RFID tags for reusable construction product pallets
Radio frequency identification (RFID) tags are to be fitted to The Pallet LOOP's reusable green pallets for the construction sector.
The move is set to generate new data about the movement of pallets and associated building materials across the UK.
Equipping each of its pallet with an RFID tag will give The Pallet LOOP the ability to scan pallets in and out of its production and collection sites across the UK.
This will give the business accurate, up to date information about the number of pallets issued to customers and, more importantly, collection and recovery rates. It will also reveal insights about financial and carbon savings.
All building products users through the construction supply chain could access information about the pallet and the associated product dwell times over the long term.
The Pallet LOOP provides all its customers with access to a special reporting platform, where they can view and download information about the number of pallets returned and the money saved on collections versus disposal via a skip.
The system also provides information about the amount of carbon saved and trees repurposed, which may prove useful for sustainability reporting.
This data can be automatically e-mailed to customers or can be generated manually – depending on requirements.
The Pallet LOOP has ordered more than a million tags for the ‘circular economy’ pallets it is producing, due to hit the supply chain in coming months.
The system can scan and read multiple tags simultaneously from a distance of at least 3m.
Steve Ottaway, Chief Operating Officer (COO) at The Pallet LOOP says, ‘When we launched The Pallet LOOP, our main objective was to solve the problem of pallet waste by providing a range of pallets that are stronger, standardised in their design, and suitable for reuse.
'However, we also knew there was an opportunity to make our pallets smarter. In supply chain management and logistics, data has always been king. That’s now also the case for sustainability – with companies needing facts and figures to incorporate into their ESG [environmental, social and governance] work and annual reports…This information will be further enriched when our green pallets, tagged with MiTEQ’s RFID technology, hit the market.’
