RFID Pallet Tracking

We developed a custom Pallet Tracking system for a logistics company based in New York. The system collects information as pallets move about the country. The fiberglass pallets, shown below, are barcoded and have a RFID tag in each corner.

Pallets move through several different areas in multiple facilities in the US. They are cleaned and inspected for damage and then shipped out for use. Once received in a warehouse they are loaded with different food products and either stored away or shipped back out.

How it works

Intermec CN70e RFID readers are used to capture the serial number of the pallet and specific information about a pallet as it travels about. The pallet data is stored locally on the device, then uploaded to a remote server in batches and processed. The readers send their data via Wi-Fi or they can be docked to a PC and the data transferred over Active Sync/Windows Mobile Device Center. These batches of data are processed by our data collection server software and stored in a SQL database.

The database can be queried for pallet history and current status and location.

The Login screen

A user selects English or Spanish, then their location and employee ID. All screens will be presented in the chosen language. Once the user has logged in, they can process pallets.

 

The Shipping Screen:

The user enters the bill of lading, purchase order number, and Shipping information and then scans pallets. If a particular pallet can’t be read using RFID, then the barcode on the pallet is scanned. Once all the pallets are scanned the user saves the data.

The Cold Storage Screen:

Pallets may be put in cold storage once they are loaded with products. The user enters the bill of lading and purchase order number and then scans a pallet. Once all the pallet information is entered, the user saves the batch of data.

Transfer Data

The user sends all collected data to the server. This can be done over Wi-Fi, if available, or Active Sync/Windows Mobile Device Center using a PC with a docking station.

Conclusion

The system has provided the ability to query a database and get the history of a pallet and its current status and location at any time. This also eliminated the issue of lost pallets and the time spent trying to locate them.