Allentown Case Study
Staying ahead of the competition by adding innovative RFID capabilities to a market leading offering
Animals are crucial to many forms of medical and
commercial research. In laboratories around the world,
managers must manage the number and movement of
valuable research animals. Unfortunately, the traditional
methods of counting research animals are costly,
laborious and prone to errors.
The professionals at Allentown, Inc. knew there had to be
a better way. As providers of systems and solutions for the
housing of research animals, Allentown was searching for
a more efficient, automated way to count and inventory
research animals. They found that solution by forming
a collaborative partnership with the asset management
experts at Xterprise.
By harnessing the power of RIFD technology, Allentown gives laboratory managers tight control over these important animal assets.
Tracking Animal Assets
In research facilities that rely on animal test subjects, those resources are both important assets and major sources of cost.
To manage those vital assets, research facility managers
must identify and match the animals in their care with
the researchers using those assets, and are required to perform some type of Animal Inventory Management (AIM). More than 60% of all facilities conduct a census on
a daily or weekly basis, with another 15% conducting an
AIM count on a monthly basis.
The vast majority of research facilities use one of two
traditional census methods: a manual count or a census
based on barcode reader technology.
Where counts are done manually, staff members go from
room to room and cage to cage taking handwritten notes,
and that data is then laboriously keyed into an Excel
spreadsheet or other database. Manual counts do not
require technology systems or a great deal of training, and
they seem inexpensive. But as facility managers know,
manual censuses are in fact labor intensive (and thus
costly) and prone to inaccuracies and data entry errors.
When barcode readers are used, counts are faster and more
accurate. But most barcode-based systems are still somewhat
slow, labor-intensive and difficult to learn. Not surprisingly,
surveys of research facilities show that 58% of lab managers
are dissatisfied with manual and barcode-based AIM census
methods. The animal management professionals at Allentown
were seeking a better solution.
Allentown, Inc. is a global leader in research animal housing,
and has provided quality products and services to the biomedical
research community for more than 40 years. With more than
15,000 Individually Ventilated Cage (IVC) installations worldwide,
the company specializes in helping biomedical facilities reduce
the time and cost of managing their inventory of research
animals.
To address the shortcomings of traditional AIM methods,
Allentown sought a more accurate, cost-effective way to track
and manage research animals and other vivarium assets.
Automated AIM
Allentown found the solution to those AIM challenges in a
collaborative partnership with the RFID specialists at Xterprise.
The companies worked to create an RFID-based solution called
Wi-Com Sensus™, a wireless Animal Inventory Management
system designed specifically for biomedical research facilities.
Leveraging the same technology used for access key cards
and electronic tolling systems, Wi-Com Sensus gives research
facilities a more precise, automated way to count their valuable
animal assets. Wi-Com Sensus was developed in direct response
to the needs of Allentown customers, and employs plastic
cardholders embedded with RFID tags to streamline the process
of taking an animal census.
This software-based approach can be used to manage animals
and animal vendors, to conduct automated and manual animal
counts, and to administer contacts, cost centers, partial protocols,
billing statements and reports. The specific RFID-based solution
developed by Allentown and Xterprise can also be used for
cage and rack tracking and logging, and for managing bio-safety
cabinets, computer equipment, change stations and other assets.
As developed and deployed by Allentown, the Wi-Com Sensus solution uses RFID
chip and antenna circuits sealed inside a Polysulfone cardholder that can be washed
and autoclaved. Those RFID cards are attached to animal cages, and the cards then
communicate wirelessly with fixed, handheld and mobile cart-mounted RFID readers.
At a check-in station, the RFID cardholders and cage are associated with a unique
tracking code. Those coded tags are then used to conduct wireless AIM counts and
other asset management activities. A check-out station is provided where RFID cards are
collected, documented and erased for reuse.
A powerful computer workstation stores and processes key data related to AIM functions.
Together, this automated approach provides an accurate, cost-effective animal inventory
solution for both researchers and laboratory managers. It is the solution Allentown was
seeking for its research facility clients worldwide.
Staying Ahead
Working with Xterprise, Allentown created an AIM solution that meets the needs of
researchers and facility managers.
This RFID-based approach allows Allentown customers to reduce the time and cost
of required cage counts. In direct comparisons, the Wi-Com census approach was
faster, more accurate and more consistent than either manual or barcode-reader
methods. While the Wi-Com solution does require an initial investment in equipment and
installation, it dramatically reduced the ongoing cost of census-related labor.
Laboratory managers can leverage this solution to automate animal ID and
management, from check-in to check-out and to securely document and report on the
movement of those important assets. Forward-looking biomedical firms can now also
use this system to meet regulatory and compliance requirements by automating the job
of tracking cage movement.
This automated system streamlines the process of counting and tracking research
animals. As such, this solution is also helping to keep Allentown on the leading edge of
its industry.
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