RFID helps parks and resorts do the laundry

Traditionally low-tech industry gets an efficiency boost from RFID

Imagine the amount of laundry your family does every week. Now imagine if your "family" was a 2,000-employee company. Many amusement parks, hotels, resorts, and large event venues find themselves faced with just this sort of challenge.

Facilities managers at these sorts of enterprises must collect employee uniforms, and then wash, dry, iron and return them to the employees. Sometimes this means treating 10,000 … 20,000 ... or even 30,000 separate articles of clothing, every day!

A company in Singapore has found that RFID can help.

By installing RFID readers in the zone where employees deposit their used uniforms at the end of their work shift, and equipping each employee with an RFID badge, the company has improved efficiency, reduced labour costs and almost entirely eliminated errors due to data-entry mistakes. Interaction of the RFID system with accounting and procurement systems has also enabled a range of other benefits, such as automatic invoicing and purchase orders.

To respect the privacy of workers, RFID-based tracking of each article of clothing starts and ends at the uniform collection room. Employees' activities are not monitored during the rest of their workday.

When every day is laundry day, it's nice to know RFID can lend a hand.