A system for tracking pipe activity on a rig includes a plurality of pipes, each pipe having an asset ID tag containing a code unique to the pipe. A pipe handling space for assembling and disassembling the pipes contains at least one pipe handling apparatus. A first scanning zone located at a first position in the pipe handling space contains a first reader antenna. A second scanning zone located at a second position in the pipe handling space contains a second reader antenna. At least one reader is provided for scanning the asset ID tags in the pipe handling space through at least one of the first reader antenna and the second reader antenna.