The Role of RTLS (Real-Time Location Systems) in Reducing Waste
By Beth Rush
Waste accumulates daily, and industries are among the most significant contributors. One way to curb unnecessary waste is by improving efficiency. Cost-effectiveness helps conserve valuable resources and prevent them from being squandered. Real-time location systems (RTLS) offer an effective solution for addressing inefficiencies.
How Do Real-Time Location Systems Work?
RTLS employs tracking technologies such as Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and GPS tags to specify where assets, equipment, personnel, and inventory are located. These tags continuously transmit signals to an RTLS reader, relaying that data to a system that calculates and displays their exact position.
How Various Sectors Benefit From Real-Time Location Systems
It’s a powerful tool for enhancing efficiency, but how does it translate to waste reduction? Here’s how RTLS is used in different industries.
1. Eliminating Inventory Waste and Enhancing Efficiency in Manufacturing
Inefficiencies in manufacturing and supply chain operations result in delays and waste materials, often at the expense of a company’s financial resources. Whether planned or unplanned, shutdowns can consume up to 10% of total production time.
While these unproductive hours cannot be recovered, they still incur labor costs. Additionally, companies may face increased overtime expenses if extra work hours are required to compensate for lost time.
RTLS helps tackle these challenges by providing insights into product locations, improving inventory management, and streamlining equipment tracking. It also aids in identifying which tools and machinery are in working condition and which require maintenance — critical information, especially when faulty machines can bring production to a standstill.
For example, misplaced critical components can halt entire production lines in an automotive assembly plant. Also, when time-sensitive products are delayed, defects can arise, leading to further waste as products are deemed unusable and discarded. These cause irreversible revenue losses for the company.
With RTLS monitoring inventory levels and tracking the exact location of components in real-time, plant managers can quickly pinpoint missing parts and resolve disruptions before they affect operations. This ensures that essential components are always available when needed, reducing waste from unnecessary reorders and preventing production slowdowns.
RTLS also enhances workforce management by tracking personnel in real-time. For business owners and managers, knowing the exact location of workers provides operational efficiency and safety benefits. This is especially crucial when employees work in hazardous environments, disaster-stricken areas, or remote locations where immediate assistance may be needed.
2. Optimizing Resource Use and Reducing Medical Waste in Healthcare
Hospitals and healthcare facilities often struggle with misplaced medical equipment, inefficient patient flow, and unnecessary resource consumption. RTLS enhances hospital operations by accurately tracking medical devices, staff, and patients, preventing resource wastage, and improving service delivery.
For example, delays in locating essential medical equipment — such as defibrillators or ventilators — can mean the difference between life and death for patients. And when a hospital is proven inefficient, it may lead to reputation damage and potentially legal consequences. RTLS can track medical devices in real-time, ensuring that staff can access the tools when they’re needed.
RTLS also prevents the unnecessary over-purchasing of medical equipment by tracking where machines were last used and where they are typically stored. This simplifies knowledge transfer between shifts, as new staff or nurses taking over can easily locate equipment through a centralized system that identifies their latest locations. For medicines and supplies with short shelf life, maintaining inventory levels helps reduce stock expiration and ensures timely reordering when supplies run low.
It also improves response time, as location-tracking technology enables precise room-level identification for emergencies. For instance, if security personnel are needed in a specific hospital area, RTLS makes it easier to quickly locate and dispatch them to the location where their assistance is required.
These efficiencies contribute to better patient flow management, ensuring swift service delivery, preventing the overuse of resources, and optimizing bed and staff allocation where needed most.
3. Minimizing Fuel Consumption and Route Inefficiencies in Transportation
Roads often get blocked due to unforeseen circumstances like repairs, traffic jams, or accidents — a challenge that has long plagued the transportation and logistics industry. RTLS can resolve this through smart route optimization. It offers real-time vehicle tracking and route optimization so drivers and fleet managers can perform their functions effectively.
RTLS can dynamically reroute trucks in freight and logistics based on current traffic, weather conditions, and demand fluctuations. AI-driven analytics also ensure that trucks operate with optimal cargo loads so that each trip is purposeful and minimizes empty miles.
A 2021 study revealed that as much as 183 liters of fuel can be saved monthly if optimized routes are used instead of regular ones. Optimized routes can mean traveling more distances in less time, which could mean more cost savings and lower emissions for the company.
4. Reducing Energy Waste with Intelligent Resource Management in Smart Buildings
Commercial buildings consume vast amounts of energy due to inefficient heating, cooling, and lighting systems, accounting for approximately 72% of total fuel consumption. RTLS can help optimize energy use by adjusting temperature controls based on occupancy data. Companies can leverage this technology to track office occupancy patterns and improve efficiency.
RTLS data can be combined with HVAC and lighting to automate systems and reduce excessive cooling or heating when fewer occupants are present. Lights and air conditioning automatically adjust based on present occupancy. They remain off in vacant areas and are preprogrammed to regulate use in occupied spaces. The technology can also predict peak usage times, which helps ensure energy is allocated efficiently when needed and conserved when demand is lower.
RTLS Makes a Smart and Sustainable Future Possible
As industries are called to be more waste-wise and sustainable, RTLS proves transformational. With productivity progressing into sustainable domains, valuable resources are conserved, and unnecessary waste is avoided. The more efficiently operations run, the more sustainable they become.
About the author: Beth Rush is the green wellness editor at Body+Mind, where she covers topics like the power of climate consciousness at all stages of education. You can find Beth on Twitter @bodymindmag. Subscribe to Body+Mind for more posts by Beth!