Possible use of RFID technology in support of construction logistics

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) is a relatively old technology that has gained enormous popularity in the later years, as more and more areas of business see it as a possible technology with which to improve their existing processes. It is often presented as a replacement for today’s barcodes, but the technology has much greater possibilities, such as individual serial numbers for each item, and the possibility to read these numbers at a distance of several metres. One of the areas that RFID technology may show great potential is the area construction logistics. Today, a construction site is a chaotic place, with materials stored at various locations and often little to none control as the materials arrive. The result of this is that delivery failures may not be discovered until the materials are to be used, which often creates unnecessary delays. If the materials were to be marked with RFID tags, these delivery failures may be discovered as the materials arrive at the construction site. During the writing of this thesis, we were in close contact with representatives of the construction industry, and we gained much valuable information about the processes on a construction site and generally in the construction industry. A prototype was also developed that was able to read the tags already present in the doors from Swedoor AB, the firm that our original external partner uses on most of their projects. The prototype is able to read the tags and send them to a server over the GSM network, where it can then be processed and the materials checked in. This prototype unveiled a serious problem with handheld scanners; the scanning distance is too short to use on a construction site due to limitations of the battery. We conclude the report with the realization that RFID technology, as it is today, is too immature to deploy in the construction industry today