Traceability system for capturing, processing and providing consumer-relevant information about wood products: System solution and its economic feasibility

Current research and practice reports indicate the existence of purchase barriers concerning eco-friendly products, e.g. wood products. These can be ascribed to consumers' mistrust regarding the non-observable environmental impact of wood products. To counter the mistrust, wood products are commonly endowed with eco-labels, which may be perceived mostly as a marketing tool, therefore not fulfilling their intended purpose. Current studies have shown that providing consumers with wood product information based on traceability systems increases product trust and purchase intentions, with those information items most valued by consumers being identified as well. Based on this, the paper proposes a traceability information system for the capturing, processing, and provision of product information using examples of wood furniture. Furthermore, a cost-benefit model for the proposed solution is developed. The calculations indicate the possibility of implementing traceability at the item level based on a four-layer system architecture enabling the capture and delivery of all information valued by consumers at acceptable costs. The proposed system helps to overcome purchase barriers of eco-friendly products, increasing consumers' product trust and purchase intentions

Currency security and forensics: a survey

By its definition, the word currency refers to an agreed medium for exchange, a nation’s currency is the formal medium enforced by the elected governing entity. Throughout history, issuers have faced one common threat: counterfeiting. Despite technological advancements, overcoming counterfeit production remains a distant future. Scientific determination of authenticity requires a deep understanding of the raw materials and manufacturing processes involved. This survey serves as a synthesis of the current literature to understand the technology and the mechanics involved in currency manufacture and security, whilst identifying gaps in the current literature. Ultimately, a robust currency is desire

Traceability in a Sanitary Ware Production System – A Case Study at Ifö Sanitär

Research questions: How to implement a traceability system in an automated sanitary ware production system Deliverables: This thesis establishes whether it is cost beneficial to implement a traceability system for an automated sanitary ware production system where there are no legislative requirements. Methodology: The research method that is used in this thesis is a combination of action research and experimental methods. A literature review, observations and interviews were performed in order to identify existing traceability theories and applications as well as fully understand the production characteristics of sanitary ware manufacturing. In addition, experiments were performed in order to evaluate the most suitable traceability application for the use in an automated sanitary ware production system. Delimitations: This thesis covers the use of traceability and its applications in the automated production lines at Ifö’s factory in Bromölla and it only includes the internal flow of goods at Ifö. Conclusions: The solution includes a direct part marking on each and every product that is produced in Bromölla, with an individual serial number. All product movements will be stored, allowing for the ability to conduct follow-ups on defects and performance of different parts of the production system. It can be concluded that the use of an automated traceability system is cost-beneficial in the automated production lines at Ifö Sanitär

RFID in the production line for work flow improvement

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology can be used in many different applications. There are numerous instances of RFID being used in everyday life. For instance, anyone who works in a secure office, goes to university, drives a car with an immobiliser or parks in a secure car park. Other scenarios include the tracking of animals in the farming industry when cattle and sheep need to be identified by the farmer. Another instance where RFID can be used, is in the manufacturing industry. Tags can be attached to items that are moving through the factory on conveyer belts or being moved around by staff on trucks or forklifts. As the tags move around the factory floor or the warehouse they pass by readers and the tags can be then tracked using intelligent software and database application. In fact, radio Frequency Identification systems are becoming more and more embedded in the supply chain. Tracking goods in the work place has been identified as one area where production can be improved. In fact, in almost all non “green field ” modern manufacturing facilities, there are work flow process systems that can be improved to reduce the overall work load and increase the total work throughput. This project will look at a “real life ” manufacturing facility, assess its current work flow process, evaluate them against industries best practices and seek to integrate RFID to help stream line work flow. After assessment, the RFID solution will be implemented to tackle the highlighted areas. This will be achieved by understanding the client‟s current situation, industrial best practices and how RFID technology can be implemented now and modified in the future to continue to maximize efficiency. The expected outcome o

The economic viability of radio frequency identification for lumber retailers

The purpose of this project is to define the importance of radio frequency identification (RFID) for major lumber retailers. This project will emphasize the cost savings and efficiencies that would be gained by transitioning out of the current bar coded method of tracking into more effective RFID technology. The focus will be to analyze the processes associated with selling lumber and wood-related products with emphasis on inventory visibility of product in retail stores and retail lumber yards. This document will show the realized losses by large lumber retailers from traditional bar coding systems versus their potential return on investment from RFID technology. Each necessary process to sell lumber in the retail environment, from receiving product to the point of sale procedure, will be scrutinized to show the optimal potential results with RFID. The results will be divided into three key areas of savings with RFID: the decrease in labour the higher inventory visibility within the retail location and the reduction in inventory shrinkage. Speculative examples will also be discussed to give better understanding of the retail processes and their prospective economic benefits. This project has been devised to help lumber retailers realize the potential of the technology and direct them to pull the demand of implementation from their suppliers and throughout their own supply chains. --P. ii.The original print copy of this thesis may be available here: http://wizard.unbc.ca/record=b173796

RFID based Anti-theft System for Metropolia UAS Electronics laboratories

The aim of this thesis is to study different types of RFID based anti-Theft system implementation suitable for Metropolia Electronics laboratory environment to deter theft taking into account several installation requirements. The operating frequencies of the RFID anti-theft system are from low frequency to High frequencies range and governed by different standards based on the region it is going to be implemented. The introduction of this thesis will go through Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) and different RFID based anti-theft system advantages in various areas for instance in access management and control application. Study current Metropolia UAS electronics laboratory overall control mechanism comparing to the anti-theft RFID system used by Metropolia library to prevent and deter various theft actions to their valuable items and books. The scope of this thesis is limited to study different RFID based anti-theft technologies based on their power source, cost, reading range and deployment requirement. However, encryption and related security aspects are beyond the scope of this project. In addition, the project is only to study different cases of RFID based anti-theft implementation. Otherwise, there is no hardware or software design or related implementation including testing of the technology is conducted due to expensive cost constraint to buy the proposed RFID gate but propose measurement set-up that can be done in the future on entrance door of the fifth floor electronics laboratory corridor of Metropolia UAS campus. Thesis provides better understanding different types of RFID based anti-theft system suit-able for Electronic laboratory. As feature plan this thesis proposes the security gate to be interfaced using Lab view to Metropolia UAS Electronic Laboratory Database to store in-formation and monitor laboratory devices, components and too

Information and Communication Technology Practices in Public Sector University Libraries of Sindh Provence

The effectiveness of library services depends on a large extent of the information and communication technology (ICT). This effective study happens to explore the gradual advancement of modern technologies in libraries science through difference of old and new technologies in the world. The study is able to identify the various elements of information and communication technology which is used or being used in libraries and information systems. However, the study identifies the exact reasons for the use of computer technologies and related libraries. It also determines opportunities, jobs, impact and challenges being faced by library management system based on information and communications technology. Keywords: ICT, MARC, CDs, DVDs, DVD-ROM, CDS/ISIS, GENISIS, OPAC, Teleconference, Artificial Intelligence and internet

MAT94 : Interactive material library

Treball desenvolupat dins el marc del programa 'European Project Semester'.The purpose of this paper is to explain the design process of an interactive material library in detail and show the methods that were used during the project to reach our goal. Research and tests show that material libraries have a great importance in design processes; this is because of they knowledge they bring to creators to enhance the performance, aesthetics and sustainability of their projects. Our team was able to develop an eye-catching, accessible, interactive library that accommodates three design aspects which were established at the beginning stages in the project; the physical library at the University of Antwerp’s campus, a digital database and a complementary app. All of our objectives were accomplished by systemizing each phase starting from the business canvas, to brainstorming, to designing with the requirement in mind, which was to create an Interactive Material Library; by this means, MAT 94 was created

RFID FOR FOOD INVENTORY

The aim of this project is to develop a system for food inventory using Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) as the identification. The system is a wireless communication technology that is used to uniquely identify tagged foods in food inventory at home. The system is an integrated system of Radio Frequency Identification components which are the tag, the interrogator and the controller. The tag that will be used in the system is the passive tag. The frequency that will be used in the system is Low Frequency (LF) range. The interface of the controller will be designed by using the Microsoft Visual Studio 2005. Microsoft SQL will be the media to store the database of the food stored. The user only need to key in the data of each food once and the system will memorize it. The system will identify the status of the stored food base on the database stored and notify the user each time the food being used. A warning window will appear to notify the user if the status of the food is below the determined specification