POSCO, the world’s fifth-largest steelmaker, said on Thursday that it has developed the world’s first radio frequency identification tag (RFID) system specialized for checking the inventory of steel plates for ships.

POSCO said it has succeeded in commercializing the system three years after it first began to develop it in a joint effort with Inpoesti, a company specializing in RFID, in 2010.

The steel plates can be automatically scanned for information once the tags are attached to them. In the past, only rolls of steel sheeting had been attached with such tags, meaning workers had to physically check for inventory when dealing in steel plates.

POSCO said the tags would help improve its inventory management sytem, and reduce errors that had led to supply disruptions.

“Other costs, such as labor expenses can also be cut or adjusted since we will be able to better utilize the personnel who had been in charge of taking inventory counts,” said one POSCO official.

The steelmaker plans to export the system to large-scale shipbuilders and other global major steelmakers, the company said.

(jseo@heraldcorp.com)