Smart tags — small pieces of plastic, paper, or metal using the same technology that allows drivers to breeze through highway toll booths — will probably edge out bar codes in supply chain tracking over the next several years.

Before you consign these tags, known as radio frequency identification devices or RFIDs, to the pile to worry about tomorrow, consider what you may need to do in your plant to prepare for them. Since the data readers needed to extract information from the tag are an expensive part of these systems, you may want to take smart tags into account in the layout for any facility expansion or redesign so that you can reduce the number of readers you’ll need.

Investment Payoff
Smart tags themselves are still expensive — as much as 100 times more costly than the familiar bar code label — but experts predict prices will drop sharply. Even at the high current price of about $1 each, smart tags have justified the investment in many factories, by providing real-time information about the movement of supplies, work-in-process, and finished products.

Passive and Active
RFID tags can be passive, like the toll road payment card, storing a limited amount of read-only information in a small chip that can be read by equipment a few yards away. Or they can be active, capable of receiving as well as sending information, making it possible to reprogram them from a distance.

Sorting and Redirecting
Manufacturers use active tags to sort goods on a conveyor, track their progress, and direct them to the next stage, whether it’s an assembly point, the doorway to a dock, or a waiting truck. According to some estimates, smart tags make it possible to unload and check in incoming goods 10 times faster than feasible with bar codes, leading to savings in equipment, staff, and warehouse space.

Durability
Smart tags are also tougher than bar codes, making them useful in manufacturing environments with extreme temperatures, harsh chemicals, rough handling, or high moisture levels. Tags can be set into screws for use in wooden items or printed on paper packages for consumer goods. And unlike bar codes, they don’t have to be placed in a line-of-sight arrangement for a scanner to read.

Antenna Placement
Data collection antennas can read the information on tag transponders wherever they are  attached or enclosed on the device, as long as the tag is within the antenna’s range. That range will vary, depending on the tag design, radio frequency, and application details. Other considerations include transmission of other radio signals nearby, presence of metal in the immediate area, and temperature and humidity conditions.

With all these variables, you’d be wise to get expert advice from a specialist in RFID system integration in order to design the best layout for a plant that will be ready to use smart tag technology.