German fire department adopts RFID technology to manage protective clothing and equipment
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The nature of firefighters’ jobs dictates that they must rescue victims at dangerous fire scenes. They must rely on firefighting clothing and equipment to protect themselves throughout the rescue operation. In the event of a fire, they must be on the front line to ensure the safety of life and property, and the slightest problem with protective clothing can be the life and death of the victim or firefighter.
Based on this, many fire departments, including the Chicago Fire Department and the Marshall Fire Office of Travis County in Austin, Texas, have successively adopted RFID systems. The following is a detailed case of the use of the RFID tag system by the Krefeld Fire Department in Germany:
Protective clothing for fire fighting
problem arises
The Krefeld Fire Department in Germany is actively looking for ways to improve the tracking and management of protective clothing for firefighters. Their goal is to ensure that all protective clothing is stored consistently and can be changed in a timely manner. The fire department is responsible for sending protective clothing to firefighters, so has a great deal of responsibility for the cleaning and maintenance of the clothing. The law also expressly stipulates that the fire department must regularly clean and disinfect protective clothing and protective equipment. This is because: on the one hand, it is indeed crucial to thoroughly clean the protective clothing; on the other hand, every cleaning and disinfection may cause some degree of damage to the clothing. Therefore, each garment must be discarded and replaced after it has undergone a certain number of cleaning treatments.
Protective Vehicles and Equipment
The Krefeld Fire Department wanted to understand how technology could improve the maintenance and replacement of protective clothing, so they turned to Brooks Automation, then a systems integrator and distributor of Texas Instruments RFID solutions. The more information is available on the wear and tear of protective clothing and related equipment, the better the Krefeld Fire Service will be able to enhance clothing safety, manage and maintain necessary replacement materials and associated costs.
solution
To help the Krefeld Fire Department solve this problem, Germany’s Brooks RFID division embedded RFID tags from Texas Instruments into every washable fireproof garment. With millions of transponders deployed in the laundry industry and more than 18 years of experience in the RFID industry, Texas Instruments provides the Brooks RFID division with a set of reliable and stable label products (RF Express Note: There are two products, RF -HDTDVBB-N1 and RF-HDT-DVBE-N0), can withstand a variety of environmental stress. Labels can be sewn onto each piece of protective gear, withstand extreme heat and physical wear, and withstand cleaning, repair and sterilization processes.
RF-HDT-DVBE-N0 Tag
Table 1: RF-HDT-DVBE-N0 Label Specification Sheet
Table 2: RF-HDT-DVBE-N1 Tag Specification Sheet
Brooks RFID Division
Here we need to introduce the German Brooks RFID Division (RF Express Note: its predecessor is HERMOS Informatik), which is affiliated to Brooks Automation. Brooks Automation is a global supplier of automation solutions, headquartered in Chelmsford, Massachusetts, USA, with offices in Central America, North America, Europe and Asia. Brooks RFID Division has been in the contact identification business based on RFID technology since 1994. The company manufactures both RFID hardware that can be integrated into existing facilities and mobile devices for wireless data exchange.
Brooks RFID Division has been involved in the RFID industry for more than 15 years and has been at the forefront of similar companies, implementing a number of RFID success stories and deploying a total of 50,000 RFID readers.
With its own R&D and manufacturing capabilities, Brooks RFID Division produces high-quality, safe and reliable RFID products. As an integrated developer of RFID systems, its parent company serves different industries with advanced technology and economical automation solutions. The company also lists logistics control, access control, product tracking or cargo inspection as part of its modern marketing strategy.
system running
An RFID reader, also known as a tabletop scanner, is installed at each laundry room and distribution point, which can be used to read the data on the tag as the suit goes through the cleaning process. With RFID technology, each piece of protective clothing can have its own historical record, and the entire recording process is very fast, simple and smooth. Whether unloading, distributing or taking away for cleaning or disinfection, the necessary data for all processes is automatically collected into the RFID reader.
The precise identification number distinguishes the different tags without confusing or lost laundry. Relevant data such as user, time, date and last cleaning and disinfection are stored in the database. In the case of the Krefeld Fire Department, the software was programmed according to needs and requirements. In addition, distribution points can immediately detect whether protective clothing is available and needs to be removed from circulation.
How the whole system works
Using the stored data, the Krefeld Fire Department can easily obtain reliable data on the state of clothing in each process. This system meets the resource-saving requirements of the Krefeld fire department, with which the fire department can concentrate on fighting fires and saving lives.
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