Traceability
Published on 13 April, 2023 in Flexible Manufacturing
During this series of blogs focusing on Traceability we will discover how traceability in manufacturing has evolved over time from its first iteration to today’s evolution Traceability 4.0.
Traceability definitions have been evolving since the invention of automatic data capture equipment – primarily barcode readers – over 40 years ago. Since then, traceability applications have evolved to support industrial development from both a product technology and business process perspective.
The breadth and scope of traceability has expanded significantly over the years along with advances in technology, making it a critical application for today’s world-class manufacturers. In this post will explore the evolution of traceability and explain why the latest phase, Traceability 4.0, is not just about tracking products throughout the supply chain but also optimising productivity, quality and brand reputation within the manufacturing operation by tying product to process parameters.
Traceability 1.0: Product visibility
Traceability 1.0 is about automatically identifying products to drive accuracy and efficiency. Barcode readers were initially used in simple manufacturing processes yet grew rapidly in adoption. The ability to mark a part and then track it was ground-breaking.Traceability 2.0: Supply chain visibility
Traceability 2.0 is about managing inventory and meeting the needs of society. Now that barcodes were being applied to manufactured items, manufacturers recognised additional uses for them. They could track materials within the manufacturing facility and throughout the supply chainTraceability 3.0: Line-item visibility
Traceability 3.0 is about the optimisation of manufacturing and supply chain security by focusing on material, the second of “the 4Ms of lean manufacturing”: Man (People), Material, Machine and Method. For this paper, “Material” applies to all that is necessary to build a product: raw material, components and subcomponents, as well as the finished product with serial number. Manufacturers began to extend traceability to their suppliers by requiring barcodes and other identifying information be placed on components and packaging. Some refer to this as component, subcomponent or line-item traceability. As more suppliers began adding information, manufacturers were able to optimise manufacturing processes and product quality even further by employing traceability within the manufacturing facility.Traceability 4.0: Process visibility
So far, we have discussed product, component and supply chain tracking as key traceability goals. Traceability 4.0 is the union of all these, along with machine and process parameters to achieve the highest level of manufacturing. This includes Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) as well as production and quality data to improve overall manufacturing effectiveness. Although some manufacturers are already employing Traceability 4.0, it represents the future for the majority of manufacturers.
