Gilbane Tests Out RFID System to Document Workers' Hours

Gilbane Inc., a real estate development and construction firm with more than 50 office locations worldwide, is piloting an RFID-based remote attendance solution for managing construction subcontracted workers at a building site spanning 1 million square feet. The system not only helps Gilbane's customer (the site's owner) identify each worker, but also creates an electronic record of how many hours that individual has worked onsite, and tracks whether that person represents a small business or lives locally (either category qualifies the site owner for tax breaks). The system, provided by mobile solutions company Serialio, consists of ID badges containing a built-in passive high-frequency (HF) 13.56 MHz RFID tag and a small RFID reader, linked via a Bluetooth connection to a tablet PC running cloud-based software used to track who enters and leaves the site, as well as when this occurs.