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Car manufacturer Audi is preparing to deploy RFID solutions to track the acceptance, shipment preparation and transportation of newly produced cars in multiple factories around the world. The EPC Gen 2 Ultra High Frequency (UHF)RFIDThe system is provided by the German RFID company noFilis. In June 2013, the Hungarian Audi factory tried out this system. Currently, the system is being used to track the production, inspection and transportation of A3 cars.
Audi chose to use the prototype system in this new plant. This is because the deployment of new factories is easier compared to those factories that have already deployed tracking systems. In the tracking systems deployed in other factories, employees need to use pen and paper to record the production process. Carsten Zimmer, Audi’s Information Process Project Manager, said that this process is not only time-consuming and labor-intensive, it also fails to provide visibility into the production and transportation process.
After assembly, the car still needs to go through an acceptance process. In this process, the driver needs to drive the vehicle to each test site, and then drive on the truck or train. The Gyor plant produces 160,000 vehicles a year and will continue to grow in the future. These cars are stored in two locations: trucks or trains waiting to be shipped and a fixed storage area.
Therefore, Audi intends to find a solution to automate and transparent the acceptance, shipment preparation and transportation process.
After the car is assembled, the staff needs to attach the UHF Smartrac DogBone tag to the inside of the front bumper. The tag is bound to the vehicle identification number (VIN) and another ID number of the assembly section. In this way, even if the computer system or the local network crashes, the staff can still use the RFID reader to identify each vehicle.
The company installed 50 Sick RFU 630 fixed types in the assembly area and storage area gates.Reader. At the same time, the company also equips each employee with Nordic ID Merlin or Agillox AGX DOT 300 handheld readers.
After the car assembly and marking process is complete, the driver will drive it through an RFID reader. This reader will read the tag ID number and upload it to the back-end system. Then, NoFilis CrossTalk Agent will analyze these data and filter some useless data and transmit it to Audi back-end system. As the driver passes through each inspection station, the reader at the monitoring station will perform the same steps and create a record. At the same time, CrossTalk software also manages and monitors the running status of RFID hardware and software. If a problem is detected, the software will send a warning to the relevant person in charge.
After the acceptance work is over, the driver will drive the car to the storage area. NoFilis’ global sales director Trik Hartman said that tags are also deployed on storage areas to create storage records. When the car is parked in the storage area, the driver needs to use a handheld reader to read the UHF RFID tags and front bumper tags in the storage area, and the handheld device system creates a storage record. Then the handheld device system will transmit these data to the Audi management system via WiFi.
Zimmer said that this system increases the transparency of the factory’s car management process, reduces the time spent in the acceptance process and the time spent on paper records.
In the future, Audi plans to extend this panel system to other factories. The next deployment plants include the Ingolstadt and Neckarsum plants in Germany, the Brussels plant in Belgium and the San Jose plant in Mexico.
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