Bell Canada has delivered an integrated RFID asset tracking system for CN at its Brampton, Ont., intermodal terminal. The solution is designed to allow CN to accurately manage incoming and outgoing truck chassis wirelessly, leading to increased supply chain efficiency, productivity and cost savings.
Bell Canada partnered with Symbol Technologies, which provided cargo tags and rugged readers and mobile computers, and Shipcom Wireless, an RFID middleware provider.
"Since the implementation of this RFID solution, we have experienced near-perfect read rates with readers and tags, which has resulted in increased efficiency of our chassis fleet, improved productivity and cost savings," says Remy Benmiloud, CN manager for intermodal excellence. "This is good news for CN's fast-growing intermodal business involving rail transportation and local road delivery of domestic and international containers."
The Brampton intermodal terminal is the largest of its kind in Canada, with containers moving in and out of the facility daily on truck chassis, including CN's fleet.
With the Bell Canada solution, CN is able to record identification numbers accurately and automatically as the tagged chassis pass through the Brampton entry/exit gates. Previously, identification numbers were recorded manually, sometimes resulting in incorrect information. The manual system also made it difficult to pinpoint chassis status and location.
