Since Malaysian logistics firm Lee Ting San (LTS) Group began trialing an RFID-based tire-management system a year ago on some of its 400 trucks, the company has found that tagged tires are better maintained and have fewer blowouts than those without RFID tags, according to Ahilan Thiyagarajah, the managing director of Auto RFID Solutions, which installed the system. The tire-management solution consists of an EPCGen 2 passive RFID patch tag, a tire probe for determining a tire's tread depth and air pressure, a handheld RFID reader and the manufacturer's software.
The company began testing the technology in January 2010, during a trial involving three 14-wheeler trucks, for a total of 42 tires. LTS' staff permanently attached an RFID patch tag (an RFID inlay encased in protective layer of rubber) to the exterior of each tire, on the sidewall facing the center of the vehicle. Once the tire is installed on a truck, workers use the handheld to read the tire's tag, then input such information as the truck's vehicle identification number, license plate number, make, model and depot name, as well as its odometer reading, to link the vehicle to that particular tire.
