All a-flutter over RFID

A couple of staffers here at DC VELOCITY are avid birdwatchers. So we were delighted to hear about an ongoing research project at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology that combines our personal and professional interests.

Researchers at the lab, located at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., have been attaching passive integrated transponder tags to leg bands on 129 birds that commonly eat at bird feeders, such as chickadees, nuthatches, and titmice. The tiny RFID tags—which weigh less than 0.1 gram—transmit unique identification numbers that are captured by readers attached to feeders around the Cornell campus.

The tags allow researchers to determine, for instance, whether a particular feeder is being frequented by 20 different chickadees or one gluttonous bird, and how factors like weather affect feeding patterns. The transponders have also been tracking the birds’ movements, including more than 600,000 feeder visits last winter.

To learn more about the project, go to www.birds.cornell.edu/pfw/ News/ RFID.html. Tech mavens can find a detailed description and photos of the inner workings of the lightweight readers at www.animalmigra-tion.org/RFID/CheapRFID.htm. ;

inbound

It’s tough to beat educational conferences when it comes to getting fresh ideas and learning about best practices. Two upcoming pro- grams will give warehousing and logistics professionals an oppor- tunity to do just that. Dematic, a supplier of logistics systems for factories, warehous- es, and DCs, will offer its one-day Warehouse Logistics Conference in several cities throughout 2011. Attendees can choose from three session tracks: warehouse operations, maintenance/moderniza- tion, and software/controls. Participants will review best-practice maintenance methods, receive recommendations on how to extend the life of mechanized/automated material handling systems, and learn how to improve equipment performance with upgrade kits. Other presentations will address warehouse process improvement and best-practice solutions for order fulfillment.

The next Warehouse Logistics Conference will be held in Ontario,
Calif., on Feb. 16. For more information, go to Dematic’s website
( www.dematic.us).

Peach State Integrated Solutions, a company that provides consulting and material handling systems integration services, will hold its 7th National Logistics and Distribution Conference (NLDC) April 11–13 in Atlanta. The event will feature tracks on corporate leadership, operational excellence, and transportation innovation. Speakers include Mark Holifield, senior vice president of global supply chain for The Home Depot, who will discuss the recent transformation of his company’s supply chain.

NLDC 2011 is hosted by Georgia Tech’s Supply Chain & Logistics Institute; the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP) will serve as the conference moderator. Attendance is limited to 100 high-level supply chain executives. For more information, visit www.nldcinfo.com. ; Further your education

Have an operational problem that’s causing you pain but you just can’t solve on your own? You’re not alone. At some point, almost everyone needs to call on outside expertise—a consultant or a product/service supplier that can bring experience with other companies to bear on your situation.

That’s why we’re launching our new “ProblemSolved” feature in this issue. Each of these brief case studies highlights a logistics- or warehouse-related problem experienced by a company like yours, and explains how a supplier worked with that company to resolve it. We hope these examples will help you figure out how to make your thorniest problems history. ;