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Management of tools and tablets with RFID : EDF Golfech Case Study

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Management, Tracking and Control of tools and tablets with RFID in the Energy Industry

Smart RFID Cabinet XL

Nexess was selected by the engineering service of EDF Golfech to provide a RFID solution to manage, track and control their tools and tablets, stored in warehouses across the production site.

This solutions deployed on the engineering service of EDF Golfech, allows service agents responsible for the tools and tablets to have an instant overview of materials movements (borrowings/returns), to know their availability and to ensure their monitoring (calibration/maintenance).

85% of the production of electricity in France comes from nuclear facilities. EDF Golfech production site, composed of 2 pressurized water reactors, produce annually more than 19 billion kilowatt-hours, representing 6% of the electricity production in France. In case of needs, it is essential that tools and/or tablets are operationnal and available immediatly.

The engineering service of EDF Golfech has over 50 references (tools and tablets) to manage and track. Each tool and tablet must be available and located, in perfect working order, at any moment.

Automate the Management, Traceability and Control of Tools and Tablets

Management of tablets with RFID

The main objective of the engineering service of EDF Golfech is to “drive autonomous the targeted management of tools and tablets within the service” ensures Sebastien Vidal, Engineering service Manager.

Indeed, a poor management of tools and tablets (material missing, defective or calibration dates exceeded) may have important consequences in terms of production, quality and safety. Therefore, tools and tablets should always be available and located in perfect working order, at any moment.

However, the daily management of materials is made manually through spreadsheet files to determine the level of the different stocks, the location of materials, monitoring of regulatory controls, etc. This manual update, usually source of errors and time consuming, do not allow to guarantee the reliability and  the accuracy of the information contained in this spreadsheet.
Seeking for a management and traceability solution using RFID technology, the engineering service of EDF Golfech wants to guarantee and ensure the availability and the good working order of each material, at any time : secure access to tools and tablets, real-time inventory, automatic tracking of regulatory controls, etc. This solution aims to ensure the availability and the proper functioning of material in order to maximize the productivity and quality.

The engineering service of EDF Golfech chose NexCap® solution by Nexess, to carry out the monitoring of their tools and tablets with RFID.

Nexess has an extensive experience of the traceability of sensitive material with RFID in many industries : Nuclear, Oil & Gas, Aerospace, etc

Smart RFID Cabinet XL

This solution is composed of three elements :

Smart RFID cabinet XL allowing to store and manage entire movements of tools and tablets (inventory, calibration, maintenance, update) while limiting access to users.

Industrial Mobile Readers (PDA) Workabout Pro 3 from Motorola Solutions, equipped with UHF RFID readers 500mW.

NexCap® Software Platform, developed by Nexess with a business interface installed on smart RFID cabinet and a web interface deployed within the engineering service of EDF Golfech.

When identified through its RFID badge, the user can easily access the cabinet to borrow or return one or several tools and tablets.
Once the doors of the cabinet are closed, an automatic inventory of the contents is done in real time.

Service agents can consult directly on the cabinet the list of tools and tablets contained in each cabinet, material  borrowed or realise a location search on a tool or  tablet.

This is made possible because each device is equipped with an RFID tag (integrated in the tool or fixed on the tool or tablet) allowing the smart RFID cabinet to identify movements of each material, trace and time stamp them (who, what, when, where).

In the event of a material is missing inside a smart RFID Cabinet Nexess,  it will generate an alert.
Therefore, service agent, through a mobile player (PDA), could realize a particular search (tool or tablet).

Moreover, the NexCap® software plateform allows service agents to consult easily, through a friendly interface, all loggings of material movements: returns, borrowings, tools or tablets in maintenance, location of equipment, inventory, etc.

NexCap® allows the management and the traceability of materials in real time and the calibration and maintenance monitoring of each tool and tablet.

All data of movements traceability, controls, inventories and loggings are then remotely available with the NexCap® Web application.

NexCap® RFID Solution for the Management of Connected Objects

Nexcap® is a RFID solution for the management of connected products in the Industry. Equipped with RFID tags, materials are stored in smart RFID cabinets. Users have instant visibility of all inventory items they wish to manage and track: tools, spare parts, metrology devices, tablets, computers, etc.

Each smart RFID cabinet is composed of functionalities to manage connected objects and help users in their day-to-day activities : borrowing/return, proceedings scheduled tasks concerning the handling of particular material, realization of controls on products submitted to regulations, etc.

Operations carried out on smart RFID cabinet (connected via Ethernet or WiFi to application server) are tracked and logged on NexCap® Web Platform in real time. Inventories, monitoring reports, planned field operations, dashboard alerts, etc. are all features allowing to supervise and connect the “field” to the theoretical data from information systems.

NexCap® Software Platform is a real RFID middleware allowing at the same time the connection of RFID infrastructures (Cabinets, Counters, Portals, etc.), Mobile devices or even ERP software. This software is available in SAAS (Software As A Service) or hosted on the client information system.

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RFID: fight efficiently against FME

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In harsh environment industries, it is necessary to have a high security that means, the security of people, tools and equipement to prevent any risks of incidents and loss of productivity and quality. Indeed, sometimes tools needed for production or maintenance operations are not available, broken or poorly calibrated, etc. More than one construction site on four is delayed due to problems of FME and tracking that can cause a decrease in productivity by 15% to 30 %.

FME : the pet hate of the Energy industry

The FME or “Foreign Material Exclusion” is the risk of the presence of migrants or foreign bodies in facilities that can cause problems into the structures.

Nuclear power station

To avoid any problems, good prevention and solution can be implemented. It is very important in hazardous sectors such as the energy sector, to know where the equipments are at any time. However, the daily inventory management is done manually. This manual update is usually source of errors and time consuming, do not guarantee the reliability and the accuracy of information.

That is why RFID technology is the solution to fight effectively against the risk of FME and to allow industries to connect their physical facilities and equipment in order to have full visibility in real-time, location and state.

To fight effectively against FME risks, Nexess  has developed a series of solutions for the management and the traçability of material.

  • NexCap Smart RFID Counter: allows the storekeeper to manage and record tools borrowings and returns from the warehouse with RFID technology. It has the capacity to do an accurate and automatic inventory of the contents of the warehouse, an automatic follow up of calibration and maintenance dates, an intelligent user identification and a remote monitoring.

RFID Counter

NexCap Tools NexCap Containers  NexCap Spare parts

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RFID: fight efficiently against FOD

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In harsh environment industries, it is necessary to have a high security that means, the security of people, tools and equipement to prevent any risks of incidents and loss of productivity and quality. Indeed, sometimes tools needed for production or maintenance operations are not available, broken or poorly calibrated, etc. Every year, misplaced or lost tools (FOD) in aircrafts during maintenance or assembly represent 30% of civil incidents and a major critical safety breach.

FOD: an important risk for all the Aeronautical industry

Aeronautic

The FOD or “Foreign Object Damage” is the risk of the presence of a foreign body in the Aeronautics and Aerospace sectors. The FOD includes all equipment, tools, materials and other items that may interfere with the proper operation of airplanes or mechanical control. The damage can be minor or major and often costly. Indeed, the repair costs can easily exceed 20% of the original price of the damaged portion.

The “National Aerospace FOD prevention” estimates the cost of FOD for all the Aeronautical and Aerospatial industry at 4 billion dollars a year. An important cost that can be greatly reduced through the use of RFID technology.

Therefore Nexess has implemented Smart RFID Cabinets for managing and tracking tools on production and maintenance lines.

  • NexCap® XS: Smart RFID Cabinet first Smart RFID Cabinet to perform an automatic inventory of your tool inventory. Based on a high performance UHF RFID technology, the Smart Cabinet  NexCap® XS ensures fair and real-time inventory of your tools. It has a storage capacity of 150 tools with RFID, a 5.7 inch touch screen, flexible accommodation and bottom tools.

NexCap XS : Smart RFID cabinet

  •  NexCap® XL: Smart RFID Cabinet is the second generation of Smart RFID Cabinet of the  NexCap® product range allowing an automatic inventory of your tools. Each movement is stamped to fight effectively against the FOD. It has a storage capacity of 400 tools with RFID, 4 x 220V power outlets inside for tools that require charge, interior LED lighting, a 15-inch touch screen and glass surface.

NexCap XL : Smart RFID Cabinet

  • NexCap® X-Draw: Smart RFID Cabinet is a Smart Cabinet with drawers pushing RFID management tools into a new era by providing an accurate and efficient traceability on all tool movements. It has a storage capacity of 200 tools with RFID, drawers weigh capacity of 30kg, modular drawers layout and a 5.7 industrial touch screen.

NexCap X-Draw Smart RFID Cabinet

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RFID technology: applications for the Aerospace and Energy Industries

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The maturity of the RFID (Radio Frequency IDentification) technology allows today to glimpse concrete applications in advanced industrial sectors such as Nuclear, Chemical / Petrochemical, Aerospace, Automotive, etc. Submitted to strong environmental constraints usually incompatible with wireless technologies, RFID technology is now hardened to allow industrial applications.

Industrial applications are made possible through a hardened RFID technology

Temperature, dust, metal, chemical products (and many others) are omnipresent elements in all sectors of industry and particularly in Energy and Aerospace. These elements are all disturbing factors for wireless technologies including RFID. 

Also, these industries are sometimes submitted to regulations and standards, adapted to their environmental constraints: ATEX (explosive atmosphere), EMC (Electromagnetic Compatibility), Seveso (Directive 96/82/EC), etc. These regulations and standards require the use of certified compatible materials in these areas, which requires RFID tags and RFID readers to also be.

Several RFID hardware providers offer ATEX certified products for example: Xerafy, Omni-ID, NEXESS, Ecom Instruments, etc. (These products are available in our shop Nexess Online Shop).

Nexess has know-how and expertise recognized in the field of hardened RFID for industrial environments.

RFID applications in Energy sector

 Power plant RFID technology

The Energy sector (Nuclear, Petrochemical, Chemical, etc.) is one of the most regulated and forced to ensure the safety of goods and people. RFID technology has its place and allows to consider multiple applications:

  • Traceability of materials submitted to regulation

From tools to fire equipments (fire extinguishers, RIA, SCBA) through spare parts, each of these materials is submitted to strict regulation and scrupulous monitoring in Energy industries.

RFID technology allows to make a unique and automatic identification (without vis-à-vis) of each of these materials, “connecting” them to their environment via an RFID tag. This RFID tag will be adapted to the environmental constraints in which it is submitted: metal, temperature, ATEX regulations, etc. In some cases, it may contain information (high memory tag).

A RFID mobile or fixe reader (PDA, tablet or smartphone) will allow to interrogate RFID tags remotely to know its characteristics or automatically detect movements (inventory, entrance / exit of a storage location, etc.). In case of portable reader, the user has a software plateform allowing him to interact with materials.

Fire equipment RFID technology

Examples of materials submitted to regulation: 

  • Fire Equipment
  • Slings and lifting equipements
  • Container
  • Spare Parts
  • Etc.

Nexess has an extensive library of software applications to ensure traceability and monitoring equipment submitted to regulation.

  • Reassurance of Operations and Maintenance activities

Energy industry requires rigorous operation and maintenance intervention to ensure optimum operational working performance but also a high level of safety of goods and persons.

RFID technology allows to make significant gains on Operating and Maintenance activities in terms of productivity, quality but also security.

Oil&Gas RFID technology

Examples of Operations or Maintenance activities using RFID in Energy:

  • Round lubrication (Pumps, Valves, etc.)
  • Repairs and Non Destructive Testing of Piping
  • Securing facilities by laying valves
  • Etc.

RFID applications in Aerospace Industry

 Aeronautic RFID technology

The aerospace industry is recognized as one of the industry where manufacturing, assembly and maintenance process of equipment are strictest and the most rigorous. Production rates are very high and the quality must be maintained at its highest level. 

RFID technology allows to bring significant productivity gains thanks to the optimization of the supply chain but also gains of quality thanks to the control of capital goods. Here comes some common applications:

  • Management and traceability of tools

The tool is an essential means of production during assembly steps or during aircraft maintenance. It is submitted to regulations (calibration, maintenance) and requires special attention to fight against FOD (Foreign Object Damage) due to a miss tool in a part of the plane. 

Tool management is also a critical activity that can strongly impact productivity: tools research, loan / return, daily inventory, etc.

RFID technology allows a unique identification of each tool, an automatic following of movements, to detect tools remotly, trace their use, etc. via RFID cabinets for example (video).

NexCap XL RFID cabinet

Examples of tools in Aeronautics:

  • Hand tools
  • Torque Tools
  • Pneumatic Tools
  • Etc.

Nexess has the expertise and a range of products dedicated to the management and traceability of tools with RFID in Aerospace: RFID cabinets, RFID portals, RFID counters, Mobile readers (PDA).

  • Aircraft Cabin Management: Inventory of  security equipment (life jackets, O2 bottles)

Imposed by the regulations, each aircraft must have a regular inventory and update of all security equipment on board: life jackets, oxygen bottles, etc. This inventory, made by airlines technicians must allow to know in an instant if all equipments are on board and if their validity are correct. 

RFID technology allows to fit each of these equipments with RFID tags called “flyables” tags answering to the standards of Aerospace (ATA SPEC 2000) and containing information related to the equipment (manufacturer, expiration date, etc.. ). Using a mobile reader (PDA, tablet), technicians carry out an inventory of the cabin in few minutes, while this activity required 2 to 3 hours.

aircraft cabin RFID

(High-Memory RFID tags are available in our shop Nexess Online Shop)

The list of applications of RFID technology for the Aerospace industry is not exhaustive but we may include other examples:

  • Management and Traceability of GSE (Ground Support Equipment)
  • Monitoring of raw materials (rolls Carbone)
  • Management and tracking of containers (Maintenance Kit)
  • Etc.
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RFID and connected objects : Nexess launches its new website

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Online since the 3rd of April 2014, Nexess new website gives importance to connected objects for Industries with RFID technology (www.nexess-solutions.com)

RFID and connected objects : Nexess new website

RFID and connected objects : Nexess new website

Showing his vision of the smart factory of tomorrow, Nexess intends to lead the industry into the era of Smart Manufacturing thanks to its RFID solutions for connected objects, structured and newly presented around four modules :

picto-apps     Apps library

Software applications for mobile devices dedicated to the management of connected objects.

picto-appareil mobile     Mobile devices

RFID mobile devices (PDA) and industrial tablets welcoming our apps.

picto-infrastructure intelligente     RFID smart infrastructures

RFID Cabinets, RFID Counters, RFID Portals for automatic tracking of objects.

picto-plateforme logicielle     RFID software platform

RFID software platform allows a full interoperability of each RFID infrastructure / mobile device and allows to supervise, consult, store and manage remotely all information and data traceability movements of connected objects.

This new website, organized and oriented around connected objects to the Industry, allows you to browse and discover new pages, sections and menus :

Home page : From our home page, access quickly to our offers dedicated to Energy and Aerospace industries or browse according to the object you want to connect and manage.

You can, of course, access to our online store (shop.nexess.fr) and quickly share information or subscribe to our official pages on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter or Google+ via dedicated buttons from the home page or each page of the website.

Media Section : Access in one click to the search and downloading of all our products, videos, case study, white papers and press releases from the home page listings.

Blog Nexess : Regularly we will post notes on news topic around connected objects dedicated Industries, RFID technology or cases of applications and deployment of RFID solutions by Nexess.

Apps library : Discover our software Apps library for the management of connected objects dedicated to Energy and Aerospace Industries : management and traceability of tools, fire extinguishers, spare parts, containers , slings, etc.

New design, new content, everything has been designed to facilitate browsing and searching of information on our website from your smartphone or tablet. The website is of course available in English for our international partners.

Have a good visit !

The Nexess team

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RFID Award 2013 : NEXESS receives the prize for the best RFID deployment for Industry

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During the gala dinner of the International RFID Congress 2013 of Marseille, Nexess won the RFID Award 2013 of the best RFID deployment for Industry with the NexCap Mobile Assets Solution applied to monitoring Spare Parts for EDF CETAC (Center Operations Combustion Turbines).

RFID Award 2013

RFID Awards 2013 : the Press talk about

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Nexess exhibits at the International RFID Congress 2013 of Marseille

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Nexess exhibits at the International RFID Congress 2013 of Marseille the 8th and 9th of October.

NEXESS will present at the RFID Congress 2013 a part of its products range Nexcap® : the XS Smart RFID Cabinet and the XL Smart RFID Cabinet allowing management and traceability (inventory, loggings, maintenance monitoring, remote monitoring, etc.) of tools dedicated to aerospace Industry.

International RFID Congress 2013

Nexess thank you for your visit in our stand during the 4th edition of the International RFID Congress 2013 organized by the CNRFID, where you discovered NexCap RFID Tool Tracking Solution, our solution of management of tools by RFID dedicated to Aeronautic, Energy and Nuclear Industries.

It’s during the International RFID Congress that Nexess won the RFID Award for the best RFID deployment management of spare parts in the CETAC (EDF).

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Nexess raises 2.5 million euros to accelerate development

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Seventure Partners and PACA Investment, the co-investment fund created by the Provence Alpes Côte d’Azur region with financial support from the EU (ERDF), invested 2.5 million euros in the company Nexess to support its international development.

Sophia-Antipolis, March 1st, 2013 – Founded in 2008, Nexess is the leading provider of RFID solutions designed to improve the performance and MRO process safety (Maintenance, Repair and Operations). The company developed a unique range of products like NexTrack® a real-time monitoring solution of maintenance operations and exploitation dedicated to the Oil & Gas industries, or NexCap®, Smart RFID cabinets securing tools inventories for the Aerospace industry.

All these solutions are used by industrial references from Energy, Nuclear, Petrochemical and Aerospace sectors to improve the performance and the security of their maintenance and exploitation processes. They deployed these solutions on dozens of sites and hundreds of key points in their infrastructures.

Nexess expertise allows it to meet the requirements of industries with severe environmental constraints (ionizing radiation, explosive atmospheres, high temperatures, etc.) and to propose an innovative software solution allowing its clients to manage the use of RFID products installed.

Directed by Frédéric Galtier who especially has an experience of over 15 years in the nuclear sector at EDF, Nexess was labeled by the competitiveness cluster SCS and received in 2010 the award of the best start-up in European RFID Awards framework. This company has also been driven since 2010 by CEA Investment and Primaveris.

This new fundraising of 2.5 million euros, from Seventure (1.5 M €) and PACA investment (1 M €), will accelerate the development of Nexess internationally just as the distribution and the support network from major accounts in targeted industries. The company is expected to double its turnover in 2013.

Frédéric Galtier, Founder and CEO of Nexess : “Our products allow to make communicating infrastructures to supervise on the field the performance of maintenance operations and exploitation. Nexess solutions improve the availability of production sites and reduce maintenance costs” says Galtier, Founder of Nexess. “We are glad of the entry of investors as Seventure and Paca investment that will allow us to accompany international large industrials of the energy, aerospace and petrochemical sectors.”

David Manjarres, Associate Director of Seventure, said : “Nexess developed products and technology solutions wich are robust and efficient for the traceability of processes, goods and persons, already deployed to industrial customers in nuclear, petrochemical and aerospace sectors. Our investment aimed to accelerate the expansion of its business development especially internationally, while offering new innovative solutions meeting specific needs of these sensitive industries wich must cope with safety and functionning security constraints very demanding”.

Jacques Boulesteix, President of PACA Investment, added : “The PACA Region, through Paca Investment is delighted to go with the company Nexess and its director, Frédéric Galtier. In a few years Nexess has developed a portfolio of innovative and patented solutions that perfectly meet problems find on all industrial sites. Most of its solutions come from needs expressed by EDF when Frédéric Galtier worked there. Nexess partnerships with major retailers will allow the company to continue its deployment with large accounts and dual diversification, sectoral and international. Nexess is a regional innovative company with high potential that the PACA Region wished to support”.

Frederick Martin, investment director at CEA Investment, completed : “CEA Investment is delighted of the remarkable process made ​​by Nexess up to now and is pleased that investors like Seventure and PACA Investment join the company to strengthen and accompany this new phase of its development. “

About Seventure Partners : Active partner of companies with high growth potential, Seventure Partners invests since 1997 in innovative sectors, particularly in French and European companies evolving in the markets of Technology of the Information and Communication as well as Life Sciences. Managing approximately 450 million euros, Seventure Partners urge as one of the leading European venture capital. Seventure Partners is a subsidiary of Natixis. For more info : www.seventure.fr

About PACA Investment : PACA investment is the fund of regional co-investment established in 2010 by the Provence Alpes Côte d’Azur region to support the emergence and development of local and innovative companies. This SAS endowed with 15.45 million euros, get the support of Europe through funds ERDF (European Regional Development Fund) for 50% of its capital. Since July 2011, the fund, whose management was entrusted to Turenne Capital, has already invested in 16 innovative regional companies for a total amount of 6.2 million euros.

About Turenne Capital : Founded in 1999 and based in Paris, Lille and Marseille, Turenne Capital, independent major player in private equity, supports entrepreneurs in their growth operations (organic growth, international expansion, acquisition) and as part of transmission operations of their capital. Turenne Capital Group manages 415 million euros whose 150 million euros on behalf of institutional investors through various funds whose Turenne investment listed on Alternext and Paca Investment, and the balance for account of policyholders individuals through FIP and FCIC .

About CEA Investment : CEA Investment, company with a capital of 27 million euros, is the subsidiary of Investment of CEA, a major institution of technological research, development and innovation. CEA Investment invests in initiation of innovative startups developing technologies in the areas of activities of the CEA. These areas include in particular technologies of the information, microelectronics, health, energy and environment. www.cea-investissement.com