FEATURE

Positek RFID Systems Leave the Textile Maintenance Competition High and Dry

If you have ever been required to rent a uniform, you may have noticed a bar code printed somewhere on it. Rented uniforms are oftentimes cleaned by services that can handle mass amounts of laundry and the bar codes are used to log the uniforms in and out. The introduction of RFID tags in place of or in addition to bar codes is changing the face of the dry cleaning and uniform rental industries.

Positek RFID (www.positekrfid.com) is a company located in Norristown, PA, just outside of Philadelphia. It writes software for textile maintenance. Jeff Markman, President of Positek, says the goal of the company is to "provide solutions in the textile maintenance market that give our customers a return on investment."

Using a pre-existing sort system, spider rails, or conveyor, the CA-Sort program sorts the work into lots, then an antenna reads each article. The operator is instructed to place the article in its proper place by means of its slot number appearing on the screen, an audio command, and a light system.

In the 1990s, Positek had begun developing RFID systems that could be integrated into its line of business. Two major consumer products companies, Procter & Gamble and Unilever, approached Positek to place orders for RFID systems. These relationships allowed Positek to complete the development.

RFID tags have several advantages over the traditional bar code system used in most mass-washing facilities, the first of which is being free of line-of-sight requirements. With RFID tags, all the operator need do is pass the articles by an RFID antenna for it to be read. Secondly, bar codes fade over time, wash after wash; whereas RFID tags are not affected. Most importantly, companies save money using RFID tags. "Payback results are usually seen in 18-36 months," claims Markman. Additionally, RFID tags can ensure that the exact articles of one particular outfit are pieced back together, which is very important when something is specific to a person's measurements.

These thumbnail-size tags are sewn into little pockets in uniforms in a closed-loop system, in which the uniforms are made, tagged, and washed all by the same facility.

Tags were created that could withstand the severity of dry cleaning and industrial washing cycles. The tags that Positek provides are IC-based, passive, 13.56 MMz (high frequency) tags. The IC chips are injection-molded into a tough, high-temperature tolerant plastic, creating washable, reusable tags.

For closed-loop systems (in which uniforms are made, tagged, and washed by the same business), small circular tags are sewn into the uniforms, rather than heat-sealed. The semi-automatic RFID Tagger 4 sews a tag into a square pouch, up to four per minute. The Tagger 8 does the same thing twice as fast. These closed-loop systems reveal how much more productivity can be brought to the table using RFID solutions in an environment that is so highly controlled. By not having to deal with assorted vendors, supplies, shippers, etc., the company implementing the RFID solution can quickly realize positive results with minimum hassle.

Before the goods are washed, they must be sorted, and Positek offers ways to speed this process along. The Bullet Vac is a vacuum tube attached to an RFID antenna that reads, transports, sorts, counts, and weighs soiled materials at a rate exceeding 2,000 pieces per hour. Additionally, operators are alerted to replace the receptacles on the receiving end when they are full.

Soiled materials can also be logged into a system using an RFID "tunnel," which is a 2" x 2" x 4" passageway connected to an RFID antenna that a conveyor belt passes through. It starts at the soil dock and ends at the slings that feed washers. This system, however, requires that the goods be sorted beforehand.

After washing, the final sort needs to be completed, and Positek offers software to speed this process along, as well. The CA-Sort system can sort articles in the time it takes to manually load an automated conveyor assembly system at a fraction of the cost, making it possible for a plant to reduce the number of people needed for assembly and to reduce the likelihood of human error. It reads the tags of the cleaned laundry and individually displays each article's slot number (location where it is to be placed) on a screen for an employee to read. Additionally, it also audibly announces the number by means of a head set (that can be set to speak several languages) and it makes a red light glow at the location where the piece is to be placed. A green light will glow when the order is complete. The system can also search for missing garments. Four thousand pieces can be sorted in an eight-hour shift with a single bay of the CA-Sort.

These colorful tags are sewn onto garments as they arrive for dry cleaning and then removed when the outfit is cleaned and put back together.

For dry cleaning, Positek offers garment tags that come in 10 different colors. Lot sorting is completed at the pressing stations. The presser hangs each garment on the conveyor based upon the color of the tag. From there, the conveyor sorts by color. The lots are then moved to the final assembly bay, where the CA-Sort system can be implemented. Each order is reconfirmed at bagging/de-tagging. When all of the correct tags for an order are accounted for, a final invoice is printed and attached to the order. Good results have also been achieved in closed-loop applications with mats, linens, and surgeon packs.

Positek's charter is to RFID-enable any device manufactured for the industry to maximize a plant's return of RFID tagging, and has 40 customers now using its software. Positek illustrates how solving production equations with RFID in closed-loop systems can lead quickly to increased efficiencies.