this client, we were seeking a medium-range (far-field) UHF RFID solution. We wanted a solution that used small tags and an infrastructure that could read hundreds of tags, several feet, quickly. This way, we could minimize our impact to their existing business process. I found it was surprisingly hard to find read range information on tags that had small footprint. We procured and tested likely tags and decided to publish our findings on the selected tag. The best inlay-type tag in the smallest form factor we tested was the Alien Square 9629 tag.
The Alien Square 9629 is a 1″ x 1″ tag – purported by Alien to provide performance of a 2 x 2 tag. It is EPC Gen2, Higgs 3. It was difficult to obtain less than a roll for testing purposes, (for me at least) and we ended up going directly to an offshore manufacturer to get 30 tags to test. We then waited a couple weeks for these tags to arrive. We tested these tags on our system(s), and also asked a partner company to test on separate platform(s) to validate our findings. Here are the results.
Impinj Speedway Revolution R420 reader and +9 db circular antenna. At full power, we were able to read some tags (not all in sample) at 13ft (4m). At 10′ (3m) we were able to see all tags, but noted significantly different RSSI values for different tags at the same range.
AWID 2010BN reader and +6 db circular antenna. Max read range up to 2.5m.
(Proprietary) VFR18 fixed reader and +9 db circular antenna. Max read range up to 3m.
AWID HB2000 (Handheld) reader. Max read range up to 0.7m.
Our results and conclusion were somewhat disappointing. The tag read ranges were acceptable at 3m and the tag footprint was acceptable at 1″ x 1″ for this business case. However I was not happy with the variation in reads from the tags. When testing several tags at the same range in a controlled test, we were getting variations in power (backscatter) of up to 4 RSSI. This means that, at range, some of the tags were not able to return enough power to be read. Perhaps this was due to the tag source (manufacturer) quality, but still disconcerting none the less.
If this is the best tag available, we can make it work with appropriate tuning and testing – perhaps modify the process workflow somewhat, but I would love to hear if anyone has had other experiences with these other small (inlay/label) UHF tags. Regardless, hopefully someone looking for a small far-field tag can use this information to save themselves some time and effort. Happy Tracking! Lewis Kilby, eChain Technology
