Issue #21 | March 24, 2005

Whether I'm on a tradeshow floor, in an airport, or in the middle of a project, people frequently ask for my opinion on RFID training. My advice: Student beware!

It's no surprise that RFID training has become a profit center for many companies and is the primary revenue stream of at least one startup. There are a couple conferences a month featuring RFID and banner ads for RFID training courses abound on Internet web sites. Numerous initiatives are driving people to learn more about RFID, and the cost of these courses average several thousand dollars. Before you spend that kind of money, here are the important factors to consider when determining what training is appropriate for you. What is your current level of understanding regarding RFID?
There are certain basic concepts that everyone should understand. Most of these are covered in a beginner level course:

What is the difference between active and passive RFID technology?

What are the standards? What is EPCglobal UHF Generation II? What is ISO18000-6B?

What frequencies does RFID technology use and how does this impact my company?

Who are the industry leaders and what are their offerings?

How are other companies using RFID technology today?

What are the typical components of an RFID solution?

Beyond basics, what aspects of RFID do you need to understand?

Determining what course content is right for you greatly depends on your position and areas of responsibility as it pertains to RFID initiatives.

Managerial, business, or financial:
Select a course that talks about how RFID should be used in your company. It should focus on business process re-engineering in the disciplines that RFID is applied to. That may include supply chain, asset tracking, logistics, work-in-progress management, etc. It should include example projects and review costs, savings, effects, and return on investment.

Design & physical installation:
This type of course will have an emphasis on physics. How does product packaging and composite materials affect RFID? How do you design a read point? Do you use linear or circular polarized antennas? How does cable length and quality affect reader performance?

Integration with back-end systems:
IT related courses cover programming interfaces with specific readers; data and network management; or even security. There are application specific training courses offered by ERP and WMS vendors.

Project specific:
Some training is targeted to customers facing a mandate and covers topics such as: What data should be programmed on the RFID tag when I ship a pallet of products to the DoD? What information is required in my advanced shipping notice to my customer?

Cross-functional:
Advanced technical courses combine multiple aspects. For example: how do you design and implement an RFID read point that includes the use of an electronic switch, a stack light, motorized conveyor, and a box compactor, then integrate that with my WMS.

Custom tailored training:
One software company is offering RFID training uniquely customized to each customer and includes specific instruction for integrating RFID with their suite of products.

Is the training hands-on with RFID equipment?
Training with a technical focus should be hands-on and include equipment from multiple manufacturers. However, if your company has already selected one specific supplier for RFID equipment, then attending that manufacturer's training is highly recommended. Just remember, it will be focused on the products from that manufacturer and will probably not be vendor neutral.

Where is the training being held?
Showing pictures of an RFID installation in a classroom environment is very different than working with an RFID installation in a warehouse.

Who is teaching the course?
Absolutely scrutinize the resume of the instructor! I cannot emphasize this enough. The two most important qualities: REAL WORLD EXPERIENCE and the ability to communicate clearly. Contact the instructor by phone (not by e-mail) before registering for the course. Ask him what projects he has worked on and how long ago he worked on them. I'm not trying to offend any full-time instructors, but there are too many lessons you can only learn from the field. As for clear communication, I recently heard feedback from students attending conference training that were very disappointed after spending several thousand dollars. They felt their instructor was very intelligent, but they could not understand him because he had a very strong accent.

What companies or organizations endorse the training?
Almost every RFID equipment manufacturer has added a training and certification program specific to their products. At least one person from a company is required to attend this training before the manufacturer will sell you equipment. Three years ago, only a few companies did this. Obviously, it does generate revenue, but the real driving force behind this is the high number of failed installations by people under estimating the complexity of an RFID implementation.

Should I be RFID certified?
There are now a number of "RFID certification" programs from which you can choose. What it REALLY means to be RFID certified is still very unclear. Depending on who issued the certification, it may simply mean you sat in a classroom for four days. It may mean you figured out where to put RFID tags on cases and have a pallet of goods with read rates of 100%. But the reality is that it takes more than a certificate to design and implement an RFID solution.

Written by Louis Sirico
Copyright ? 2005 Louis Sirico