PANMOBIL’s RFID ‘pills’ improve production at German chemical plant
10 September, 2009
category: RFID
Evonik, a German chemicals producer for skin and hair care products, has announced the successful implementation of an experimental PANMOBIL RFID system designed to track Evonik’s filter panels during the chemical production process.
Evonik’s panel filters cost 1,500 Euro each, and break frequently during chemical production process. Once a panel breaks inside a chemical press, production must be stopped until it is replaced. Evonik looked to RFID for a way to quickly locate the broken panels for replacement so that the presses could be functional again as quickly as possible.
Because of the harsh environment, there was no way of sticking labels or screwing thick plastic RFID packages to the panels. PANMOBIL decided to try installing round RFID pills into the plastic panel material. Workers drilled holes in the panel material, inserted the RFID pill, and sealed it with silicon material to prevent chemical damage.
Workers using PANMOBIL readers scan the presses and keep tabs on the roughly 100 panels inside. By recording which panels break, Evonik can keep a record of good and bad panel suppliers as well as automatically tell if a broken panel is replaceable under warranty.