RFID Sewers in Germany

Filed in archive Implementation on December 25, 2006

Where barcode doesn't work, RFID does. Germany's city of Warendorf is keeping an eye on its 127 mile long network of sewage pipes and canals with RFID. It ensures that the city keeps compliance with the stringent laws requiring the pipes to be checked on a regular basis. With RFID you get to know which pipes have been checked and which still needs to be checked. pipe identification errors too have come down with the system.

Barcode was the initial choice but since it doesn't seem to work well in dirty conditions RFID was chosen over it by the government. The workers after checking that all the pipes are working well, bends over the manhole and use a reader computer combination for interrogating the tags protected by a yellow polyamide capsule. A stylus is used by the workers for punching in the status of the pipes and whether any work needs to be completed in the pipes. In a single day a worker can read several pipes.

Now no need to carry those folders with loads of paper to keep a record of all those pipes. The workers would certainly be feeling light and relaxed about their job and the chances of any errors too have been minimized with this RFID system. Above all it helps in ensuring that all pipes are kept clean. Waste management system has certainly got a new dimension with RFID.