WebPro: RFID Q&A

Radio-frequency identification (RFID) may seem like a futuristic indulgence, but it’s actually a helpful, attainable technology. RFID helps manage production, order pulling and shipping. Pots, benches and racks can be fitted with RFID tags. Get your questions answered at these sites.

* www.priva.ca/privassist%20smartline.htm

The PrivAssist labor and production management software from Priva features RFID capabilities. The new Smartline technology features RFID transmitters and receivers specifically designed for the greenhouse industry. The system eliminates the need to enter data manually.

* www.tagsysrfid.com, www.wpshortisystems.nl

Tagsys partnered with Holland’s Walking Plant Systems (WPS) to implement RFID technology into WPS’s Plant Order System for commercial greenhouses. The Plant Order System is a fully automated system of pot-adapters, conveyor belts and plant nutrition systems that guide plants from initial seeding to individual customer orders.

* www.wffsa.org/pdf/Robin/netWORK/RFIDtags.pdf

George Staby, president of Perishables Research Organization, and Michael Reid, horticulture professor at University of California-Davis, tested RFID tags for postharvest use. The tags measured temperature over time (similar to data loggers) and predict the days of vaselife and percentage loss of display life for specific cut flower crops during storage, transportation and/or marketing.

* www.kartkeeper.com

RFID is applicable to cart collection, too. The KartKeeper system tracks carts from the greenhouse to the customer and back again. The system includes: a cart tag, which has an RFID tag encapsulated in a plastic holder to mount to the cart; antennas embedded into the front of any dock as a gateway to service multiple docks; a workstation that scans carts and reports them to the software; a system administrator that provides detailed reports; and a server.

{sidebar id=1}

April 2008