Architectural Patterns for RFID Applications in Manufacturing

When applying RFID in production, it needs to be integrated into the used IT systems. However, till today system designers cannot rely on a standard solution for integrating RFID technology in manufacturing software systems. Each manufacturer has to deal with the same challenges: No consolidated findings on how to integrate RFID into the IT infrastructure exist. The consequence is that each IT department has to develop a solution from scratch. In order to give well-founded design guidelines for embedding RFID into the company’s IT infrastructure, we conducted seven in-depth case studies of the state-of-the-art in manufacturing IT infrastructures. Our findings allowed us to specify architectural patterns for common RFID applications in manufacturing. With our work we support system designers in choosing the appropriate architecture for different RFID applications and design goals. We present our solutions in form of architectural patterns that enable manufacturing IT systems to benefit from RFID

Drivers of RFID Adoption in the Automotive Industry

The automotive industry is confronted with increasing competition, leading to higher cost pressures and the demand to optimize production processes and value chains. Here the RFID technology promises to improve a range of processes in logistics and manufacturing. Despite its promising potential in the automotive industry, RFID has not yet made a decisive step from pilots to real-life implementations in the supply chain. Building on existing models of technology adoption, we analyze RFID adoption dynamics in the automotive industry. Building on existing IOS adoption models tailored to RFID specifics and based on ten semi-structured interviews with OEMs and suppliers, we evaluate main drivers of RFID adoption in the automotive industry. Our key findings are that the use of a coercive approach by the OEM could be redundant because of the market-driven RFID adoption among many suppliers. Furthermore, suppliers implementing RFID can now gain an early mover competitive advantage by developing higher trust in their relationship with the OEM as well as accumulating unique expertise in this area

IT Infrastructures in Manufacturing: Insights from Seven Case Studies

IT solutions in manufacturing support the execution as well as the monitoring of production operations. Fast reaction to exceptions, detailed documentation of operations, and the detection of inefficiencies in the production are among the benefits of a tight IT integration of shop-floor processes. Several dedicated software solutions and standards exist for the manufacturing domain. However, each manufacturer must tailor the IT to the special requirements of its processes and infrastructure. We found that real-world installations show considerable variations. In this paper we present the results of seven case studies on IT infrastructures in manufacturing. For each case we portray the employed architecture and the main factor that influenced the design. From this analysis we derive reoccurring patterns on the structure of IT solutions in manufacturing and relate them to existing standards. Our results provide system architects with guidance for picking the right architectural choices in different manufacturing environments

RFID IN MANUFACTURING: THE INVESTMENT DECISION

RFID technology promises to improve a broad range of processes in logistics and manufacturing. However, market acceptance of RFID develops slower than anticipated. One likely reason is the difficulty to evaluate the resulting effects beforehand. A lot of research has already been conducted on how to assess costs and benefits of RFID investments. But until now the focus has mainly been on logistics applications. The manufacturing domain still lacks dedicated models for the costs and benefits of an RFID rollout, especially concerning the intangible, non-quantifiable aspects of such an investment. In this paper we suggest some guidelines assessing both the quantifiable and the non-quantifiable aspects of RFID in manufacturing. We present a structured model that guides decision makers along crucial trade-offs in this particular domain. Our work is based on case studies conducted at production plants in different industries

RFID in manufacturing

In dieser Doktorarbeit wird untersucht, wie Radiofrequenz-Identifizierung (RFID) zu einer Optimierung von Produktionsprozessen beitragen kann. In den ersten Kapiteln wird analysiert, welchen potenziellen Nutzen die Anwendung von RFID für Prozessoptimierungen ergibt und welche Herausforderungen daraus erwachsen. Diesbezüglich wurden sechs Fallstudien in Produktionsbetrieben durchgeführt, in denen die Autorin mögliche RFID-Szenarien untersuchte. Basierend auf den Fallstudien wertet sie sieben RFID-Anwendungsszenarien aus. Diese sind entweder ein Ersatz von Barcodes oder eine Anwendung, die nur mit Hilfe von RFID ermöglicht wird. Kap. 4 und 5 beschäftigen sich mit der Frage, wie RFID in die existierende IT-Infrastruktur eingebettet werden kann. Dafür evaluiert die Autorin zunächst generelle IT-Infrastrukturen bei verschiedenen, produzierenden Unternehmen, indem sie weitere sieben Fallstudien durchführt. Im Anschluss erstellt sie Leitlinien für eine Integration von RFID in existierende Softwaresysteme, bei der die in diesen Fallstudien gewonnenen Anforderungen erfüllt werden. Für die Produktion gibt es noch immer keine dedizierten Modelle für die Berechnung von quantifizierbaren und die Abschätzung von nicht-quantifizierbaren Nutzen und Kosten von RFID-Einführungen. Daher untersucht die Autorin in Kap. 6 quantifizierbare und nicht-quantifizierbare Kosten und Nutzen von RFID-Einführungen in der Produktion. In Kap. 7 untersucht die Autorin RFID-Anwendungen, die über die Unternehmensgrenzen hinausgehen: RFID kann, wenn es in inter-organisatorischen Systemen implementiert ist, einen Informationsaustausch in Echtzeit gewährleisten. Jedoch stellte sie bei den Unternehmen neben den unternehmensinternen auch in den inter-organisatorischen RFID-Szenarien Vorbehalte gegenüber RFID-Einführungen fest. Daher analysiert und identifiziert sie wichtige Faktoren für die Einführung von RFID in Lieferketten am Beispiel der Lieferkette der Automobilindustrie.In this thesis, the author investigates how radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology can contribute to the optimization of production processes. In the first chapters the author analyzes potential benefits and challenges of using RFID to improve production processes. To this end, she conducted case studies at six German manufacturing enterprises in which she explores possible RFID scenarios. Based on the case studies she evaluates seven use cases for RFID. They are either a replacement of bar codes or an application that can only be realized using RFID. Furthermore, the autor evaluates which challenges the manufacturer has to face when applying RFID. Chapters 4 and 5 deal with the question of how RFID can be embedded into an existing IT infrastructure. For this the author first evaluates general IT infrastructures at diverse manufacturers by conducting seven additional case studies. She then designs guidelines for integrating the RFID requirements obtained from the case studies into existing software systems, showing where RFID data processing can fit in. The manufacturing domain still lacks dedicated models for evaluating costs and benefits of an RFID rollout especially concerning the intangible, non-quantifiable aspects of such an investment. Therefore, Chapter 6 presents such a model. In Chapter 7 the author looks beyond inter-enterprise RFID applications in manufacturing: RFID can ensure real-time information sharing when implemented in inter-organizational systems along the supply chain. However, besides challenges in intra-organizational scenarios of applying RFID in production processes, the author can also observe an inter-organizational reservation of embedding RFID in supply chains. Therefore, the author analyzes and identifies important determinants of adopting RFID in supply chains; taking the automotive as an example