Indirect locating reels and semi-finished products
System for the indirect tracking of semi-finished products (reels), forklift trucks and loading units on the production line
Leading company with 100% Italian production and exports to over 40 countries
The company specialises in the production of adhesive tapes with hot melt technology and water-based acrylics and in the customisation of the tapes with flexographic and digital printing technology using modern machinery and automated processes.
The automated control of the production cycle and the complete traceability of all the materials used guarantee a total control of its processes. Several spreading lines and many cutting lines operate over an area of 15,000 m² for making adhesive tapes in an efficient and high-performance manner with maximum levels of quality.
Real-time traceability of large volumes of semi-finished and finished products
The customer, who produces more than 300 million m² of adhesive tape every year, wanted to set up a system that enabled the position of each semi-finished product (in the 15,000 m² production area) and of each finished product (in the 3,000 m² warehouse) to be known at every moment. The very high number of reels of adhesive tape did not allow for approaches based on the application of active tags on each one of them. The level of required accuracy was high in order to achieve the requested possibility of easily identifying the object being searched for. The error therefore had to be consistently less than 2-3 metres.
UWB location of forklift trucks and automated identification of load units
Ubiquicom and its partner set up an indirect locating solution based on tracking by means of ultra-wideband technology of the forklift trucks and the use of the barcode technology (in a first phase) and RFId (in the next phase) for automatic identification of the loading unit transported.
The forklift trucks were equipped with a UWB tag mounted on the roof and powered directly by the battery of the vehicle and with a barcode reader (in the first phase) and RFId (in the next phase), which allow the loading unit transported to be identified without getting down from the vehicle. The reels of tape are labeled with passive barcode/RFID technology in order to be uniquely identified.
Digital traceability and complete visibility of semi-finished goods, finished products and operational flows
The position of the reels of adhesive tape is no longer updated manually using sheets of paper applied to each semi-finished product, but it is always available in the customer’s database; in this way, the exact position and the progress on the production line of each semi-finished product and of the batches of finished product inside the warehouse can be known.
For each finished product, it is also possible to reconstruct exactly all the work phases, the machines used, the time of completion of each activity, and the total production times, displaying on a map, by means of spaghetti charts, the path followed by the product. By using the Locator platform, it is also always possible to know the position of each forklift truck in real time and to generate logs on the flows and the use of resources.
Frequently asked questions about indirect tracking and real-time material traceability
Indirect tracking is an efficient way to monitor large numbers of semi-finished products, pallets, rolls, and finished goods without assigning an active tracking device to each item. Ubiquicom uses Ultra Wideband (UWB) technology to locate forklifts in real time and associates their position with materials identified through barcode or RFID. This approach reduces infrastructure complexity while maintaining accurate material traceability.
A real-time location and traceability system provides continuous visibility of materials across production and warehouse areas. With Ubiquicom Locator, product locations are automatically updated during forklift handling operations, allowing manufacturers to quickly locate inventory, work-in-progress (WIP), and finished goods.
No. Ubiquicom's indirect tracking solution determines the location of materials by tracking the forklift transporting them and identifying the load through barcode or RFID. This significantly reduces the number of devices required while simplifying the traceability of high-volume industrial materials.
Yes. When properly designed, an Ultra Wideband (UWB) Real-Time Location System (RTLS) can provide positioning accuracy within a few meters. In this application, the required accuracy was consistently below 2-3 meters, enabling operators to quickly locate semi-finished products and finished goods throughout the facility.
Yes. Ubiquicom solutions can integrate with barcode, passive RFID, or hybrid identification systems. Material identification is linked to the real-time location of UWB-tracked forklifts, creating a complete connection between products, handling activities, and storage locations.
Yes. Digital traceability enables manufacturers to reconstruct production workflows, including process stages, machines used, production timestamps, and cycle times. Historical data can also be visualized through route maps and spaghetti charts, providing insight into material flow and operational efficiency.
A UWB-based Real-Time Location System (RTLS) allows companies to monitor forklift movements across production and warehouse areas. Ubiquicom Locator provides real-time visibility of forklift positions and supports the analysis of routes, resource utilization, traffic patterns, and operational workflows.
Several technologies can be combined to achieve cost-effective industrial traceability. Ubiquicom uses Ultra Wideband (UWB) for real-time forklift tracking and barcode or passive RFID for load identification. By linking material identity with vehicle position, companies can achieve indirect tracking without installing active devices on every product.
Indirect tracking determines the position of a material through the real-time location of the forklift carrying it. The load is identified through barcode or RFID and associated with the vehicle. When the material is deposited, the system records the drop-off coordinates and automatically updates the database, maintaining an accurate location history without requiring an active UWB tag on every item.
Indirect tracking is particularly suitable for paper mills, recycling facilities, manufacturing plants, packaging operations, converting industries, and large warehouse environments. It is especially effective when companies need real-time visibility of high volumes of rolls, pallets, work-in-progress inventory, or finished goods while minimizing tracking infrastructure costs.