The study of deploying RFID into the steel industry

Steel and iron play an important role in many major industries since steel is a significant component in many forms of infrastructure. According to the statistics of the International Iron and Steel Institute (IISI), the value of the global crude steel consumption in 2006 exceeds a billion metric tons in 2006; meanwhile the Iron and Steel institute of Thailand (ISIT) reported that the steel usage in Thailand is around 16 million metric tons. However the global economic downturn is having a severe impact on the steel sector. Currently, many steel-related industries in North America, Europe and the Middle East have slowed down; even the steel consumption in China - which is expected to be around 35% of the global consumption of steel - is also showing signs of slowing down. This is expected to be the down time of the market for steel. With the current economic downturn, it is necessary to reduce processing costs in order to survive. In this paper, we study the feasibility of deploying RFID in the steel industry as a tool to reduce the cost of production. In terms of the technology, it is a challenge to deploy the radio frequency in a metal environment. Furthermore, the price of the technology is still considered to be expensive compared to the barcode system. This paper considers all factors and identifies RFID systems that would be suitable for deployment in the steel industry.