The ability to trace the history of a manufactured
part is a requirement in some medical and safety
applications. Beyond meeting a requirement,
traceability systems have a much greater benefit.
A traceability system requires three parts:
- A way to mark the product
- A way to read the mark
- Somewhere to store the data
The mark can
be a simple sticker or automated laser etching. The
marks are usually read by barcode scanners and
typically a database is used for storage.
Data into Information
The basic system will give you loads
of data. The value is created when the data
becomes information. This is best done with an
automated reporting system. Now these systems
can easily be web-based for anytime access.
Traceability reporting can give you:
- Lower costs by tracking manufacturing times
(including downtime)
- Lower inventory with real time work in process
tracking
- Fewer quality problems by the elimination of
skipped steps and tracking of repairs and failures
- Less wasted time because of easier failure
containment
- Less stress by always knowing what is happening
on the floor
Each piece of information helps to define
your cost and cycle time. Knowing
this makes scheduling production and budgeting
labor easier. It also helps improve the accuracy of
planning new
products and can tell you when to add capacity.
