Application of RFID in Shanghai Postal Express General Package Processing
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As a sub-project of the “863” project of the Ministry of Science and Technology, China Post launched a demonstration project of radio frequency identification (hereinafter referred to as RFID) technology application at the Shanghai Post Office in early 2005. The main content is to use RFID tags on express delivery (EMS) pouches. The bag brand realizes the automation and informatization of the EMS general package processing through the electronic branch bureau system, the central bureau production operation system and the sorting equipment. On this basis, the overall plan for China Post’s application of RFID technology is determined. The project passed the preliminary inspection in December 2005 and was officially put into trial operation. This article will introduce the implementation of the project and the preliminary results and application experience of the test, and look forward to the application prospects of RFID technology in other areas of the postal industry.
Region: Shanghai, China
Frequency band: UHF
Tag type: passive
User: China Post Shanghai Post Office
Implementing company: Symbol
background
RFID technology has the characteristics of long-distance, non-“line-of-sight” identification, high-speed, multi-label batch identification, no manual intervention, information rewritable, and can work in various harsh environments. It is very suitable for postal production operations. Therefore, in the science and technology development plan of China Post’s tenth “five-year plan”, RFID technology has been regarded as one of the key points of new technology application. At the beginning of 2005, the State Post Bureau chose Shanghai as a pilot and conducted the “Application of Radio Frequency Identification Technology in Shanghai Postal Express Package Processing” experiment. In December 2005, the project passed the preliminary inspection and was officially put into trial operation.
Test situation
The production process of Shanghai postal express general parcel processing mainly includes the receipt and sealing of electronic branch offices, intra-city postal route re-transportation, Huqingping express processing center general parcel receiving, mail bag opening and dismantling, loose parts sorting, and general parcel sealing Shipment, general package and delivery, city lighter, Hongqiao Airport and new passenger station transfer station receiving and sorting, trunk line delivery. The RFID identification system consists of hand-held or fixed RFID readers and related computer systems deployed at the express mail collection points in the city, the Shanghai Qingping processing center, the Hongqiao terminal, the new passenger station and other production sites. The radio frequency pocket cards circulating between the venues and their allocation management system constitute.
The express general package production operation requires a reading distance of 3 to 4 meters, and requires multi-label batch identification under certain conditions, so the UHF RFID system is selected.
From the electronic branch office to the processing center before dismantling, the read-only radio frequency label bag tag is used, and the 6-character barcode information is attached, and the radio frequency label information is bound with the barcode information and the general package business information during the operation of the electronic branch office. In this way, the original barcode-based information system and the RFID system of about 600 electronic branches in the city have been effectively combined. In this way, in the electronic branch, there is no need to be equipped with radio frequency readers, and the original bar code reading equipment can be used, which saves investment to the greatest extent.
Read-write radio frequency bag tags are used in the processing center to seal and send the total package to each transfer station. The 30-bit total package information required for postal services is actually recorded, which is exactly the same as the existing bar code bag information, adapting to the postal trunk network. Information transmission requirements.
Due to various reasons, the current batch recognition rate of UHF RFID tags is still less than 100%. Therefore, the implementation of the RFID system should be combined with the process organization of postal production, maximize strengths and avoid weaknesses, and find operating scenarios that can take advantage of RFID’s long-distance, penetrating general material, and multi-tag reading characteristics. In the general package handover, we choose to collect information during the bag-by-bag unloading process; in the general package sorting, choose to collect information at the package supply station, which maximizes the RFID reading rate and maximizes liberation It saves the hands and mind of the workers, and simplifies the complexity of the operation, thereby improving the efficiency while ensuring the quality of the work.
Make full use of the original information network resources of the enterprise to build a distributed application information system. In the electronic branch, it realizes the collection of distributed barcode data information, the binding of the radio frequency tag ID and the business information. Complete data collection and data conversion inside, and transfer the read business data to the relevant business system, so as to realize the organic integration with the existing business computer system. Through the application of RFID in the whole process of express general package processing, the multi-link automatic check and automatic sorting process of general package information is realized, and the whole process of physical logistics and information flow is unified.
Experimental effect
★The reading rate of loading and unloading truck is 99.4%, and the reading rate of sorting is 100% (preliminary test value).
★The internal courier operation and general package sorting processing in the processing center can increase the efficiency by about 20%.
★Realize the automatic check of information during handover and automatic collection of information during sorting. The handover link between the courier department and the postal department has been delivered and cleared.
★The automatic collection of mail processing time information in each link is realized, and the logistics network optimization is supported.
★Improved the tracking and inquiry link of the express delivery package, avoiding the delay and loss of mail, facilitating the quality assessment, and improving the management level.
In addition, the benefits of RFID in Shanghai express delivery are not only reflected in the improvement of operational efficiency and service quality, but also because more than 600 branch offices (stations) can recycle radio frequency tags every day instead of using one-time barcode labels. The material, equipment loss and labor cost of the bar code label can be reduced by 320,000 yuan, and it is estimated that the investment in the radio frequency system can be recovered within 5 to 6 years.
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