Modern enterprises with a very large flow of information use modern systems to improve their operations. Technological progress, reduction of fixed costs and competition on the market have forced process automation in many areas, and the RFID technology is the answer to the market needs.

What is RFID?

The abbreviation RFID comes from the English words Radio-Frequency Identification and can be translated as a means of identification using radio waves. The system enables reading and writing data from a distance (even up to several dozen meters).

What elements make up the functioning of the RFID system?

The abbreviation RFID comes from the English words Radio-Frequency Identification and can be translated as a means of identification using radio waves. The system enables reading and writing data from a distance (up to several dozen meters).

The system consists of 4 basic elements:

1. An RFID reader is a transmitter , a receiver and a decoder that connects the whole system, which is its "brain", which can be properly programmed. The reader simultaneously handles all tags within its range.

2. RFID antennas - they are designed to send and receive information.

3. RFID tags - they have a chip in which data is stored, subject to remote reading. They are placed on products - just like barcodes. However, tags can hold more information than barcodes, and reading can also take place when the tagged item is hidden (packed, for example).

Tags are used multiple times. The average time of their use is approx. 3 years or, in the case of clothes, 200 washing cycles. The tags do not have their own power supply to the electronic system, and are activated when they appear in the electromagnetic field , at the resonant frequency of the receiving system. RFID tags are intended, among others, for marking and checking textile products, including clothes, bedding, towels, which are subject to laundry processes. They are resistant to liquids, chemicals, mangle and high temperature.

4. Software - enables obtaining relevant information and its processing.

The system is an open system that can be expanded with, for example, additional elements such as motion sensors, RFID printers, gates or tunnels. The final configuration depends on where the system is to be used and the expectations of the entrepreneur.

RFID in laundries - how to increase your competitiveness?

A typical feature of a laundry room is the large amount of personnel needed to identify, sort, count, complete, prepare for the laundry process, collect and ship clothes to the customer.

Industrial laundries that decided to introduce an RFID system increased their competitiveness by accelerating the execution of orders, automating the process and reducing the costs of running a laundry. The collection and delivery of textiles has become more efficient, more accurate and requiring less staff, and its use for washing hotel towels, bedding, bathrobes, clothing or other items of hotel, hospital or industrial equipment.

An undoubted advantage of RFID is also the quality control of products - in the washing process. Tags can store information about the number of laundry treatments performed, which reduces the level of product complaints or, on the contrary, forces the supplier of the product to have a better quality.

The RFID system allows for much faster identification of clothes, and thus customer service, and how important the aspect of time is in today's conditions - no one has to convince.

The software available on the market can work with a warehouse (record system) that maintains a database of textiles and contractors, thanks to which it is easier to supervise textiles in laundries. The laundry service system also allows you to control packaging and trolleys for transport, for example, a working bowl to the customer.

Due to the fact that all codes are read simultaneously - the identification time of the garment trolley is about 2 seconds, which in comparison to identification based on a bar code is a result several hundred times faster. It is easy to imagine the time and cost savings this brings when several dozen such trucks arrive and depart a day.

Depending on the adopted solution, product identification may take place at the customer's, i.e. the place of collection of clothes, or at the laundry - during admission to the laundry.

To sum up, the RFID technology is aimed at accelerating the operation of the laundry facility thanks to its instant and wireless reading, and the system enables the identification of textiles at every stage of the laundry process (reception, warehouse, washing, ironing, ironing, repair or issuing). It should be remembered that in this way we minimize losses caused by human errors and ensure high quality of delivery control and settlements for the service provided.