Brussels (Belgium), 22 November 2011 - Zetes (Euronext Brussels: ZTS) has implemented an RFID solution on behalf of Asco within a complex production environment, allowing it to significantly improve the management of its machining supports. The solution was developed and installed by RFIDea, today Zetes-RFIDea, a company specialising in RFID, which was acquired by the Zetes Group in May 2011.

  • Fast tracking of Asco machining supports at all times in the company’s different buildings
  • Reduction to the number of assets lost
  • Real-time updating of tool databases, making it possible to fulfil audit requests in under 24 hours

Asco is a leading company in the development, production and processing of high-precision steel and titanium components for the aircraft industry. Faced with the loss of several machining supports and anxious to quickly respond to audit requests, it decided to implement an RFID solution. However, the metal used for the parts to be identified and their permanent exposure to cutting oil and the spattering of glowing metal filings were major obstacles that had to be overcome as part of this project. That is why Asco called in Zetes-RFIDea.

Zetes-RFIDea undertook a detailed analysis of the environment and processes to ensure that RFID was indeed the most appropriate technology. It also performed tests on different tags to determine which was the most resistant.

Hervé Le Grand, Fixture shop support at Asco said, “Zetes-RFIDea had a number of important assets. First of all, it offered the potential to integrate several types of hardware, which didn’t tie us to one particular supplier. Secondly, their offer included analysis as well as project implementation, support and maintenance services. Finally, after comparing proposals from several providers, it was apparent that its analysis was also the most relevant”.

Zetes RFIDea developed 3 different software modules for the project. One designed for creating objects, one for maintenance and one for audits. All three modules are accessible via portable RFID terminals.
Fixed RFID readers fitted with proximity sensors were also positioned at the entrances and exits of buildings in order to easily locate the supports at all times.

Audits: lists available in less than 24 hours

Asco now has real time updates of the machining support database. This means that it has to contend with fewer losses. Furthermore, the identity card of each tool is located in a single database, accessible to everyone. When it comes to audits, it is possible to easily extract lists in no time at all. These are available in less than 24 hours, which has a major impact on Asco’s relationships with its customers.

Alain Wirtz, CEO at Zetes comments, “This project perfectly illustrates how organisations stand to benefit from the deployment of RFID. The technology has a real potential but it is important to have an advanced knowledge of this field for a successful implementation. As such, the acquisition of RIFDea is a real advantage for Zetes in building the company’s skills and capabilities as a system integrator. Although today our additional RFID know-how mainly benefits the Belgian and French markets, Zetes’ 3iRFID competence centre is working to share this knowledge across the whole Group so that each entity can benefit from their experience.”

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