Plant Services - July 2008 - (Page 20)

ASSET MANAGER PM inspection. Others might be in ﬁ xed locations to recognize equipment, people and material passing by. e reader’s purpose is simply to transmit radio waves to one or more tags and capture the stored information. picking and placement into a given asset to facilitate data entry and the locating of parts. Cost/beneﬁt analysis Supporting the CMMS e CMMS can be integrated with the reader to feed raw information into the appropriate database and application. Applications that can use RFID technology include: • Condition-based monitoring, where the tag feeds continuous or batch readings to generate work orders or alarms. • Time and attendance, where the RFID device tracks people coming and going from a given work area. • Asset tracking, where mobile equipment or other assets on the move are tracked by ﬁ xed readers at known locations. • Preventive maintenance, where technicians scan the equipment and spare parts used for facilitating data entry of work-order information. • Inventory control, where parts are scanned at receipt, As larger companies adopt RFID technology, the cost of tags and readers will continue to fall. However, there’s still a long way to go for low-volume, low-cost applications where the bar code still rules as the most cost-eﬀective solution. Bar codes always will have a place in that they can do the job for less than a penny per bar code label. is would be diﬃcult to beat, even after many more years, because an RFID tag is so much more complex than a simple paper and ink label. (Editor’s note: e Plant Services CMMS/EAM Software Review, posted at www.PlantServices.com/cmms_review, provides a side-by-side comparison of more than a dozen popular software packages.) E-mail Contributing Editor David Berger, P.Eng., partner, Western Management Consultants, at david@wmc.on.ca. We Rent Solutions Cooling Heating Dehumidiﬁcation Rental Experts We keep manufacturing plants running at peak capacity. Don’t let temperature or humidity control problems degrade production rates or quality. Our engineers speak your technical language. Chillers Cooling Towers Pumps Heat Exchangers Air Conditioners Spot Coolers Air Handlers Dehumidifiers Heaters Boilers Generators 800-586-8336 CarrierRentals.com 20 We are the rental cooling, heating and dehumidiﬁcation experts. .PLANTSERVICES. J http://www.PlantServices.com/cmms_review http://CarrierRentals.com http://CarrierRentals.com

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Plant Services - July 2008 Contents From the Editor Letters The PS Files Up and Running Crisis Corner Asset Manager Technology Toolbox Cover Story Compressors Power Transmission Flooring Web Hunter In the Trenches Product Picks Classifieds Energy Expert

Plant Services - July 2008

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