Heavy Duty | We see safety differently. It’s our fi rst priority. In fact, we see tire service differently. And you will, too. We have over 200 locations and 1500 service trucks in the U.S. and Canada to give you the peace of mind that you’re rolling on expertly serviced tires. In our shop or on the road, we’re bringing something new to tire service: SERVICE. GENUINE • COMPLETE • RELIABLE 1-844-68-TIRES gcrtires.com/service VehicleServicePros.com/10119745 the operator can assign additional data against the RFID’s identifi cation number,” Bridgestone’s Roanhouse says. “Th is can be done at many points during the tire’s life, building a pretty rich history depending on the tire.” Th e value of RFID is in the amount of information that can be assigned against the unique identifi er located on the RFID tag, he points out. “Th e key question is how do we connect all of these data points in a database so maintenance systems can benefi t from the aggregated data? Possible data collection points include manufacturing, retreading, repair, onsite service and emergency service. “Th is is a lot of possible touch points and something the industry will need to address.” Th e benefi ts of RFID for tires “are mainly associated with tracking at this point, but they may become part of a national recall identifi cation system that will enable technicians to scan the tire to check for a recall,” says Kevin Rohlwing, senior vice president of training, Tire Industry Association (www.tireindustry. org), an association representing all segments of the tire industry. “In the event of a national recall on truck tires, RFID tags could be incredibly valuable in fi nding those recalled tires and removing them from service.” TAG PLACEMENT Th ere are a number of ways to place an RFID tag in a tire during its manufacture, and many are proprietary in the new tire process, say Michelin’s Osborne. Bridgestone’s Roanhouse points out that “millions of miles of testing have been done to insure the proper location.” Th e RFID tags that are “placed” into tires are tiny, about the size of a grain of rice, and weigh only a couple of grams, Fisher of TireStamp says. Th ey are designed to be embedded in the sidewall of a tire. Special packaging is used to resist heat, cold and harsh chemicals. Post manufacture is typically through chemically or heat/pressure cured patch type tags, says Roanhouse. Osborne points out that RFID tags have been engineered to withstand the retread process. Roanhouse adds that RFID tags have proved reliable enough to retread numerous times. TAG READERS Can any RFID tag reader “read” any tire brand RFID tag, or is a reader “associated/ paired” with a particular tire brand? “Essentially, any standard RFID reader can read the identifi cation number from a tag,” says Osborne of Michelin. “Encrypted information requires a decode key to unlock the information.” “Th e reader/RFID technology is not unique,’” adds Bridgestone’s Roanhouse. “But how the data is arranged on the tag and how the reader interprets the data is important to reading the tag.” TireStamp’s Fisher says the industry has been working for years on ensuring that all tire manufacturers’ RFID tags can be read by one reader, and observes that Technology & Maintenance Council (TMC) has promoted this in its RPs dating back to the 1990s. “In 2013, Michelin off ered to license, free of charge, its RFID technology in order to adopt a global, industry standard which would accelerate the deployment of this technology by all tire manufacturers, drive RFID volumes up and RFID costs down,” she says. “Since then, many tire makers have announced their use or intentions to use RFIDs.” Michelin began to off er the RFID technology in 2013. Fisher says there are standards for RFID tags established by organizations such as the AIAG (Automotive Industry Action Group), AIM (Association for Automatic Identifi cation and Mobility) Global and TMC that exist to ensure RFID readers can read tags, regardless of tire manufacturer or RFID supplier. AIAG (www.aiag.org) is an association that works to streamline industry processes via global standards development and harmonized business practices. AIM Global (www.aimglobal.org) is an association that helps its members grow their businesses by fostering the eff ective use of automatic identifi cation and data capture solutions. TMC (www. trucking.org/Technology_Council. aspx) is an organization that works to improve transport equipment, its maintenance and maintenance management. Bridgestone has implemented RFID in specifi c products and demonstrated that the technology is viable, says the company’s Roanhouse. Evaluation and implementation has taken place over the past several years. Bridgestone is looking at several asset tracking technologies, including RFID, he adds. “Our primary objective is to provide our fl eet customers with the best overall strategic value in asset tracking. Th e value is in better decision making through insights. Th ese insights are generated through data collection and tire identifi cation.” RFIDs provide a unique number that identifi es the tire and enables the tire manufacturer to track it through the manufacturing process, inventory and shipping to its fi nal point of sale and end user. Photo courtesy of Goodyear VehicleServicePros.com ❚ JUNE 2016 ❚ FLEET MAINTENANCE 21
FleetMaintenance_June_2016
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