Overview

A large bulk pharmaceutical supplier had sought an automated system to accurately track medication inventory at various remote locations. These locations were equipped with On-Site Medication Dispensing Systems, which functioned similarly to compact warehouses. The project successfully employed Radio-frequency Identification (RFID) technologies for inventory tracking and management, thereby minimizing human error and the need for additional training.

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The Approach

Viewing On-Site Medication Dispensing Systems as "compact" warehouses, ITG adapted existing warehouse management methods to identify inventory and other related information. RFID tags, pre-loaded on each product, facilitated tracking within a defined area and could store essential data such as expiration dates.

User Interaction

The system was designed to function as a passive entity, requiring no direct interaction from the staff at remote locations. Users continued their regular tasks while the system detected IN/OUT movements of RFID-tagged products in proximity. The IN and OUT detections were made using an inventory-check algorithm, which executed at predetermined intervals and could optionally be triggered by the RFID unit.

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Development efforts for the tracking system were designed to facilitate the future integration of an Automated Delivery System. At the core of the tracking system was a SQL Server database engine, which securely enabled replication, access, and management of information from existing systems through SQL-compliant requests. An application or driver provided interface options for tracking inventory in "live" or "real-time" scenarios and was specific to the RFID reader used.

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System Components

Local and Remote Components

• Remote: This referred to the customer's site where the medication dispensing unit was placed.
• Local: This was the central or corporate center where most reporting and data replication took place.

Event-Driven Operation

The system operated on an event-driven basis, similar to industrial production and warehouse applications. The system compared current and previous inventory levels to trigger appropriate events. These event records featured detailed attributes like event and product identification, LOT movement indicators, time stamps, and more.

Key Features

• SQL Server Database Engine: At the core of the tracking system, it facilitated data replication, access, and management through SQL-compliant requests.
• Application/Driver: This was specifically designed to interface with the RFID reader, providing options for live or real-time inventory tracking.

• Automated Delivery System: Development was designed to allow easy integration of future delivery systems.

Conclusion

The automated tracking system effectively streamlined the inventory management process across multiple locations of the pharmaceutical supplier. The use of RFID technology provided an accurate, user-friendly, and efficient solution that required minimal to no additional training for remote site operators. The system's successful implementation also laid the foundation for future integration with automated delivery systems.

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