75 billion devices may connect to the internet by 2025. Last year alone, the world produced around 10 billion RFID tags.
Automatic identification and data capture technologies increasingly help manage everything from jeans, food and livestock to microwaves, buses and hose assemblies.
Data matrix, barcodes and yet-to-be invented technologies all have a part to play too. As the long-time owners of Australian Hose and Fittings, a leading specialist in hydraulic hoses and related equipment, the founders of Tagitive have experienced the birth and uptake of tag-n-track asset management systems first-hand.
We’ve seen the benefits, and they are undeniable. Tagging erstwhile off-the-radar parts like hoses and a squillion other components has enormous potential to reduce equipment failure,
cut workplace accidents and injuries, lower emergency repair costs, extend the life of an asset, increase return on investment, improve business continuity and enhance productivity.
However, the potential of tagging is all-to-often constrained by the nature of the software that supports it.
You see, many tagging systems are developed by component manufacturers to be used solely for their products.
These proprietary, vendor-centric tagging systems are inefficient.
A single piece of heavy machinery can contain hundreds of tag-worthy components produced by dozens of manufacturers.
So the asset owner ends up running multiple systems, which is the last thing they need because
it makes the task of scheduling installations, testing, inspections and maintenance much harder.
Furthermore, with multiple systems, Heads of Maintenance can’t ‘see the big picture’, especially when it comes to comparing the performance and reliability of components across different brands.
So we decided to build a different kind of tagging system – a universal platform designed with the asset owner in mind.
Which meant that it needed to be an easy-to-use, single source for all information on a broad array of tagged plant and machinery (and definitely not another proprietary system). And to live up to the goal of being more open, we thought it would be best to launch a new brand too.