Assets are valuable pieces within an organization, and this does not imply that they are simply belongings, computers, phones, cars, but also people and animals, which run the risk of being lost or stolen. For this reason it is necessary to track them within the companies through a monitoring or tracking that allows them to be located and physically verified verifying their existence, location, status, conditions of use and security. This control of the assets supports the collection of information about a product, its characteristics, origin, serial number, among other data.
One of the advantages of this technology is its relatively inexpensive cost, which is why it is widely used in the consumer goods market such as retail stores.
For its part, the EAS (Electronic Article Surveillance), is another system widely used in supermarkets, shopping centers and chain stores, which is based on the use of control points or security portals, so that when an EAS label passes through these areas an alteration in the pattern of the signal is generated, which is detected by a reader. This solution allows to keep track of the entry and exit areas of the companies.
The Electronic Product Code (EPC) is a unique number designed to uniquely identify any object worldwide, which is stored in an RFID tag .
Today, although the most used type of technology is the barcode, radio frequency identification (RFID) gains ground in this type of control, positioning itself as one of the most used, due to the ease of real-time tracking it provides to companies.
RFID is a system that allows tracking the location of an object through the use of an active device or tag , which emits a signal that is read by the antenna and verifies its position and status.
This technology has some features that make it stand out above the other media, since it allows the monitoring of assets over long distances, in such a way that it can track not only the movement of equipment, but also of men, machines and materials. It also does not require a direct view between the sender and receiver of the signal.
This identification allows, in addition to tracking, to know all the information related to that particular asset. In the physical facilities where you want to carry out the control, antennas are located that are the ones that allow the monitoring of the exact location of the asset.
RFID is a control method that has a high degree of confidence, because according to the tests that have been carried out 97% of them have been successful; However, experts in the field assure that its reliability will be given not only by the correct choice of the hardware and software elements that it involves, but by the adequate definition and application of the procedures for its implementation, monitoring, maintenance and above all administration.
