Tuesday 27 to Friday 30 September 2022
The doors of the World of Technology & Science 2022 will open on Tuesday 27 September. We cordially invite you to visit the exhibition for technology and science free of charge in the Jaarbeurs in Utrecht.
More than four hundred exhibitors will show their skills on the exhibition floor and a rich seminar program will bring you completely up to date!
Detect samples at lightning speed thanks to RFID technology
Although RFID has been widely used in industry and logistics processes for many years, the technology is lagging behind in laboratories. Luc de Troyer of Brady Corporation, a supplier of RFID technology for labs, explains during the seminar Innovations in the Sample Workflow that laboratories can save a lot of costs with this technology.
“RFID is hardly ever used in the lab, while it can provide enormous time savings,” says De Troyer. “With RFID you can analyze samples wirelessly using a reader. Suppose you are looking for a sample and you have several refrigerators. By entering a search query, you make contact with a number of RFID antennas and readers via a link with a cloud solution. They will search the various refrigerators for the sample you need. You will then be shown the correct refrigerator and the correct level where you can pick up the sample.”
“Currently, this process still involves barcodes. You have to search for samples for a long time. And the same goes for assets in a lab, such as a portable analysis machine. If you hang RFID readers on the walls or ceilings, you know in real time where a certain asset is located. Especially in large labs with multiple rooms, you can quickly locate assets with just your smartphone. And with a handheld RFID reader, which has a Geiger counter function, the quick beeps indicate the proximity of an asset. That way you can also quickly find something locally.”
RFID technology initially seems more expensive than the use of barcodes, but according to De Troyer, that picture is incorrect: “It is certainly affordable for a lab. The return on investment is usually 1 to 1.5 years. Because lab engineers and lab technicians are not the cheapest people, so you want to deploy them efficiently. If they spend half an hour looking for a sample, which they often do several times a day, it costs a lot of money. So a lot of time is lost with barcodes, RFID solves that. “We offer a total solution. We can make a link with LIMS systems and we ensure that everything is installed and tested correctly.”
Quick inventory
“Another advantage is that you have a real-time overview of your stock,” says De Troyer. “Suppose you make a manual inventory of all your samples, then that is a snapshot. If someone takes a sample behind your back, the recorded inventory is no longer accurate. RFID would notice this immediately and signal that this sample is no longer there.” In terms of sustainability, there is a disadvantage to RFID labels: they cannot yet be reused. “The reason is that you cannot use paper labels in freezers and refrigerators. These come loose or soak and become unusable over time,” says De Troyer.
Knowing more?
As an authorized Brady distributor, we are happy to help you with all your questions.
You will find us at booth 07F054 (World of Laboratory).
Register for free!
A visit to the fair is completely free of charge after registration. And you can choose from 4 exhibition days!
You can register via this link.
