RFID tags trace garments through the laundry

Rugged RFID tags from TI have been used by a large hospital to achieve major cost savings in garment management, by using intelligent RFID-enabled closets and tracking garments in real time

One of Norway's top hospitals, St Olavs University Hospital in Trondheim, is using Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags to improve its logistics operations and achieve operational savings of several million Kroner in its garment and laundry operations.

With over 7,500 employees and 1,000 beds, this hospital is one of the most technologically advanced of its kind in the world, providing healthcare services to over 650,000 inhabitants and treating over 50,000 patients each year.

The hospital chose to replace its existing labor intensive system with an advanced RFID garment logistics system that uses the Texas Instruments ruggedised RFID 'laundry tags' to track its 130,000 staff garments such as operating robes etc.

The garments are placed in intelligent RFID-equipped closets which automatically track them in and out to ensure that stocks are always available in all sizes and types.

The use of multi-read tags from TI allows bulk reading of garments even though they are stored folded and in piles.

This results in major space and cost savings compared to other competing solutions where garments have to be transported and stored individually on bulky hangers.

In addition, staff no longer need to fill out forms to register for every single garment - instead they use their ID cards to automatically register their garments in and out, saving valuable time and allowing automated charging to each ward.

The garment logistics system was designed and provided by Texi AS, a leading specialist supplier of work garment integration system, based in Trondheim, Norway.

In operation, a Texas Instruments RFID 'laundry tag' is attached to each garment.

Each tag is programmed with a unique identity linked to a database holding data on garment type, size etc.

Clean garments from the laundry are placed in specially designed textile closets which store up to 100 garments and can communicate with the RFID chips through built-in antennas.

The intelligent closets automatically 'read' the chips on each garment and so know exactly what they contain (i.e 35 robes size M, 59 trousers size M etc).

They also detect when garments are added or removed and the inventory data is continuously updated on the main hospital database in real time.

If garment stocks fall below pre-set levels, orders are automatically sent over the network to refill them to ensure garments are always available.

A supervisor with a PC connected to the server has a complete picture of garment stocks in the many textile closets around the hospital providing improved stock visibility and management.

Staff access the closets using their ID cards and garments are automatically registered to that employee and ward.

Closets are arranged in rows and each cabinet is clearly labeled with the type of garments it contains so staff can quickly find the correct item.

After use, staff return the garments to any garment bin in the hospital and the RFID tags are again automatically read and the returned garments correctly credited to the relevant ward.

The ruggedised TI tags remain on the garments during laundry processing and are designed and encapsulated to withstand the very high temperature, pressures and rough treatment found in the laundry.

According to Texi, one of the main challenges was to find RFID tags that could survive and provide high readability even when subject to the high temperatures and pressures found in the laundry processes.

"TI's 'laundry tags' were chosen specifically because they scored higher on readability than any other tags we tested, even after many repeated laundry cycles" said Vidar Kvalheim of Texi.

The RFID tags are also used in the laundry itself where they are read in the folding and finishing process before the garments are shipped to the hospital, allowing all garment shipments to the hospital to be monitored and logged in real time.

Texi confidently claims that the system will save St Olavs hospital several million Kroner in terms of space and operational savings.

It also increases hospital efficiency since staff garments are always available whenever required.

If the correct garments are unavailable it can have a serious effect on medical operations and efficiency.

"With over 130,000 items of hospital clothing used across a large site with 75,000 employees, St Olavs wanted a better way to supply and manage its garment stocks and laundry services at lower cost," said Vidar Kvalheim of Texi AS.

"The Texi solution can provide a return on investment in just 1 to 1.5 years in many cases.

We can achieve even shorter payback periods when the Texi system is integrated into brand new buildings", he added.

The RFID garment management system has been developed by Texi AS of Trondheim who also provided consultancy and operational analysis, system and closet design, software and installation as well as technical services and support.

Texi chose the TI main distributor Eletrona-Sievert in Stockholm to supply the tags.

"The Texas Instruments RFID tags specified by Texi are 13.56 HF read/write types, fully encapsulated and designed to withstand not just the high temperature and pressures of laundries but also other harsh environments such as process automation, product authentication and asset management etc," said Gunnar Ivansson of Electrona-Sievert: "They can operate with high readability in tough environments where conventional tags would have problems".

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