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RFID at ASFINAG

ASFINAG, the Austrian motorway company, manages the entire Austrian motorway and expressway network. ASFINAG is responsible for the planning, financing, building, maintenance and operation of almost 2,100 km of roads. They have over 80 locations with about 65,000 assets which need to be accounted for in inventory.

Today, company inventories are often made by checking paper lists extracted from Enterprise Systems, such as an ERP system. This method is prone to errors and other disruptions, as it involves manually transferring data between an IT system and the employees conducting the inventory. Visually checking the presence of an asset against a list also exposes the process to error and manipulation, therefore affecting the integrity of the inventory. With manual checking of assets against a paper or electronic list, it is difficult to confirm if an asset really exists. Using RFID the employee needs to read out the transponder, therefore the asset must be available.

The Challenge

Solution must be compliant to international standards and regulations for RFID systems
A wide range of assets necessitates an optimal selection of RFID transponders
Harsh environments, such as salt and other chemicals, wind, rain and sunlight, including ultra-violet light and heat
RFID transponders will be attached to a wide range of materials
Mobile application must cover the equipment of assets with RFID transponders as well as inventory processes
Authentication, Authorization and Synchronization capabilities require direct connection from handheld RFID devices to Enterprise Systems

The Solution

Process Analysis and Optimization
Asset Analysis and Transponder Selection
Design of offline, mobile Asset Management Solution
Integration with existing ERP System (SAP) for Data Exchange
EPCglobal compliant UHF technology ensuring high reading range, even without direct line of sight
To ensure successful roll-out of an automated ID solution, a phased development process was followed

The Benefits

Using the readily available data, the customer can automate processes, such as Asset Drop Outs and Asset Location Changes, as well as identify areas of optimization, such as the Purchase Process. The implemented solution can be expanded to applications such as:

Access Control for Vehicles
Real-Time Tracking within defined Area
High Value Goods Tracking, and so on