RFID: the next tool for managing records? Records managers using radio frequency identification (RFID) would have the ability to do complete file-room inventories quickly.

• Author: Faber, Michael J.
• Position: Tech Trends

At the Core

This article:

* Explains the benefits of RFID technology

* Discusses how the technology can benefit RIM

Ready or not, radio frequency identification (RFID) has arrived. Although it has been discussed for several years, few in the records and information management (RIM) field have seen it in action. Neither science fiction nor "vaporware," RFID technology is now a reality and readily available. RFID, in fact, has existed long enough for a history of it to be written (www.aimglobal.org). A testimonial to both its presence and its value is a recent National Public Television documentary (31 August 2002), which may help establish RFID in the public consciousness. It is time for RIM professionals to become attuned to the possible benefits of this technology as well.

RFID is part of a new generation of information technology known as "contactless communication." Contactless communication uses RFID tags (programmable integrated circuits), readers, a host computer, and Windows-based software for a variety of applications. Several RFID system vendors have entered the market, including: 3M (www.3m.com/smartid), Infolinx Document Management (www.infolinx. com), Thoroughbred Technologies (www.tbredtech.com), a 3M partner, and Checkpoint Systems (www.checkpointsystems.com/rfid/).

There are numerous applications for this technology. The tire industry, for example, can embed RFID chips, some of which are smaller than a grain of rice, into new tires. This system can associate a tire with a specific vehicle, store a 12-character coding for a number required by the U.S. Department of Transportation, and indicate when and where the tire was manufactured. The tiny size of some tags allows for embedding in paper. This ability suggests innovative ways to track documents during the life cycle of records at the page, document, file folder, and container levels.

Here is a complete and accountable chain of custody. Anything that can be RFID tagged becomes part of an inventory control system. Tiny antennas and transmitters, embedded in bar code-type labels that "communicate" with a computer in a central filing area suggest many uses of RFID. When queried and energized by an electronic signal, these labels, in essence, reply, "Here I am. What I am attached to belongs to XYZ Corp., and I have been at this location since I was placed here at 8:01 a.m. on September 2, 1999." The central purpose of RFID technology in the RIM domain is file/document control...