Townley Group successfully completed the intercontinental migration of gold processing plants using RFID
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Shipping and logistics company Townley Group International uses RFID technology to track the entire process of a gold processing plant from Australia to Argentina. Troy Resources, a gold producer in Perth, Australia, commissioned the Townley Group to relocate a gold factory from its original site in New South Wales to a new location in San Juan, Argentine.
The migration took 18 weeks and included an inventory of 1,000 devices (790 of which were shipped in 40-foot-tall freight containers). The devices were first shipped by land to Newcastle (676 kilometers), where they were loaded on board and shipped to Argentine. Zarate, then pass the Cordillera De Lipez mountain range by train and truck to the mining site of Casposo-150 kilometers west of San Juan. The device left Australia in November 2009, travelled 12,000 kilometers, and arrived at the new location on December 20.
Peter Townley, managing director of Townley Group, stated that the Wavetrend tags applied to 40 cargo containers and 110 part milling mills are too large to fit inside the container. Townley Group’s total transport equipment weighs 7,900 tons, and the largest component-the mill housing-weighs 65 tons.
Container for loading small devices
Direct labeling of large equipment
“Due to the large number of devices, it is very important that the cargo container must be monitored from the factory site to Newcastle and the entire journey of the ship. After arriving in Argentina, the cargo is registered again through the scanning system and sent to San 1,200 kilometers away. Juan. Our customers can clearly understand the entire transportation process of goods. We have tested this technology and believe it is the future trend of all goods transportation.
Townley stated, “Because the components being shipped are not traditional goods, there are many challenges in the shipping process.”
Warren Scott, Wavetrend’s product marketing manager, said, “The company received this task in October 2009, and shipments will begin in November, and time is very tight.”
“Due to the tight time, we provided Townley Group with a set of solutions that can be adopted almost directly. All the required hardware is readily available to solve existing challenges,” Scott said. “We also made some adjustments to suit the specific Townley Group. Requirements for data capture and recording. The interior design, installation, and testing were completed in early November, and the final system testing was completed one week before the application.
The system uses two Wavetrend RX2100 End Cap RFID readers, which are respectively installed on two DELogic Workabout Pro G2 handheld computers to form a multifunctional mobile reader. Workabout Pro G2 is also equipped with a Logic GSM/GPRS communication module and a GPS positioning module. It also installs Wavetrend’s AssetTrace Mobile asset tracking software to manage the received data, record the GPS location, and use the onboard satellite communication system to send this information. To the AssetTrace platform.
In Cobar, before assets are shipped to Newcastle, workers attach Wavetrend L-TG800-IH asset tags to various devices. Large pieces of equipment are directly labeled, and small pieces of equipment are labeled in their shipping containers.
The tag sends a 433 MHz signal and uses a proprietary Wavetrend protocol to send its tag ID code and status information to the reader. The company optimizes the tags to ensure low power consumption and high battery life. The life cycle of the tags is as long as 5 years. The company claims that data is sent every 1.5 seconds.
“The data sent by the tag, including its ID code and battery status, was detected by a reader 25 meters away and reported to the AssetTrace Mobile software on the Workabout Pro G2 handheld,” Scott said. “Each AssetTrace Mobile reader is identified on the AssetTrace platform, and its reader ID, GPS coordinates, time, and received signal strength value are corresponded to a data packet. The entire tag and reader data packet are then sent to via GPRS and the network The main platform hosted by the Townley Group”.
In Cobar, Newcastle, San Juan, and Caposa, employees read tagged assets and confirm the inventory of goods before leaving. The asset is read again when it reaches the destination.
Townley Group plans to use Wavetrend technology in some projects in the future. According to the logistics company, traditional container tracking technologies, such as barcodes, can no longer meet customer needs. Townley said it is important for customers to understand the location of their containers.
Using Wavetrend’s GlobalEyes tracking solution, using multiple technology communications, such as GPS, GPRS, GSM and ZigBee wireless mesh network, Townley Group can provide customers with real-time data-which is not possible with barcode technology.
Scott said the Townley Group plans to use GlobalEyes Asset Monitoring Units (AMU)-which can be integrated with Workabout Pro G2-to improve traceability and security in the future. GlobalEyes AMU is equipped with a variety of sensors, he said, such as lighting, sound, door status, temperature sensors and GPS.
AMU uses the ZigBee protocol to communicate with each other. All AMUs communicate with the main system by means of VLAN network, GPRS or satellite communication. When the status changes beyond the limit, such as excessive vibration and sound, unexpected route changes or potential safety issues, the system sends an alert.
Townley said the company has received the initial return on investment and hopes to provide high-tech logistics services to customers in all walks of life.
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