DC RFID Site Survey Document v1.1

Sheetz RFID Site Survey

Claysburg, PennsylvaniaDistribution Center

6/23/04

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Table of Contents:

Table of Contents:............................................................................................................2Project Contacts:..............................................................................................................3

Infologix Project Manager:..........................................................................................3Report Prepared By:....................................................................................................3Distribution Center Address:.......................................................................................3Sheetz Contact Info:....................................................................................................3

Overview:........................................................................................................................4Objective:.........................................................................................................................4Receiving Dock Installation:...........................................................................................4Receiving Dock Photos:..................................................................................................6Receiving Dock Bill of Materials:...................................................................................7Pick Location Installation:...............................................................................................7Pick Location Photos:......................................................................................................8Pick Location Bill of Materials:......................................................................................9Recommended Data Output:............................................................................................9Appendix A....................................................................................................................10

Antennae Mounting Poles:........................................................................................10

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Project Contacts:

Infologix Project Manager:Bill [email protected] x125

Report Prepared By:Kelson [email protected] x201

Distribution Center Address:Sheetz, Inc.RD 1, Box 588Claysburg, PA 16625814-239-1427

Sheetz Contact Info:Steve WinegardnerProgramming Services Manager814-941-5266 (office)[email protected]

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Overview:

Sheetz operates approximately 300 convenience stores in a 6 state area and have initiated a RFID pilot project to track frozen pre cooked meat through their distribution process.

The meat supplier will apply printed RFID enabled labels. Upon receipt at the distribution center, the palletized product will pass through a dock door portal. Approximately 200 cases are on each pallet.

Following receipt, the pallet is moved to a freezer storage location and then to the pick slot as needed. A RFID reader will be mounted in the pick slot and will poll for tag data at a timed interval. Product is shipped to the stores and stacked on a freezer shelf where a reader then polls at timed intervals.

The pilot is planned for a 2 month period. All equipment installation should be easily removable following the pilot period.

The survey was performed using Intermec 915 MHz free space tags, an Intermec 4 port 915 MHz reader, 915 MHz circular polarized antennae, Genesta Capture and Response software, Intermec Tag Map utility and pallet of frozen precooked steaks.

Objective:

The objective of the survey was to determine RFID equipment and infrastructure needs and placement for the Claysburg, Pennsylvania distribution center. A description of the installation requirements for both the receiving dock and pick location is provided along with an equipment bill of materials.

Receiving Dock Installation:

Tags will be programmed and applied by the case supplier. Tags will be exposed on cases on all four sides of the pallet. Some case labels will not be exposed. Orientation of the tag vertically and horizontally cannot be controlled. The number of tags read will vary based on the number of tags exposed, antennae orientation, fork truck speed and the amount of data read from the tag. Given the current configuration of cases on the pallet, all tags on the pallet will not be read at this station.

The dock door chosen for the pilot is adjacent to the cold warehouse office. The dock door is approximately 8’6” wide with a trough running in from of the doorway to accommodate the loading plate. See photo 1.

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Sheetz will provide a PC inside the office and the serial cable and a single 110 power connection should be run to the reader at closest side of the dock door (see Photo 2). The PC will connect to the network via local jacks in the office. The RFID reader and 2 antennae should be located in the on a mounting pole on the office side of the dock door.

Cables for the remaining 2 antennae may be run from the reader along the loading plate trough in front of the dock door to a mounting pole on the opposite side of the door (see Photo 3). No overhead cabling will be required.

Sheetz will provide a 10’ pole on each side of the dock door to mount the antennae and reader. Poles should be 2” in diameter. See Appendix A for suggested construction of antennae mounting poles. The poles should be portable and easily removed following the pilot. During installation and testing, the antennae angle and height must be adjusted to achieve the best possible read zone. Antennae will mount to the pole using U bolt brackets to allow for easy adjustment.

The warehouse temperature in the receiving dock area remains at approximately 36 degrees Fahrenheit. The RFID reader should operate at this temperature without need for a NEMA enclosure.

Capture and Response software with a Portal application add in will reside on the PC and be configured to collect and write data to a pipe delimited file on the PC. The reader will remain in constant polling mode and as the first tag from each pallet enters the read zone a portal event will begin. The event will end when the last tag has left the field for a brief period of time. Although each tag may be read multiple times during the event, only a single record for each tag will be written. All records for the event will have the same date and time stamp. Sheetz will determine the best method and interval to poll the PC for loading for loading the file into their Oracle database for reporting.

Testing during the survey and during other projects shows a higher read rate with less data read from the tag. It is recommended that Sheetz reduce the data read to a minimum for best results.

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Receiving Dock Photos:

Photo 1

Photo 2

Photo 3

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Receiving Dock Bill of Materials:

Description Quantity Supplied By

915 4 port UHF Serial Reader 1 InfologixPower supply 1 InfologixReader mounting hardware 1 Infologix25’ Serial cable 1 InfologixCircular polarized antennae 4 InfologixAntennae mounting hardware 1 Infologix13’ antenna cable 2 Infologix20’ antenna cable 2 Infologix

Host PC 1 Sheetz10’ mounting poles 2 Sheetz

Pick Location Installation:

The pick location is located in a single first level bay inside the freezer portion of the warehouse. The temperature remains approximately negative 25 degrees Fahrenheit. A heated NEMA enclosure is required at this location. A duplex 110 power outlet is required for the heater and reader controller.

A PMD RFID controller, the same device installed in the stores, will mount inside the enclosure. The enclosure will mounted at a location in or near the bay as determined by Sheetz. Sheetz will relocate the current pick location, F16-028, to an adjacent bay that provides a support column for mounting the NEMA and a power outlet (see Photo 4 and 5). The column width is 10”. The NEMA dimensions are 20”x16”x8”. Sheetz will design and provide the mounting method for the NEMA enclosure

The PMD controller will connect to the network via an internal 802.11b wireless card. A bulkhead antenna cable connection will be exposed on the exterior of the NEMA to allow for an external antenna. An 802.11b wireless survey was not performed in the freezer area. It is suggested that rubber duck antenna be attached initially and if coverage is not adequate for a solid network connection an antennae may be extended outside of the bay for better coverage.

Four RFID antenna bulkhead cable connections will be exposed on the outside of the enclosure. Four antennae will be attached inside the bay, two on top and two on the side. The antennae will mount using removable clamps and wire ties.

At scheduled intervals, the PMD controller will activate the reader and record available tag data. The data will be stored on the controller. Sheetz will determine the best method

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and interval to poll the PMD and will load the file into their Oracle database for reporting.

Pick Location Photos:

Photo 4

Photo 5

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Pick Location Bill of Materials:

Description Quantity Supplied By

PMD Endeavor 915 UHF Reader 1 InfologixPMD mounting bracket 1 InfologixCustom Heated NEMA enclosure 1 InfologixCircular polarized antennae 4 InfologixAntennae mounting hardware 1 Infologix13’ antenna cable 4 Infologix

NEMA mounting hardware Sheetz

Recommended Data Output:

At the time of the survey there were discussions concerning the data required to be written to the tag. Based on those discussions the following is a sample of the recommended output file layout:

Date/Time | Station Description | Tag ID | Lot# | Item# | Creation Date | Expiration Date

06-23-2004 10:48:27|Door1| 0828321080E56003|1234567890|123456|03-25-2004|06-25-2004

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Appendix A

Antennae Mounting Poles:

Bolts threaded through the base allow for leveling

2” diameter pipe allows for mounting and adjustment of antennae

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