Everything you Need to know about real-time locations systems (RTLS) in 2024

RTLS is a critical component of the Smart Factory, Digital Transformation, and Industry 4.0 family of advanced digital technologies. For many operations, a location intelligence solution such as RTLS may be the first technology they try.

According to a recent article by Forbes, Four Predictions For The Manufacturing Industry in 2023, “The gap between the technology haves and have-nots will widen.”

RTLS has been around for more than 20 years, and most technologies powering RTLS are now well known, and in production. What’s less understood is the difference between these technologies and how to evaluate the costs and benefits of each in order to select the best solution for your industry/facilities’ tracking needs.

RTLS technologies may be customized to the environmental peculiarities of each site, the volume, types, and value of assets that need to be tracked, and the tracking frequency and accuracy required - from room-level to within inches.

The real-time Location Systems Market (RTLS) will be worth $12.7 billion by 2026, according to the new research report, published by Markets and Markets™.

The following guide draws from WISER’s wealth of experience developing, validating, and integrating location technologies across industries using our mesh network ultra-wideband (UWB) RTLS solution.

Here are the main topics this guide will address: 

Contents:

RTLS in action shows a detailed history of where an asset has moved.

Chapter 1:

What is RTLS?

The term RTLS typically refers to localized positioning systems, as opposed to global positioning systems such as GPS. While time and location are the obvious common aspects of both, identification is an additional important feature of RTLS, even in cases where identifying information is safeguarded.

In essence, RTLS shows the what, where, and when within a defined locale, quantifying these factors in a way decision-makers can understand. For instance, RTLS could be used to show which forklift (what) crossed a given picking lane in a warehouse (where) at a specific time (when). Another example: RTLS can visualize which shippable container (what) was loaded onto a specific truck (where) at a given point during the workday (when).

Because RTLS describes a wide array of location intelligence solutions, it’s helpful to disambiguate. For instance, the term RTLS generally encapsulates systems providing proximity-based data or actual coordinates. It’s also sometimes used for systems that identify devices at set choke points, providing temporary location at a point of scan. Since point-of-scan systems don’t show continual / real-time location, this guide won’t explore these systems in depth. Rather, the focus of the following sections will be systems that continuously provide identification, location, and timing data, the what, where, and when mentioned above, even while assets are on the move.

RTLS incorporates identification, location, and timing—what, where, and when.

Technologies Used in RTLS

There are more and more innovative ways to make real-time location a reality. By far the most common approach is using radio frequency identification (RFID) technologies, like WiFi or UWB, however, WISER’s RFID system uses a patented Redundant Radio Localization and Tracking (RRLT) UWB-driven technology, making for a more precise RFID.

In general, an RF approach remains the same across technologies. Wireless transceivers—often called tracker tags or simply tags—mark the objects or personnel being located and tracked. Meanwhile, a system of reference points in known locations reads transmissions from these tags to calculate actual timing and location data. These reference points can be called antennas, anchors, or sometimes beacons depending on the system being used.

Some systems calculate location data at the edge, and some send it back to a local or cloud-based server first. Likewise, one system can use triangulation while another uses trilateration, some require a clear line-of-sight between RF devices though others function without it, and parameters for hardware installation span the gamut. The point is that RF transmissions are the primary mechanisms used for RTLS today across all the most common technologies in use:

  • WiFi

  • Bluetooth / Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE)

  • UWB

  • ISM-band or UHF RFID

  • NB IoT

There are other non-RF approaches to RTLS too, like ultrasonic or infrared. Furthermore, many RTLS solutions incorporate various non-RF approaches like magnetometry, inertial measurement, or gyroscopic calculations. These are more often used to supplement RF-based systems, however.

Further reading on how you could utilize both RFID and UWB technologies.

Reader using RFID technology

What’s the Difference Between Asset Tracking and RTLS?

The terms RTLS and asset tracking sometimes appear side by side, even being used interchangeably. Asset tracking can refer to many tools well outside RTLS. The common ground lies in both identification, and tracking. The key point of difference lies in what ‘tracking’ means in the first place.

Asset tracking can describe anything from a spreadsheet to a library catalog to a true location intelligence system like RTLS. Many asset tracking solutions are software tools designed to intermittently log data entered manually, not to autonomously track while providing continuous live updates. As such, asset tracking often entails systems to account for things at the momentary point of data log, whether that’s the moment of a scan, the time when inventories are updated, or another metric. Continuous autonomously-derived location data is not always part of the picture.

Barcodes are a prime example of a basic asset tracking solution. Barcodes provide identification but are not equipped with continuous location or timing data. Even when scanned frequently at specific, set locations, the timing and location data is temporary rather than current. On the other hand, there are numerous ways to use RTLS that wouldn’t be described as asset tracking at all. For instance, non-optical navigation systems or location-based worker safety applications use RTLS outside the scope of what is typically referred to as asset tracking.

Sometimes identification at point-of-scan is the only information needed; scanning a library book or a train pass are examples. In other instances, precise and continuous location data is a real game changer, whether due to frequency of asset movement, where asset loss is particularly dangerous or expensive, or because location data enhances key metrics for efficiency.

Ultimately, understanding the overlap between asset tracking and RTLS comes back to understanding the specific application of the technologies in question and the combination of identification, location, and timing data gathered.

Chapter 2:

How do people use RTLS?

The different applications for RTLS are nearly limitless. After all, nearly anyone can benefit from a better understanding of how things move in real time. The general value of location data has led to a hugely varied set of end-use applications, from manufacturing work in progress tracking, inventory management, yard management, supply chain and logistics, to healthcare, animal tracking, and safety for personnel in mining and other dangerous industries. It’s almost impossible to meaningfully account for every way or situation in which RTLS can solve real-world problems.

This guide will focus on a few use-cases and related applications that are especially common.

How do you know if RTLS will work for your use case?

The answer to this question will be addressed more directly in Chapter 3. The short answer, however, is to start with a thorough understanding of your organization’s problem. It will be much easier to determine if there’s workable technology available after you know what that technology needs to accomplish for you.

RTLS in Manufacturing

Smart factories are gathering all kinds of data—analyzing temperatures, machine vibrations, acoustic anomalies, air quality, and many other parameters—and location data can be an important addition to these metrics.

As in other industries, one of RTLS’s key benefits for manufacturing is that RTLS can supplement or even eliminate many error-prone manual processes. Scanning is a good example. Some factories arrange automatic scanning stations for every key step of their manufacturing journey, so that batches or individual components have a clear marker of progress and compliance at each juncture. However, the limitations of scanning technologies, (human error, for example), and the various physical aspects of many manufacturing processes, make automatic scanning challenging and often impossible.

For instance, some components can’t be barcoded because they go through a chemical process or a welding zone. Another example: Many RFID readers don’t work reliably around metal components. Furthermore, outfitting a work setting with automatic line-of-sight scanners—like barcodes use—can be unwieldy and expensive. Given the preponderance of difficulties, manufacturers often rely on human workers to manually scan or notate which item moves where, at which time, and for how long.

RTLS is particularly useful in manufacturing environments that are chaotic, unorganized, and unstructured, which is often the case in cellular manufacturing, where parts move from one station to another, and many times go back and forth between station or skip over certain stations. Keeping track of work in progress in these environments can be error-prone. By automating location-based updates, RTLS can improve reliability, speed up every step of the undertaking, and ultimately increase output.

This is just one example of RTLS in manufacturing. Other valuable applications include:

·       Heightening worker safety via location awareness

·       Providing quick search for items that go missing

·       Automating inventory routines for high-value assets

·       Delivering predictive warnings in cases of congestion or perimeter deviation

Related reading: 15 Ways RTLS Disrupts Manufacturing.

Improving Work-in-Progress (WIP) Tracking with RTLS

While location and timing data are helpful at almost any stage of the manufacturing process, RTLS can be invaluable for work-in-progress (WIP) tracking.

In the context of manufacturing, WIP essentially refers to the in-transit aspect of adding value to a product: manufacturing has begun, but the product is not yet complete. Depending on the product or the manufacturer, the steps for adding value can be long, grueling, and removed from one another in both time and space. Unsurprisingly, WIP routines make it difficult to obtain accurate real-time visibility of the status of each component or batch of components.

RTLS aids WIP tracking by pairing always-current data with each leg of the journey. With a real-time picture generated autonomously around the clock, process managers can immediately detect issues such as:

  • Inconsistent or overly long times spent on any given step in the process

  • Where products or components are regularly backlogged

  • Total manufacturing time spent for each manufactured item

  • Unanticipated bottlenecks or unplanned downtime

  • Items whose status is out-of-step with its current stage in the process

  • Process errors and quality control measures to address them

Data points like these help manufacturers understand the real WIP trajectory, correct errors early on, and streamline workflows overall.

Further reading: A critical look at how manufacturing work in progress can be improved and lean waste reduced or eliminated to increase your bottom line.

RTLS in Yard Management

Vehicle yards are essentially logistics hubs, so timing and location are key to almost everything that happens there. Once vehicles leave the yard, they’re usually tracked via GPS or telematics solutions. In the yard or parking garage itself, however, global positioning systems are unable to deliver the visibility operators require.

RTLS fills key gaps by locating and tracking vehicles down to the individual parking spot. Low-power, high-precision RTLS can save time and money for yard managers by mapping out available parking spaces, informing logistics and vehicle scheduling, or automating updates for location-based procedures like vehicle maintenance.

Another dimension of value: Yards often have rows of look-alike vehicles parked wherever they can. Not only does this block vehicle access, in many cases finding the assigned vehicle in the yard can be challenging and time-consuming. RTLS allows yard managers and dispatched drivers to identify a tagged vehicle’s location, accessibility, and state of readiness.

Further reading: Beyond Fleet Management.

RTLS in Smart Warehousing

Some warehouses have modernized almost beyond recognition, while others operate nearly the same way they did thirty or forty years ago. Autonomous vehicles or robots run some facilities, while others still struggle to keep a current inventory using clipboards, spreadsheets, or other manually-filled logs to manage assets. Even considering this wide range of warehouse operations, it’s fair to say that almost every warehouse, no matter its stage of digitization, can or already does benefit from location data.

On one hand, every warehouse is designed to make physical assets organizable, storable, and findable when needed. RTLS fits perfectly into these objectives. On the other hand, inventory management for warehouses typically utilizes several different technologies, each with its own place and value.

In theory, real-time location solutions could account for every individual asset in a warehouse at any given moment, but the point of cost for RTLS is so much higher than for scannable identifiers like barcodes that it’s unlikely that older, more simple ID systems will be completely replaced anytime soon. Because RTLS technologies aren’t yet small enough or inexpensive enough for this kind of 100% inventory across industries, most warehouse applications of RTLS center on high-value assets, batches of assets, expiring assets, or items that move frequently.

Forklift-tracking is a common need. Forklifts are often left in odd or inopportune places, especially in larger facilities, making it helpful to instantly search and find each vehicle’s location. RTLS also delivers key usage metrics—showing how often each forklift moves and which route each takes—which helps warehouse managers understand how many forklifts they really need. And, there’s added value in tracking the what, where and when of the forklift’s load, as well.

Tracking rider pouches—plastic attachments with work orders or identifying paperwork for in-process assets—is another good use of RTLS. The paperwork in riders typically includes a scannable identifier, like a barcode, so it’s possible to associate this existing, scannable ID with a reassignable RTLS tag.

Additional reading: Autonomous Forklift Tracking with the WISER Locator.

RTLS in Healthcare

Healthcare was one of the first industries to experiment seriously with RTLS. Small wonder, since hospitals are full of valuable physical assets that move often and need to be accessed quickly, even immediately, when needed.

Inventory management for mobile assets like IV pumps and wheelchairs is one of the most immediate needs. Tracking rental equipment has proven invaluable as well, since returning rentals early can mitigate massive expenses for hospitals.

Contact tracing is another clear need. Even before the outbreak of COVID-19, for instance, hospitals have utilized RTLS to help prevent hospital-acquired infections (HAIs). HAI-prevention is sometimes accomplished by tracking personnel, but it can also be approached by tracking medical implements like endoscopes, which are commonly associated with the spread of infection.

Way-finding and navigation is another growing use for RTLS in healthcare. While there are other technologies available to help patients and care providers, the size and complexity of many hospital and healthcare campuses makes indoor positioning a valuable service.

Additional reading: 5 Reasons Hospitals Use Real-Time Location Systems.

Time AND Motion Studies with RTLS

Time and motion studies come in all sorts of configurations, including many that are not actually best accomplished with RTLS. RTLS is optimal, however, for studies focused on motion between workstations, route analysis, or heat mapping of other physical paths that people or vehicles can take.

The basic value of time and motion data is the same whether end users want to understand the motion of carts, lift trucks, or individual workers. Once the person or object in question is outfitted with a tag, the tag’s motion histories show the point-by-point positions for whatever time period is needed.

There are many ways to conduct route-based time-motion studies without RTLS, but looking at dots on the map can be incredibly eye-opening without much work. Roundabout paths, bottlenecks, or repeated routes quickly become evident. Best of all, the measuring process is simple. Workers don’t need to change their rhythms, and data is gathered in real time without someone having to log paths manually or sort through lengthy video reels.

Using RTLS also lets the organization protect the privacy of individual workers more directly than optic time-motion methods. Ultimately, RTLS helps inform how work processes or even spatial layouts could be changed for the better, and it does so via data—not estimations or best guesses.

Additional reading: Time and Motion Studies with the WISER Locator.

Other Ways to Use RTLS

There are still more ways to save time, lower costs, and eliminate real-world headaches using RTLS. Athletics analysis, consumer way-finding, animal care, and building innovation and efficiency, are all big categories, not to mention the growing interest in smart home applications of location data.

Additional reading: 25 Ways Real-Time Location Systems Solve Real-World Problems.

Tracking chemical bins in a warehouse

Chapter 3: Implementing RTLS

Given the wide range of RTLS solutions and the even wider array of end uses, it’s not possible to map out every element involved in implementing a system specific to your company. There are, however, a few key principles and many guiding questions that can shorten your time to deployment.

Where to get Started with RTLS

When beginning your own RTLS initiative, there’s plenty to learn and consider. First and foremost, what problem are you trying to solve? Next, what technology configuration will work best for that problem?

Other key factors to assess may include:

  • What is the environment in which you need RTLS to operate?  Are you operating in a heavy metallic setting, office buildings, outside or underground?

  • What are the sizes, shapes, and materials of the things you want to locate?

  • What is the scale of the project you’re pursuing? Are you tracking a few hundred items or thousands, and how large is the tracking arena?

  • How precise are your tracking needs? Do you need to locate items by inches, or would a few yards suffice?

  • How often do you need updates on the items you locate and track, every few seconds, few minutes or once a day?

  • What platform do you use for your data and how do you access it?

Some of these questions will be easy to answer, either on your own or in consultation with an RTLS expert. Others might require field-testing of one sort or another.

Because legacy RTLS has an unfortunate history of failing to deliver as advertised, the best way to proceed is typically to conduct an RTLS pilot of your own, so you can really explore how a given configuration fits for your business use case and setting. A good pilot can be as simple as bringing the system into your facility for a few days. If you’re scoping out a larger, long-term project, it can be well worth your while to pilot the project in successive stages.

In summary: Trying RTLS for yourself will answer questions you might not know you had, and—when planned carefully—make it clear whether the solution you envision will work as planned.

Further reading: What Can You do with a Backpack of RTLS Equipment?

Calculating the Costs of RTLS

Although RTLS can save billions of dollars across nearly any market vertical, real-time location systems require resources. At the starting gate, just finding the right system or integration partners isn’t always easy. Then there are the important steps to vet system performance, juggle schedules, and consider actual outlay costs.

The following are the most typical expenses you can plan on encountering:

  • Hardware—including antennas / anchors, tags, and any other hardware needed for system connectivity

  • Installation costs

  • Training and onboarding expenses

  • Software licenses

  • Costs for data integration / custom development

  • Ongoing maintenance and system support

Another factor, though it’s sometimes difficult to calculate preemptively, is the ROI you expect in implementing RTLS. Having even a rough estimate of these savings prior to initiating the project can help narrow down the options to only those that offer immediate and cost effective benefits in terms of productivity increases and cost savings.

Most RTLS providers will have an area or two where they can be competitive on these costs. For instance, some systems load all key costs upfront and are very affordable to operate going forward. Others will subsidize hardware or installation through longer-term system maintenance expenses. The total cost of ownership can be difficult to calculate at first, but once you can account for each major category of expense and you’ve validated system performance for your own end use, you’re well on your way to determining the total costs and what sort of ROI you can expect.

IT and OT Considerations

No matter what sort of RTLS you use and no matter how easy it is to implement, there are bound to be considerations that affect information technology (IT) or operational technology (OT) teams.

First, it’s vital to identify who will own the RTLS project from a technical standpoint. For example, if you’re using a system that requires periodic battery changes or recharging for individual asset tags, who will be responsible for this? Who will handle any wiring or extra data access needed for your RTLS initiative? Who on your end can authorize your RTLS provider to install the system or make adjustments?

Equally useful to know is who will manage the solution from a more practical standpoint. For example, end-users on a factory floor might need access to most of the data being generated via RTLS. Who else is authorized to access such data, or to make decisions on tracking new assets?

This also leads to cybersecurity questions that need answering. On the software-side of RTLS, solutions can operate in the cloud or exclusively on-premises. End users need to be sure they have an option that works for them, especially for facilities with limited wireless capacity. As the next section addresses further, it’s also essential to look at where your system’s data is going, who can access it, and how it’s protected.

Most larger businesses have formal processes for allowing new technologies onto their floor and vetting through these processes can take time. So, find out what approval steps you’re facing and build time for this into an RTLS deployment schedule.

Data Integration

One of the most customizable aspects of RTLS is the actual matter of data integration and delivery. If all the location data stays within the silo of one person’s office, it’s not likely to transform an organization for the better. Likewise, if the data comes out as a long series of numbers—and it certainly will at some level—it might not provide actionable intelligence without connection to some other business logic or tool.

Most RTLS will utilize some sort of application for visualizing the data. This can be its own silo, though, if that’s as far as the data goes. Integrating location-based insights into an IoT dashboard, ERP, MES, SAP, or other business process management tool is how most RTLS users unlock real, long-term value.

One of the big questions to answer is whether you can integrate data into a larger tool or data warehouse yourself, whether your RTLS provider has the tools, APIs, expertise, etc. to do this, or whether you’ll need an integration partner who can fill this gap.

The most meaningful question, however, is likely something like this: How can our business be improved by using real-time location data and which vendor provides the solution that best fits our needs? If the end user is able to see, apply, and act on the RTLS data provided you’re well on your way to a productive digital transformation.

Chapter 4:

The Future of RTLS

How Today’s Uncertainty is Impacting the Future of the RTLS Market

Demand for RTLS solutions decreased in 2020 and 2021, (likely due to COVID-19), but we are now beginning to see an increased demand for RTLS technologies worldwide. This demand is being seen in manufacturing, healthcare, defense, and government, and includes the tracking of assets such as vehicles, forklifts, medical equipment and personnel, military equipment and personnel, and work-in-progress, to name a few. In addition, the cost of hardware and software for RTLS, RFID and UWB technologies is decreasing, and should contribute to this market growth.

Furthermore, a number of near-term challenges continue to plague the manufacturing sector, which are tailor-made for RTLS solutions:

  • Continuing supply chain woes

  • Continuing staffing challenges especially with increase of on-shoring

  • Increasing customer demand for customized or specialized products

  • Rising environmental challenges

Recent supply chain problems that shattered timely delivery of goods are unlikely to resolve quickly. According to a February 2022 New York Times article, solving the supply chain crisis “will take more ships, additional warehouses and an influx of truck drivers, none of which can be conjured quickly or cheaply. Many months, and perhaps years, are likely to transpire before the chaos subsides.”

Due to these problems, many companies will likely onshore or near-shore factories, especially in the US, which will exacerbate current labor shortages. Already there is a growing shortage of workers due to an aging workforce, competitive marketplace, and a small number of young workers interested in the manufacturing sector. According to Deloitte, “Record numbers of unfilled jobs are likely to limit higher productivity and growth in 2022, and last year we estimated a shortfall of 2.1 million skilled jobs by 2030.”

There are expectations among most manufacturers that storms, fires, and similar problems may increase with global warming and companies need to have flexible strategies to prepare and respond to unexpected changes.

To address these challenges, many firms are leveraging technology and data to increase efficiency, do more with less, and become more responsive to changing constraints and demand. Whatever term you use, digital transformation, Industry 4.0, or smart factory, it’s all about collecting quality data and turning that information into meaningful action on the factory floor. No manufacturer wants to be caught unprepared for the next global shock to the supply chain or manufacturing sector.

 In summary, the increasing number of connected devices and the nearly limitless applications for RTLS solutions are expected to grow the market for real-time location tracking into the foreseeable future.

Bonus: Podcasts about UWB RTLS

●     Tracking Without Prejudice: IIoT on the Shop Floor (Tech Means Business)

●     UWB RTLS with WISER Systems (WiFi Ninjas)

●     Lower Cost UWB Arrives (Mr. Beacon Podcast)