How Smart Hybrid Labels Help Identify, Track and Manage Tires Intelligently

Production downtime, operational errors and excessive scrap and rework pose challenges for tire manufacturing companies. While improving your tire tracking capabilities with barcode labels can help, you need a way to manage tire data intelligently.

Smart labels allow you to identify, track and manage tires throughout production and distribution, increasing your read rates, cutting labor costs and reducing scrap and rework.

What are smart hybrid labels?

Smart labels feature more advanced technology than traditional barcodes. Often, they store and update data, enabling more effective tracking.

They may be enhanced by QR codes, electronic article surveillance (EAS) tags or RFID tags. As a type of RFID tag, smart hybrid labels integrate with each step in your production process, including:

• Read/write equipment
• Automatic applicators
• Middleware
• Point of service

RFID in manufacturing enables accurate tracking, tracing and dynamic data management from production to customer.

Because they aren’t intended to replace traditional barcodes, smart hybrid labels enable customers to realize the benefits of RFID without having to invest in all new reading equipment or overhaul their manufacturing lines.

Identify, track and manage

Around the world, traditional barcode labels and scanners have been used to trace tires during manufacturing. But as technology progresses, RFID tags are starting to find their place in the tire industry.

RFID technology adds greater flexibility to the manufacturing process because it complements barcode labels that have been used historically.

Enabling data visibility throughout the life of a tire, RFID tags identify, track and manage tires through:

• The tire building process
• Vulcanization
• Testing
• Distribution
• Retail
• Service life

It’s now possible to use a single hybrid barcode-RFID tag with data management capabilities at every stage of a tire’s life, giving you access to real-time data when it’s needed most.

RFID technology enables real-time condition monitoring and supports predictive maintenance. Since tires can be tracked within your plant, you also need less time to locate materials used in the production process.

Advantages of smart hybrid labels

In addition to helping you identify, track and manage tires, smart hybrid labels offer many other benefits. Consider how this type of RFID technology can improve your manufacturing process and tire quality.

No Line Of Sight Required

Automatically place and conceal smart hybrid labels inside tires. Data is sent and received by radio waves in conjunction to traditional bead barcode scanning.

Write-Many/Read-Many Functionality

You can store, update and instantly access data on an integral computer chip wirelessly. Whether you need data on a green tire or one at the end of its service life, your data is easily accessible.

Reduced Labor Costs

Equipment that automatically applies and reads your smart hybrid labels while simultaneously scanning the barcode can easily integrate into your production line. You’re also able to automate the labeling process completely with no need for human application or scanning.

Dynamic Data

Dynamic data means your smart hybrid labels can supply operational data at any point in the manufacturing process, which enables faster, more accurate decision making.

Smart hybrid labels help you manage your tire production intelligently, so you can focus your time and budget on higher-level business goals.

Do you need a way to keep your plant running smoothly and maximize your operator efficiency? With the right label solution, you’re able to optimize your speed of production and drive efficiencies to fuel your organization’s profitability.