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NFC tags

Manage the lifecycle of NFC tags on the web portal: registration, asset linking, deactivation, and skip-report analysis.

Required role

Mapper or Admin for create / edit. Supervisor has read-only access to the skip report.

Overview

Every physical NFC tag in your plant has a corresponding record on the web portal. The record tracks:

  • Which task point the tag links to.
  • When the tag was written (and by whom).
  • Whether the tag is active.
  • The scan-skip history that feeds the skip report.

Mappers write tags on mobile (see Writing NFC tags). The web portal is where you see them listed, deactivate damaged ones, and analyse the skip report.

Open the NFC tags page

NFC tags in the sidebar. The list shows:

Column Meaning
Tag ID The platform-generated ID encoded on the physical tag.
Linked task point Asset › task point (or just the asset if the tag is assigned at asset level).
Written by Mapper who wrote the tag.
Written at Timestamp.
Last scan When it was last scanned, and by whom.
Active Toggle.
Skip count Number of recent scans that didn't lead to a task execution.

Register / view a tag

You don't usually create a tag on the web portal — tags are written on mobile and auto-register when the write succeeds. The web portal is where you view them.

To jump to a tag's detail page:

  • Click the row in the list.
  • Or scan the physical tag on mobile, then look it up on web by the ID shown in the app.

The detail page shows:

  • Tag ID and the NDEF record content written to the chip.
  • Links to the task point and parent asset.
  • Scan history (last 50 scans).
  • Who wrote, edited, or deactivated it.

Deactivate a tag

When a tag is damaged, lost, or replaced:

  1. NFC tags → (row) → Deactivate.
  2. Confirm.

Deactivated tags still show in history but won't match a scan. Technicians who scan a deactivated tag see "Tag deactivated — please report to your Mapper".

Deactivate, don't delete

Deletion removes the audit trail for the tag. Deactivation preserves everything and is reversible if the tag turns up again.

Reactivate a tag

Filter to Inactive, open the tag, Reactivate. Useful if a tag that was marked lost shows up intact.

Rewrite / replace

When a physical tag is damaged, the mapper writes a new blank tag referencing the same task point. See Writing NFC tags.

From the web portal's perspective:

  • The old tag record stays in history.
  • A new tag record is created when the replacement is written.
  • The scan history starts fresh on the new tag.

If the replacement writes the same tag ID (same task point), the history merges automatically.

Skip report

A skip is when a technician scans a tag but doesn't complete the related task within a short window (configurable, default 10 minutes). Skips happen for mundane reasons (the tech got interrupted) and for concerning reasons (the tech tapped to acknowledge presence but didn't actually do the work).

Open the skip report

NFC tags → Skip report tab. You see a table:

Column Meaning
Tag / Task point Which point is being scanned and not followed through on.
Technician Who's scanning.
Scan count Total scans in the selected date range.
Skip count Scans not followed by task completion.
Skip rate Skip count ÷ Scan count.

Sort by Skip rate or Skip count descending to surface the worst offenders.

Interpreting skips

  • High skip rate on one technician, across many tags → behavioural issue. Coach.
  • High skip rate on one tag, across many technicians → tag placement problem (mis-labelled, hard to reach). Move or rewrite.
  • Gradual increase across the plant → training or process drift; raise in your next team meeting.

The skip report is a leading indicator of data integrity problems. Use it monthly at minimum.

Acting on a skip

Open a row for drill-down. The detail page shows individual skipped scans with timestamps so you can pinpoint when the pattern started. Coaching conversations go much better when you have specifics ("on Monday and Tuesday last week you scanned these six tags without completing the task") than generalities.

Bulk deactivation

If you're retiring a whole section of the plant:

  1. Filter the list to the affected area (by asset / line).
  2. Select all → bulk action → Deactivate.
  3. Confirm.

Tag audit reports

Reports → Task Reporting has a Tag scanned? filter. Use it to sanity-check whether task completions are following tag scans, or whether technicians are doing tasks without scanning first (bypassing the NFC workflow).

Some sites use printed QR codes instead of (or alongside) NFC tags — particularly on equipment classes where NFC is awkward (heavy metal, wash-down-rated areas). The portal can print a sheet of QR labels directly.

  1. Open a task point in the hierarchy.
  2. Three-dot menu → Print QR label.
  3. A print dialog opens with the QR sized for a standard label sticker.
  4. Print to your label printer, or print on A4 and cut.

For commissioning a whole line at once:

  1. NFC tags → Print batch.
  2. Select the task points you want QRs for (use the filter bar to narrow).
  3. The portal opens a print preview: a 3×3 grid of QR labels per A4 page (nine labels per sheet).
  4. Each label includes:
    • The QR code itself.
    • The asset + task point name below.
    • The task-point ID.
  5. Print to A4, cut along the guides, apply to equipment.

Label sizing

The 3×3 grid uses ~6 cm per label — enough for reliable scanning at arm's length with a phone camera. If you need smaller labels (for compact equipment):

  • Single print with a label printer (Brother QL / Dymo etc.) gives you freedom to set size.
  • For A4 printing, nine per sheet is the practical minimum for scan reliability.

When to use QR labels vs NFC

Situation Choose
Normal industrial environment, NFC tags available NFC (faster to scan)
Heavy metal surface that defeats NFC QR label
Wash-down area where stickers peel Engraved metal plates with QR (custom print)
Budget constraint — NFC tags are ~$0.50 each, printed labels are effectively free QR label
Technician's phone has no NFC QR label (camera always works)

Many sites mix both — NFC where it works well, QR where it doesn't.

Replacing a printed label

A worn or damaged QR label is replaced the same way as an NFC tag:

  1. Reprint the label from the task point's detail page.
  2. Remove the old label.
  3. Apply the new one.

The scan history for that task point is continuous across the replacement (the QR encodes the same task-point ID as the old one).

Things to watch for

Don't delete tags in active use

Deletion removes the audit trail. Use deactivation unless the tag was truly created in error.

Walk the plant once a year

Physical tags wear out, fall off, get painted over. An annual walk-through with the skip report in hand catches most issues before technicians start noticing.

Skip rate varies by task type

Tasks with long acknowledgement flows (heavy safety procedures) see higher legitimate skip rates — someone scanned, then had to reschedule. Context the number against task complexity.

Troubleshooting

Problem Fix
Tag ID not in the list The write may have failed — ask the Mapper to verify on mobile
Scan on mobile says "Tag deactivated" Check status; if it should be active, reactivate
Skip report shows 100% skips for one technician Check they have the correct role; they may not have permission to execute the task
Tag detail page shows wrong asset Tag was rewritten — check the history tab