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Tan Chong International, the exclusive distributor of Nissan vehicles in Singapore, recently announced the opening of the country’s first RFID car center
TC Nissan Center occupies approximately 400,000 square feet, including Nissan garage, vehicle inspection center, service department, parts warehouse and new car receiving area. The four-story building stores approximately 900 vehicles and has a horizontally moving, three-dimensional elevator-type automatic parking system.
Singapore opens its first RFID car center
New cars are transported directly from the port to the center. Tan Chong believes that radio frequency identification technology will speed up the allocation of new car parking spaces, improve the accuracy of vehicle tracking and the speed of new cars sent to car dealers. By reducing the time it takes for vehicles to go to warehouses, service departments and dealers, Tan Chong expects that vehicle mileage can be reduced by 90%, thereby reducing fuel waste and exhaust emissions.
The TC Nissan Center began operations in March 2009, and plans to fully use this system before September 1. The center is currently testing the system and also using the employee training system. Tan Chong Realty Director Samuel Lee said that combining the garage, service department, parts warehouse, and delivery inspection in the same place can improve operational efficiency, and the introduction of RFID technology has improved efficiency to a whole new level.
“Using RFID, we can track cars more effectively within the organization, monitor the delivery preparation process, and real-time information ensures a smoother workflow,” Lee said. “There are many tracking systems on the market, such as bar and GPS, but RFID is the most cost-effective technology that meets our needs. RFID technology can provide real-time information while minimizing human interference.”
Singapore’s National RFID Center sponsored TC’s pioneering RFID application in the automotive industry. Wavex Technologies, one of the largest RFID companies in Singapore, is responsible for the integration of this project.
Boon Swan Foo, chairman of the National RFID Center, said that technological innovation applications help companies maintain a competitive advantage in a harsh economic environment, and companies do not need to slow down their innovation investment due to the current financial crisis.
This project uses approximately 1,000 UHF 886MHZ active RFID tags and 30 readers. When a vehicle enters the TC Nissan center, the staff assigns it a tag, which is attached to the tow hook of the car through a safety cable, and the system automatically assigns the vehicle to the nearest parking area. The parking lot also permanently installs an active RFID tag at the rear of the vehicle. The communication between the parking tag and the car tag establishes a correspondence between the parking lot and the car.
“This way the car can be identified and its exact location can be tracked” Boon explained. “The car tag is then upgraded to an active RFID reader installed on the pillar, which combines the data stream of the parking tag and sends it to the server via an Ethernet connection.” . When the car leaves the building, the car tag is removed.
“The countless metal surfaces of cars and buildings in the building is a problem we have to solve,” Boon said. “Metal reflects RF, causing multiple degradation problems, resulting in inaccurate readings. We held a session in two parking areas. A two-week test to ensure the normal operation of the system and minimize problems, such as multiple readings and cross readings of parking tags and car tags. During the test, the staff tested the placement of multiple parking tags and car tags Location, determine the best location for tag and reader communication”.
In addition to ensuring that the label is installed and read, the staff also need to confirm that the label will not have any impact on the new car and can be easily removed when the car is sent to the customer.
TC claims that the RFID system has brought significant benefits to the company. The implementation of the RFID system has improved operational efficiency and workflow. Lee said the system has achieved more effective vehicle positioning and tracking. Vehicle identification and presentation have been shortened from an average of 24 hours in the past to 2 hours, which has also improved the level of customer service.
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