The key points to the business case behind a RFID system in gas cylinders

Athelia, after years of experience integrating RFID systems in LPG plants, has found that the following points were blocking obstacles for Gas Flow projects. And more important, Athelia has found out the way to get over them.
News | 07/06/2007

There are some obvious benefits to the fact of implementing a RFID system in the filling plant: automation of the tare weight of the cylinders, automation of the rejection of the cylinders (re-testing date and/or other business rules), traceability (avoid losses, knowledge of some important kpis), etc. Other advantages are not so evident or at least they cannot easily be quantified (savings in operators, etc).

But what is unavoidably true is that there were some obstacles that had to be overcome before finding the real ROI in the Gas Flow system and give the start up to the tags in the cylinders.

Athelia, after years of experience integrating RFID systems in LPG plants, has found that the following points were blocking obstacles for these projects. And more important, Athelia has found out the way to get over them:

1. placing the tags in the existing cylinders in the most automatic and quickest way possible: for new cylinders this problem does not exist, as the cylinder manufacturer delivers the cylinder with the tag incorporated and the corresponding database. In the existing cylinders pool (which very often rises up to some millions) the thing is quite different. You have to be able to retrofit (put a tag into) millions of (most of the times) very different type of cylinders, in the shortest period possible.

Thus, you need the tools (machines and tags), the procedure and the know-how to place a tag in some 5-10 seconds, including the introduction of the tare weight and re-testing date data of each cylinder in the database of the company. You need a method and a tag that can be fitted in all the existing cylinders.

Athelia has coped with all these problems and it is able to provide a standard solution to place a tag in the existing cylinders of an average LPG company, in the shortest period of time and with the most reasonable investment.

2. Getting the best price for the main cost of the project: the tag. Another “stopper” for these projects has always been the cost of the tag, due to the high volumes that form part of them (it is always the major cost in absolute value). Due to the fact that the RFID is becoming more and more popular, the prices of the tags (mainly for RFID integrators that sell big quantities every year) are decreasing to levels that make the ROI feasible, taken into consideration all the other points here explained for the business case.

3. Getting the technical issues solved:

3.1. different types of cylinders being filled mixed up in the same line. Most of the companies have different cylinders (different shapes, different heights, different materials) that form their pool. In order to have a useful and profitable system, ALL the cylinders must be tagged and, indeed, read.

Here relies the “art” of the RFID technology that only a skilled company like Athelia can provide to the LPG companies: with one reading station we are able to read different cylinders (carbon steel, composite, stainless steel, 6kg, 13kg…).

We have the proofs and are willing to show them to you!

3.2. In order to solve the former and some others technical issues, it is implicit that we Athelia are the RFID experts. This is why we like to tell our customers to forget about things like the frequency: it is us who know which one (LF=125kHz, HF=13,56MHz or UHF=868MHz) fits best in each case. We are one of the few companies in the world that have implemented projects in ALL of them (in the LPG, in LF and HF) and then we can say that we now THEM ALL.


4. Making profit of the know-how acquired in previous projects: for all those who do not admit to have failed in implementing a RFID system in an industrial environment, one out of the following statements is true: he is lying or he has never done one. In order to overcome all the integrating issues in a Gas Flow system you need to have experience by having done it before, as it is very complex to integrate this RFID system in such a high performance production process as the LPG filling plants. And the best thing of all is that most part of them are recurrent from one plant (and customer) to another!!!

Here we believe we are one or more steps ahead of our competitors, as we can provide our future customers with the know-how acquired in our existing customers (real and contrastable references). This is the other key to success and it will help the companies to dispel doubts and thus boost the business case.

5. Work together with the experts in the LPG lines: linked to the former, one of the lessons learned with the experience by a RFID integrator company like Athelia is that another important point for the success in implementing a RFID (Gas Flow) system in the cylinders and the filling plants is to work side by side with the manufacturers of the equipment of these plants. They are the ones who know best the lines and their secrets!

Once again, we Athelia have in the past and are currently working with Pam and Kosan Crisplant, for instance. One guarantee of success!


Conclusion

If you are a LPG company, you have millions of cylinders in the field and you already know (or want to know) the advantages of a RFID traceability system in your cylinders, then you have now the right partner to implement it. The one that makes the difference when it comes to make the business case positive!!!

If you would like to receive more information on Athelia’s solutions please contact the office nearest to you or click here.