Datamars, based in Lamone, Switzerland is launching Storm, a web platform that allows industrial laundries to remotely manage and monitor their radio frequency identification (RFID) devices from a central location.

RFID is a widely recognised aid in textile assets management, enabling automated tracing, better oversight of inventory, improved efficiency and reduced losses and resulting in significant cost savings.

However, for companies that have numerous RFID devices installed across multiple locations, their effective management can be critical. Issues such as data losses, downtimes, one-by-one manual software and firmware updates and frequent on-site visits present challenges.

The new Storm platform is latest addition to the Datamars portfolio of 360° turnkey solutions that provide all the elements necessary for an easy management of RFID systems.

Storm alleviates existing RFID challenges through an easy-to-implement, fully customisable dashboard that effectively monitors all RFID readers in the system 24/7 and provides easy access to metrics, configuration management, preventive maintenance and remote support.

In addition, the system allows the user to set up alerts specific to their business. For example, if a company’s configured thresholds are exceeded, Storm triggers an alarm which is instantly displayed on the web user interface (UI) and sends a notification to the appropriate recipientsꓸ

“Storm is the tool our customers have been waiting for to closely monitor their RFID infrastructure and get the most out of it,” said Julien Buros, product and services director for the Textile ID Division at Datamars. “Following the success of Cloudburst, which has proven to be key in optimizing RFID performance and ease of integration, Datamars is taking a further step in completing its software offer to make RFID even more reliable and easy to use.”

How it works

Consistent monitoring of RFID equipment is important, as it allows users to quickly spot issues and prevent extensive downtime and data loss.

With the Storm platform, a simple device provisioning process allows users to securely add RFID devices to a customer’s account and assign them to a location. Storm allows users to easily filter their inventory based on name, location or other properties. Unique searches can be saved to the user’s favorites, creating dynamic groups that can be recalled at any time, while alarms and connection status are displayed to immediately recognize those RFID readers that require attention.

Every parameter of the RFID readers can be remotely configured through Storm and settings can be applied to multiple RFID readers at the same time. The user can also easily compare multiple RFID readers’ set-up and the parameters view can be customized and saved as user’s favorite, while configuration pre-sets can be created for quick set-up of multiple RFID readers.

Storm allows for direct control of all connected RFID readers and devices. As a result, all firmware and software updates, as well as device troubleshooting, can be scheduled at times that are most convenient for the company and completed remotely, eliminating the need for onsite maintenance and remote desktop sessions. 

If additional help is needed, Storm allows the user to send a request to the Datamars service and support team, enabling temporary access to the specific RFID readers only for the time needed to fix the issue. 

“Implementing highly-functioning RFID system requires more than a quick purchase of tags and management software,” added Buros. “We are confident that the Storm platform will provide our customers with a dependable, holistic solution that takes every step of the implementation process into consideration – from installing tags to tracking stock and providing around-the-clock technical support – to meet their textile management needs.” 

With over 35 years of innovation and leadership in RFID, Datamars is a pioneer in electronic textile identification solutions for the industrial laundry process, developing important RFID-based patents and trademarks and inventing the

www.datamars.com