RF tags track trucks for Ford

By Staff -- Modern Materials Handling, 10/1/2000

Have you ever forgot where you parked your car in the mall parking lot or sports stadium? Now multiply thousands of vehicles to that lost car scenario and you can see why the typical U.S. automaker has had to spend more than $1 million a year locating and managing new vehicle inventory within its delivery supply chain to dealers.

But at its Michigan truck plant, the Ford Motor Co. is deploying the first application of a real-time, tracking system (WhereSoft Vehicle ) that uses wireless tags and a network of spread-spectrum radio antennas to find vehicles. The real time locator system can search out any specific, tagged vehicle and pinpoint its location within 10 feet from the assembly line to anywhere across miles of parking slots outdoors.

"With this implementation," says Frank Taylor, vice president of material planning and logistics for Ford, "we can locate exactly which vehicle we need in a matter of seconds, whereas before, the process could take hours." Vehicles will be tagged in final assembly and tracked until they leave the factory yard.

Dealers are expected to benefit through faster fulfillment of orders. Meanwhile, Ford cuts its labor costs. Any vehicle that needs to undergo quality assessments, moreover, can be tracked. The system also automatically alerts personnel if anyone tries to move a vehicle under a QC hold from the lot.

Within assembly, the tags will help managers find any bottlenecks or any slowdowns in production that may have occurred. Ford already uses a similar RF technology from WhereNet to track parts at its Van Dyke plant ( Modern Materials Handling , June 2000 ).

"We are pleased to be able to help Ford maintain its status as the most technologically advanced and progressive U.S. automaker," says Tom Turner, WhereNet senior vice president, marketing and business development. "We expect Ford to enjoy significant savings," he adds, through the benefits of real-time tracking.

For more information on WhereNet, call 408-845-8500 or visit www.wherenet.com .