"The technology alerts unskilled workers when routine tasks need to be performed, and also enables managers to confirm they've been completed properly."
By Mark Roberti
Sept. 7, 2009—Anyone who has run a retail store, factory or warehouse knows that it's often very difficult to get workers to do exactly what they're supposed to do—and it's even harder to confirm that they've done it. Managers can train low-wage employees who often work part time all they want, but with no way to monitor them, it's difficult to get them to comply. Radio frequency identification has the potential to change that in a powerful way.
Right now, most companies aren't thinking about using RFID in this way. They are stuck on the idea that it's simply a tool to track goods and assets. One firm that has deployed RFID to improve workers' productivity is the Australian tomato grower, d'Vineripe. The company is employing RFID technology to ensure workers perform a variety of tasks each day, including pruning, pollinating, de-leafing, pest and disease control, and picking (see RFID Helps Improve Agricultural Worker Productivity).
As each worker is given his or her daily assignment, the greenhouse's station manager reads an RFID tag specifically identified for the task using a handheld interrogator. The manager then reads another tag designated for the row or rows in which the laborer will work, linking that individual to that task and row. At the conclusion of the employee's task or shift, his or her tag is scanned to indicate that individual is finished working. The data is downloaded into the company's back-end system, where it can be compared against best practices for each task. This enables the managers to address particular problems, such as training or other issues related to a specific employee not working efficiently."...more
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