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This is a bit of a 'I give up' question but....

The situation

My company is using RFID tags to track the movement of stuff (hire-able stuff like jack-hammers etc) around large industrial sites.

We are managing this by using RFID tags and a smattering of readers.

We are not the manufacturers or resellers of this equipment; nor are we the 'owners' of them. As a result,we have no interest in barcoding these items. Additionally, these items will never leave these sites, so will never be 'back in the world'.

The questions

  • What 'prefix' should we use to program into the "EPC ID"? (afaik, our very own gold-plated GS1-approved good-for-a-year prefix)
  • Are there any 'open access' EPC ID prefixes? (afaik, no)
  • Does it matter if we just program any prefix in? (afaik, no, but yes, but no, so should we just keep the gold ourselves?)

Other info

I have read stuff from GS1 about registering a company prefix etc. The issue for us is that we would happily buy a prefix, but they seem to be very expensive; especially because we are not tracking these tags in the big-wide-world, just a controlled site. I have found the lack of simple information about what I am meant to do for EPC IDs and whether I am meant to register a prefix quite frustrating (hence my 'give up' question).

Any advice would be appreciated!

Doddie
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  • If you use (i.e. read) the tags only in your own environment, then I would create my own ID scheme. You may consider what risk fake tags might pose for you. If there is a risk, then you can think about countermeasures like signature. – corvairjo Feb 15 '16 at 17:28

1 Answers1

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There is a list of 'restricted distribution' prefixes that can be used - see Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_GS1_country_codes). While officially those should not be used in EPC encoded tags; nobody is going to sue or fine you for actually doing so.

Probably you can use those best in combination with GRAI (Global Returnable Asset Identifier) or GIAI (Global Individual Asset Identifier) EPC encoding. See http://www.kentraub.net/tools/tagxlate/EPCEncoderDecoder.html for an easy online encoder/decoder.

You could use your own way of encoding, ignoring the GS1 EPC standards. However, this might limit future compatibility with 3rd party software solutions, and limit usability for other partners on the industrial sites.

Danny
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  • I had seen that list of country codes, but did not notice the 'restricted distribution' sections. Do you have any idea what they are for? I am keen to use a GRAI/GIAI encoding, I was just trying to figure out what prefix to use. As far as I can tell, it is cheaper to buy your own MAC Address OUI than a GS1 company prefix!?!? I had seen a very similar tool to that one here (http://www.gs1us.org/resources/tools/epc-encoder-decoder), do you think Ken knows? – Doddie Feb 16 '16 at 14:34
  • As far as I know, they are mainly used for 'closed loop' use cases, like yours - not distributed to 3rd parties, where they might conflict with other companies using those codes (as they are not 'guaranteed' to be unique). (I am quite sure GS1 licenses the website encoder...) – Danny Feb 18 '16 at 06:50
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    GS1 pricing is based on the number of items that need a GTIN. Since you are doing inventory tracking, not retail barcoding, you could save money and still be 'legit' by buying the smallest number of GTINs for your application. You would still have countless serial numbers available for your stuff. There is also a bit you can set in the EPC memory of the tag to say 'not GS1'. – joeforker Aug 16 '16 at 20:28