Design and implementation of an RFID-based dock door system at a distribution center

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), for long, has shown potential to replace the current asset identification technologies like barcode readers in the warehouse. However, while the capital costs of implementing RFID technology are well-defined, its benefits in many cases remain intangible and unclear. This thesis seeks to evaluate the technical feasibility of implementing an RFID-based dock door portal for automatic identification and receiving of consumables shipped from Ireland to the Global Distribution Center of Waters Corporation. A systematic procedure is outlined, starting with the assessment of electromagnetic activity at the distribution center to the implementation of a pilot run on a real shipment. Important aspects of RFID system deployment including identification of interrogation zones for the portal, selection of the RFID tag, and its optimal placement on the SKU are studied. Finally, recommendations are made to Waters Corporation based on the performance results of the pilot run.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Mechanical Engineering.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2018

Author dc:creator

• Harlalka, Akshay Dipakkumar

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• David E. Hardt.

• Mechanical Engineering.

Statement dc:rights

• MIT theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed, downloaded, or printed from this source but further reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/120243

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/120243