 | Monday, July 21, 2008
Issue 875 | | Will Smith, Editor |  |
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Editor's Note: Today's top story is the announcement of the Oil & Gas RFID Solution Group, formed to develop process and technology standards to support RFID adoption in the petroleum and natural gas industries. The organization is evaluating use cases and technology requirements for both internal and supply chain operations.
ABI Research has announced that Motorola, Alien, and Impinj top its latest vendor matrix for passive UHF RFID reader manufacturers.
Lastly, a reminder: there are only three days remaining until SkyeTek's live webinar will cover new techniques for using RFID to automate the process of managing remote inventory. Register here. |
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Oil Industry Forms RFID Group to Aid Adoption
By John Burnell
The Oil & Gas RFID Solution Group announced its formation this week to develop best practices and standards for using RFID in the oil and gas industries. The group includes representatives from RFID companies, academic institutions and end-user organizations. Members have been working together since early in the year, Konrad Konarski of founding member company Merlin Concepts & Technology told RFID Update.
"We are seeing increased RFID activity in the oil & gas industry," said Sam Falsafi of Shipcom Wireless, another founding member of the Oil & Gas RFID Solution Group. "A lot of times the oil industry has been a laggard in technology adoption. Now the industry is at a point where it needs technology to sustain its growth." The current high demand for oil is intensifying pressure on producers to pump, refine and distribute as quickly and efficiently as possible, Falsafi said.
The Oil & Gas RFID Solution Group was formed to investigate how RFID could improve operations throughout the industry, including internal and supply chain processes. Members include researchers at Texas A&M University and the University of Houston, RFID firms Avery Dennison, Merlin, Motorola and Shipcom Wireless. RFID standards body EPCglobal is also working with the group. The Oil & Gas RFID Solution Group website lists no end-user members, but Konarksi said six large, multinational user companies are actively participating and he expects they will officially announce their involvement soon.
The group is working simultaneously to identify best practices for using RFID and to identify appropriate technologies and data standards to support them, Konarski said. The coordinated effort could also lead to RFID hardware and software products developed specifically for oil and gas operations, which frequently feature high-temperature, high-pressure environments with corrosive chemicals.
"A lot of packaged solutions out there aren't designed or optimized for the environment," Konarski said. "As a community we can tell the RFID industry what is needed, instead of having our users contact solution providers to ask what they have available and seeing if it works."
Konarski said companies in the oil and gas industries already use RFID for various applications, and larger organizations have roadmaps that outline how they could expand their use of the technology. Industry collaboration on standards could help align these project and technology roadmaps with commercial technology development.
"There are many processes that are scalable and repeatable for many companies in the industry," Konarski said.
Some of the group's initial efforts focus on facilitating the use of RFID to set up and maintain drilling rigs. Konarski said this is a good starting point because it can leverage developments in passive UHF technology and serialization standards. Tejas Tubular Products, which provides drilling pipe to oilfields, previously announced it was tracking products with passive UHF technology and benefiting from improved traceability (see RFID Keeps WIP Well-Oiled for Oilfield Products Maker). The group is also looking at other asset management, safety and security, and supply chain visibility use cases, according to Konarski. He expects the group to begin announcing more specific details about its activities in a few months.
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| Webinars | Leveraging RFID to Optimize Field Inventory Management
You are invited to a live webinar on Thursday, July 24th, 2008 at 1 pm EST for SkyeTek's MetaFi, a turn-key, mobile solution that automates the process of managing remote inventory. MetaFi significantly increases data accuracy, and eliminates the need for manual counts thereby reducing out-of-stocks/shrinkage. Register here. | | | Upcoming Events | RFID Executive Forum - Impact RFID, October 15, 2008 at UCLA
UCLA WINMEC will host its 2008 RFID Executive Forum. This Forum will bring academics, industry practitioners to discuss industry-specific modality of use of RFID and the application of RFID in their industry. For more information, please visit: www.winmec.ucla.edu/rfid/2008 | RFID World | Sept 8-10, 2008 | MGM Grand | Las Vegas, NV
Now in its 6th year, this industry leading event is recognized as the gathering place for the builders, buyers and sellers of RFID and other Auto-ID technologies. Registration now open! Special Early Bird Savings: Save $300 off registration. Offer ends July 31st. Don't miss out! | AWA PABS08 N. America Conference, Sept 11-12, Chicago, IL
AWA is organizing the Product Authentication & Brand Security Conference 2008 on September 11-12 in Chicago, IL. The event includes presentations and panel discussions with brand owners, legal authorities, associations, converters and suppliers; also networking sessions, a supplier forum, a social program and more. Find more on the program here. | AWA PABS08 Asia Conference, Dec 4-5 - Hong Kong, China
AWA presents the Asian Product Authentication & Brand Security Conference 2008, to be held on 4 & 5 December in Hong Kong, China. PABS08 Asia focuses on the threats specific to the Asia Pacific region, various elements of IP Theft, and leading-edge solutions. Find more on the program here. | | | RFID Tags & Labels | Ferroxtag HF tags: Smart on Metal!
Ferroxtag is a new family of HF RFID tags suitable for operation on metallic surfaces. Ferroxtag's special ferrite antenna was developed using Ferroxcube's years of experience in ferrite technology. The high performance antenna means longer read range with a smaller tag. Visit www.ferroxtag.com | | | Products & Services | Real-Time WIP Visibility Appliance from Omnitrol Networks
Meet the industry's most innovative award winning RFID solution that enables complete work-order traceability in manufacturing. Real-time web-based dashboards and multi-site monitoring for work-order pedigree and traceability, including proactive bottleneck management and real-time performance analytics optimizing shop-floor efficiency. All at the lowest TCO in the marketplace. www.omnitrol.com/WIP. | Employees steal over $1 billion per week from employers
the American Management Association reports. 95% of businesses are victimized by employee theft. Managers are reluctant to ask questions, because trusted employees may feel offended, leaving business owners in a difficult situation. What can you do? Nox: Intelligent Perimeter Defense from Simply RFID provides advanced security and protection for business assets. | | | RTLS & Active RFID | Locate it now. How? Ekahau. That's how!
Ekahau RTLS (Real-Time Location System) automatically tracks assets and people via your existing Wi-Fi network. Control costs and improve asset management with Ekahau. For more information, visit us at www.ekahau.com. | | | Employment | RFID Recruiters - 100% Focused on RFID Recruiting
Whether your company is looking for the best RFID talent or you have the best RFID talent and are looking for the best RFID employer, RFID Recruiters offers the most focused approach to your objective. To learn how the RFID industry and the RFID job market are evolving, visit www.rfidrecruiters.com | | | Research & Whitepapers | RFID Marketing Strategies Report
Thirty-nine pages of original research on RFID audience perceptions, including 30+ figures of tactics, content & messaging, and recommendations to guide marketing strategy. Also, Top-10 RFID company rankings based on 550+ survey respondents. View the executive summary free, with Top-3 sample rankings. Only $495 Individual License or $795 Corporate License. Available now |
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