enterprise visibility

Real-Time Locating Systems

Multiple assets all in a variety of places creates a need for a professional way to track your assets, therefore ProductiveT creates tracking systems utilizing portable terminals which are rugged, but lightweight, easy to use, and wirelessly capable.

 RTLS tags are not simple RFID tags, which you may have seen in a supply chain applications. An RTLS tag is one step removed from an RFID tag in that it has the ability to report its location back to the location management system. While RFID tags require RFID readers to read them, an RTLS tag is able to be located in real-time on its own.

Some direct results of implementing an RTLS system are efficiency and visibility. Additionally, the technology is becoming more affordable and more robust, so the return on investment is becoming more of a reward than ever. 

Benefits of RTLS

• Quickly and easily locate valuable assets that are difficult to find
• Using added sensors, collect information regarding the environment the tag is in such as the temperature, vibration levels, velocity of movement, and light conditions
• Implement measures against theft and get security alerts for expensive assets, including when it has moved and where it is heading

In addition to being able to identify the location of different types of assets, RTLS tags can be used for a variety of other purposes. For example, RTLS tags have been used on refrigerated trailers in the yards of wholesale grocers to track the trailer’s location, the temperature inside the trailer, and to send a signal if that temperature goes out of a pre-set range.

ProductiveT also partners with the Wi-Fi RTLS leader: Ekahau, allowing us to provide Wi-Fi tags in addition to RFID active tags. Wi-Fi tags are able to communicate over an existing 802.11 wireless network.

Wi-Fi Tags

Wi-Fi tags take RTLS solutions one step further. They allow two-way communication with a pre-existing wireless infrastructure which reduces the cost of implementation and provides a variety of additional features.

“A Wi-Fi-enabled tag can hop onto an existing Wi-Fi network and send a signal to the network that can be forwarded to an RTLS server," explains Tuomo Rutanen, vice president of business development for Ekahau . "And because WiFi is a two-way system, we can talk to the tag and tell it to do things."

As an example, Wi-Fi tags can be set to play a tone or blink lights if it’s sitting on a dock too long or if it’s been moved into an area it shouldn’t be in.

Give us a call now and lets us show you how RTLS can increase revenue and reduce cost.