Delivering the data

All laundries need to track garments and linen as they pass through the plant. Given the demand for ever higher productivity and the need for ever more detailed data, automated tracking is becoming essential particularly in markets with high labour costs.

A tagging system for the rental clothing and textile cleaning industries uses radio frequency identification (RFID) would appear to offer certain benefits over barcodes, chiefly through its ease of use, reliability and high durability. Tags are sewn into or attached to textile items to provide more accurate identification and improve the handling of individual items, from the start of the cleaning process through to delivery.

Unlike barcodes, the RFID tag does not need to be visible, nor properly aligned for the reading. Each tag has a unique serial number that cannot be changed and that guarantees the traceability of each garment. Part of the tag memory can be changed if special information needs to be registered directly onto the garment. Finally, several tags can be read simultaneously, in a few seconds, thanks to the anti-collision features.

The downside is cost. Tags must still be applied to garments by some sort of mounting media or by embedding the tag in the material. Tags also require readers. RFID readers vary in cost – they typically cost US$1,000 or more – and are generally more expensive than laser scanners. While reader costs will drop as demand spurs production, it is still a major investment for any RFID application. Other costs would include retrofitting facilities to make the RFID application work.

However, according to Philippe Held, industry and logistics product manager of Switzerland-based Sokymat, while the barcode system at first glance appears to be cheaper, the initial higher costs for a RFID system are more than offset by the additional benefits given by RFID that include process optimisation (faster reading with anti-collision), much longer use and more efficient inventory management. He argues that a rental system based on RFID can gives operators a return on their investment within 24 months, which means that the cost to performance ratio of RFID is far superior to that of the barcode.

According to Held, “generally speaking the trend is very much going towards high frequency 13.56MHz technology that conforms to ISO15693 and ISO18000-3 standards.”

It was up to the suppliers of RFID tags and readers suppliers to “provide confidence to the laundry market to invest in RFID technology and therefore guarantee the long-term availability of the products.”

Held says that more and more laundries are using RFID as this technology starts to be universally regarded as the most reliable and efficient means of identification. All the handling, such as checking in, sorting, cleaning, selecting and checking out can be automated and improved. Each garment is tracked as it is run through these operations. “RFID allows lower stock levels through a higher items turn around, reduces losses and improves deliveries in terms of time and accuracy, “ says Held.

Sokymat teamed up with RFID system integrator RFID-net to launch an process automation system for laundry operators in the Netherlands based on open RFID technology. It was originally developed to upgrade and gradually substitute Motorola’s proprietary RFID technology. The system now consists of a complete RFID product line for laundry applications based on 13.56MHz ISO 15693 standard readers and transponders, and is open to second source tags, offering clients flexibility in the choice of equipment and guarantees long-term availability of the products.

Laundries using the discontinued Motorola system are able to replace the old Motorola tags with the latest generation of 13.56MHz Sokymat Logi Tag transponders without disruptions.

The Logi Tags are a range of passive (no battery) contactless transponders that communicate with a reader via radio frequency. The Logi Tag has been designed for all applications which require the tag to be resistant to high temperature, aggressive chemicals, and pressure.

The company’s Logi Tag 161 Sedna is one of the smallest RFID laundry tags now available on the market. It is based on high frequency 13.56MHz technology and conforms to ISO15693 and ISO18000-3 standards. The tag measures 16mm in diameter with a thickness of less than 3mm. It contains a 64-bit identification code and a 56-bit one-time programmable memory chip, and features a high read range/tag size ratio. An anti-collision feature makes it possible for one reader to simultaneously read many tags.

A new encapsulation technology which uses a modified and high performance thermoplastic for the Logi TAG 161also complies with food compatibility grades.

Held comments: “The objective of the new generation Logi Tag 161 Sedna was to maintain the proven performance of the Logi Tag 160 in light of laundry applications and achieve it at a more cost effective manufacturing process. Sokymat was able to meet this goal.”

Low Frequency Single Read (one-by-one identification) is nowadays the most used RFID technology related to garments, says Eva Baraner of Swiss-based Datamars, but “more and more laundries are implementing the multi read technology in their facilities allowing the reading of multiple items at once. This is confirmed by two new installations made in France where the reading of complete packs of folded garments was required.”

A multi-read application is now available on the new Datamars 13.56MHz high frequency product line which was successfully presented at the Clean 05 show in Orlando in June. This product line has been developed for all high frequency ISO 18000-3 and ISO 15693 applications and has the additional advantage of being an open standard for customers having a second source for transponders.

Testing showed fast and accurate reading capacity of laundry bags or packs being transported on a conveyor or by a simple introduction into a bin antenna.

On the subject of RFID versus barcodes, Datamars is quick to point out that barcodes do not lead to savings, they actually increase costs. If an item is thrown away, the barcode is also discarded. Although initial costs are low, the total costs of this disposable method are high. By contrast, the Datamars micro LaundryChip cuts costs and and there is no limit to the number of times the chips can be re-used during their technological lifetime.

The DataMars micro LaundryChip is said to be the smallest laundry microchip in the world, heat and acid resistant in all washing programs, it is also resistant to damage during ironing and to crushing. Measuring just 11mm diameter, it is well suited for use as a long-lasting identification method for flatwork and also for clothes washing in residential care homes and homes for the elderly.

Extensive and diverse

At a time when requirements of customers of textile rental organisations are becoming more and more extensive and diverse, the choice for implementing barcodes or RFID codes is based on the type of service the laundry is providing and how the production process is organised, according to Peter van Kessel of ABS Laundry Logistics in the Netherlands.

Anticipating these diverse requirements in order to obtain the right management information at the right spot and the right moment is the key to success.

ABSSolute supports both barcodes and RFID codes, and implementing ABSSolute in combination with coded articles can provide customers with all the necessary information for optimal control of their business, says van Kessel.

By scanning soiled garments into the laundry, employees have instant information about the washing process of the specific article. Working with flags (for example, showing which garment needs to be repaired) is also very useful and can provide automatic instructions for laundry employees.

An employee can decide if a garment needs to be repaired, as the system can identify exactly where the repair should take place. Where a customer contract states that the repair should be invoiced, then this will done automatically. This can be done based on time spent or based on item (for example, zipper replacement) or a combination of these two.

The use of flags is an important feature of the ABSSolute system. Flags can be of two types. They can be created automatically (for example, to show end of life cycle of the garment) or they can be set up as user-defined flags (for example to show if a garment needs to be repaired, sent back to stock or a change of size is needed). Flags can be put on one specific garment or on all the garments of a wearer or complete department or customer, or for a specific model.

Garments can be scanned out of the system, either by hand or using an interface with a garment dispenser system. Scanned items can be automatically entered onto a delivery note. Checks can be made on several levels and a complete overview of missing articles (rewash, repair, in scan or from stock room) is available.

Technological developments allow items to be scanned remotely at the customer’s site or at different plant or depot, and still provide data directly onto the laundry’s system. In combination with a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) handheld device, it is even possible for the laundry drivers to scan collected items and then download the information into the central system on their return.

Working with uniquely coded articles has also a lot of advantages for stockroom procedures, which can lower indirect costs. Checks via the contract can determine that the correct garments (model, size, quality, class and numbers) are put in circulation. With corporate identity becoming more important, more emblems are being used. Checks ensure the right emblems are processed for the right wearer and when necessary these emblems automatically are invoiced.

Nick Cook, sales director for UK-based Barcellos says its product line has seen many changes since the early days of barcode recognition technology. The essential point, he says, is that it doesn’t really matter whether the company’s clients used barcodes, or transponders; the result is the same, as the vital point is that every garment is uniquely identified.

Barcode labels will fade when subjected to the harsh environment of the laundry processing whilst a transponder should withstand any normal laundry handling. However, recent developments in barcode labelling meant that many of the problems associated with labelling technology are no longer applicable. The current labels produced by Ducker, for example, stand up very well to all conditions, both in food trade laundering and engineering garment processes. He adds that it is a simple operation to reprint a barcode label if required.

Transponders present a different problem. They don’t gradually fade, they suddenly stop working, he says. Garment wearers sometimes remove the transponder from the garment, but it is a straightforward option to replace the old one with a new one, as the Barcellos software is specifically designed to cater for all laundry problems.

Barcellos recently installed its software in Dyfed Laundry Services, at Milford Haven, where every garment is identified by means of RFID. Cook says that whilst barcodes or RFID make no difference to the computer system used, the scanning operation itself should be considered. The higher costs associated with RFID can be offset by reduced costs in the scanning area, with two RFID stations easily outperforming three barcode reader stations.

Cook says the company’s customers are able to use ID technology to control their business right down to each single garment on a customer contract, whether that is a contract as large as the massive Opel Motors contract, in Zaragozza, Spain, with some 9,000 wearers, or the corner shop, with two white coats per week.

“In an age where margins are squeezed and costs can easily run out of control as garments go missing, it is vital to make use of tracking technology to monitor all aspects of the production cycle during the lifetime of every single garment,” says Cook. “When a contract is up for renewal, our system knows which garments need to be replaced, and which ones can carry on in service. Consequently, costs of re-contracting can be dramatically reduced.”

Texas Instruments Radio Frequency Identification (TI-RFid) Systems developed a 13.56MHz RFID tag designed specifically to withstand the harsh environment of textile or clothing rental and laundry dry cleaning applications.

The ultra-thin, 22mm circular Laundry Transponder from TI is housed in a rugged plastic encapsulation, which is fully compatible with international ISO 15693 standards for contactless RFID. Sewn into or attached to clothes or textile items, TI’s RFID tags allow up to 50 items to be identified simultaneously to provide more accurate identification and tracking through each stage of the process right through to final customer delivery. Readers can be mounted on automatic equipment such as conveyors for automatic identification and tracking.

The transponder’s unique ID can also be laser-etched on the plastic casing for quick visual verification.

Tagsys of France has invested time and energy to the development of worldwide standards for RFID since 1996 and has been working closely with the International Standardisation Organisation to set the ISO 18000 standard. The company has signed over 60 industrial laundry customers since 1999, and successfully deployed its product range to track garments in around 200 laundry plants.

The company has designed readers able to read most proprietary chips at 13.56MHz. Its laundry tags are specifically designed for use in industrial laundry applications including flatwork and mats and offers different laundry tag casings (Ario SL and Ario TL) that combine thinness and robustness. A licence-free communication protocol permits Tagsys chips to be read by several RFID readers on the market.

Tagsys has designed a space-saving low footprint RFID station that makes inventory conversion to RFID a smooth operation. The unique identification number of the RFID chip is read instantly and associated to the item data into the laundry database while the item is placed on the reader. The RFID station co-operates with existing barcode scanners, thereby facilitating the switch from barcode to RFID. With Tasgsys RFID, laundry can also be identified while being folded or in stacks on automatic conveying systems.