Course Objectives

The objectives of this interactive technical workshop are:

• Recognizing needs and challenges of the pharmaceutical industry related to drug tracking and authentication.
• Finding solutions for common challenges of the pharmaceutical industry.
• Understanding the working principles of the technology used.
• Recognizing standards and mandates related to RFID in pharma.

Course Outline

RFID Technology Overview

• Bird’s-eye view of RFID system
• Benefits of RFID
• Comparison with other Auto-ID technologies
• Hardware: tags, readers, antennas, and networks
• Tag features, choices, and selection criteria
• Reader features and functions

Value proposition

• Instant Authentication
   -Where
   -When
   -Who
• Product authenticity
   -From where
   -When
   -Who
• Savings in handling
   -Too many touches degrades product
   -Too much time spent ensuring accuracy of fulfillment
• Elimination of grey market
   -Authentic product surety
   -Faster notification of problematic markets
• Protecting the brand
   -Real product consumed
   -Easier to identify falsified products

Solution: HF

• Speed
   -Items per minute
   -Data transfer during read
   -Data transfer during write
• Range
   -Conveyors
   -Portals
• Product compatibility
   -Pharma blister packs
   -Liquids
   -Bottles
• Process compatibility
• Integration challenges
• Costs
• Available vendors
• Mandate compatibility
   -Wal-Mart
   -State mandates
   -FDA

Solution: Near field UHF

• Speed
   -Items per minute
   -Data transfer during read
   -Data transfer during write
• Range
   -Conveyors
   -Portals
• Product compatibility
   -Pharma blister packs
   -Liquids
   -Bottles
• Process compatibility
• Integration challenges
• Costs
• Available vendors
• Mandate compatibility
   -Wal-Mart
   -State mandates
   -FDA

Implementation

• Challenges
   -Integrate and extend legacy systems
   -Speed of existing line
   -Trading partner readiness
• Solutions
  
  

The RFID4U Certification packages are extremely conducive to learning. Whether you need to get away to learn or are in need of a team to come to your group, convenience is key to the program. Our accommodations are perfectly suited and our program is designed to take you away from it all so you can truly concentrate on learning the material.

Through onsite testing, small class sizes, cutting edge labs and one on one instruction RFID4U certification programs have become one of the most successful in the industry.

Prerequisites

The Weekend Boot Camp is a fast paced course and assumes basic RFID market awareness. If you have worked on any data collection/Auto-ID or Networking (LAN/WAN/Infrastructure) technologies you will find the course to be accessible. Most of all you will need a motivation to aggressively learn, while having fun, during the class. If you have any questions about the difficulty level of the class, please contact us at bootcamp (at) rfid4u.com or 1-866-400-RFID.

Agenda

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• Choosing the best RFID Tag

• Optimizing tag placement

• Lunch sponsored by Zebra Technologies

• Antenna Placement and

   Reader Optimization Strategies

• Questions and Answers

RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) is not a new technology. RFID applications date to the World War II and have been used for a large number of purposes including animal tracking, access control, toll collection and other purposes since then. What is new about RFID is its integration into supply chain for product tracking and identification, including product pedigree and anti-counterfeiting campaigns. RFID has been used more and more for asset tracking to reduce shrinkage, lower maintenance costs, and optimize asset utilization, as well as a great tool supporting lean manufacturing and Six Sigma.

All RFID applications use some form of RFID readers, RFID tags and RFID peripherals. RFID tags combined with shipping labels are the most common method used to integrate RFID into the supply chain for tagging products, cases or pallets of goods. To encode tags and print onto the labels, the RFID printers/encoders are utilized.

Zebra Technologies is a leading global provider of rugged and reliable printing solutions. With extensive expertise in bar code compliance labeling, Zebra leverages its experience to meet the new RFID compliance initiatives, as well as provide RFID encoding and printing solutions for custom applications. Zebra provides high-frequency (13.56 MHz) and ultra-high-frequency (UHF) EPC-compatible RFID smart label printers/encoders, which are designed with the flexibility to support new standards and technologies as they evolve.

Our one-day RFID Technical Training for Zebra Products and Programs provides a unique blend of RFID fundamentals with overview of Zebra products, their installation and troubleshooting, as well as printer programming using Zebra Programming Language (ZPL). In this course you will learn RFID basics including RF Theory essentials, global RFID standards with detailed insight into EPC Gen2 technology and role of RFID printers in the RFID systems. Following this section all current Zebra products and their features will be discussed. In this course you will also receive a thorough training on Zebra printer installation, setup and troubleshooting as well as ZPL programming basics including creation of smart label formats using ZPL.

Attendees typically include:

Systems Integrators, VARS, distributors, Pre-Sales and Sales Engineers, Solutions Providers, Operations Engineers

The objectives of this interactive technical workshop are:

• Understanding how RFID technology works
• Recognizing standards and regulations applicable to RFID
• Understanding function of RFID printers
• Knowing the types of Zebra printers/encoders and other products and their features
• Being able to install and setup Zebra RFID printer/encoder and encode and print smart labels
• Being able to troubleshoot Zebra RFID printer/encoder
• Understand printer programming using ZPL
• Being able to create simple label formats using ZPL

This course is designed for all Auto-ID professionals, RF engineers and system integrators, and users who need to gain critical skills to install, maintain, or troubleshoot RFID-based systems. Based around CompTIA's RFID+ certification, our intense, hands-on certification training course is presented in a multi-vendor environment. In this course, you'll go beyond the RFID+ certification and demonstrate the concepts covered on the RFID+ exam in a real-world, hands-on environment. Labs are fully equipped with the latest state-of-the-art RFID equipment from Symbol, Intermec, Omron, Sirit, Printronix, and others. This course leads to CompTIA RFID+ certification and offers:

• Extensive hands-on training
• RFID+ study guide (CompTIA Authorized Quality Curriculum)
• RFID+ Passport Book Authored by RFID4U
• RFID Labeling , 2nd edition
• Resource CD
• RFID+ certification practice exam CD (CompTIA Authorized Quality Curriculum)
• Sample tags/labels
• RFID+ testing or voucher

RFID4U's RFID+ curriculum as well as RFIDQ™, practice tests for RFID+, have been reviewed and approved by the Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA) as quality training materials through the CompTIA Authorized Quality Curriculum (CAQC) program. This recognition identifies these courses as meeting the strictest quality standards set by CompTIA to ensure they meet exacting requirements with regard to the complete coverage of exam content, as well as excellent content layout and instructional design material that helps certification candidates judge their learning or readiness for the certification exam.

• Building blocks of the RFID system-tags, interrogators (readers), and RFID peripherals.
• Configuration of interrogation zones
• How to select the right tag, media, and adhesive; optimum tag placement on RF translucent and opaque products
• RF physics, different standards, regulations, and impact on the design of an RFID network
• How to evaluate RFID hardware to design a system that meets the performance requirements as it relates to read distance, write distance, tag response time, and storage capacity
• To conduct a site analysis before, during, and after installation and critical success factors
• Best practices for installation
• How to test troubleshoot and optimize system performance
• Expert tips and techniques

Auto-ID/networking professionals interested in enhancing their career with certifications; career changers and new hires interested in performing installation, configuration, and maintenance of RFID hardware and device software, site surveys/site analysis or tag selection, placement, and testing.

• Basic RF physics
• Basic RFID terminology
• Market awareness

None

CompTIA RFID+ Certification

The table below lists the domains measured by this examination and the approximate extent to which they are represented in the exam.