Looking for a benchmark on traceability. Any offers?

how does that work? i'd like to get involved i can use several examples from different industries, through my consulting experience....lets have at it...

I'm game.

How do you want to go about this?

Cheers!!

Mike

I'm ready to learn...what are you looking for? Do you just want to know how tightly each of us controls traceability? I really haven't done any benchmarking outside our own divisions before, so please excuse my ignorance

Kool, I'm excited now. OK heres for starters....
We need to maintian traceability so if we have a problem with our customers we can track back and determine what product is nonconforming; preferably the least of the product.

Unfortunately we have many suppliers, and many different moves of product from one supplier to the next. This calls for several verifications of product when it gets back and several added on job numbers.
This has become cumbersome and time consuming and I'm looking for ways to simplify and still verify the processes.
Can you give me different ways you maintain this type of traceability through your systems?

A company I worked for about 15 years ago had a great system...I will try to describe it for you...

All material was received using a "receiving ticket/inspection report". These were sequentially numbered. After material was accepted, this became the lot number. If the material was "raw material", i.e. bar stock to be used in the machine shop, the lot number became the job number. If we had multiple uses for a particular "lot", we could break it down further by adding "-" numbers to the base lot number, i.e. Material from lot #1234 would be used for job #'s 1234-1, 1234-2 and so on. After all manufacturing of the componenet was complete, or if the part was purchased complete, the parts would be sent to the stock room until pulled for an assembly job. The router for the assembly listed a bill of materials and had a space to record the lot numbers for each item pulled for the assembly job.
This gave us full traceability back to the original mill or component supplier. And, unfortunately, it paid for itself when we had to do a product recall. We new exactly which customers had the defective product.

Good Luck!

CarolX

Barb,
I couldn't get on yesterday, but I can today-not sure why. Do you want to do this by email or keep trying here?

We also have a great system and can track back almost anything.
The only problem is it has become very cumbersome.
We give the incoming powder a lot number. We give every order a job number. The lot number remains on the paperwork through the process with the job number. The problems come in because we use many suppliers and parts of the same job number can be still in house, some of that job number can be at one supplier; and some can be at another supplier.
So these orders come strolling in a couple days at a time; and we do separate final inspections as they come in. This means in order to retain traceability; we need to add extensions on to all these original job numbers to keep them separate.
Do you think a job number such as 12-18-01/8874/J is too long?

believe it or not, most MRP systems have some lot control(traceability) built in, may be purchased as an extra module for some, but most have it in the basic package and just need to be activated and applied. So first... What are you using? What product/industry? What are the imposed/implied levels required? Are they subcontractors? Does the stuff come back inbetween? Is it sent in consigned kits or is it turnkkey? What are you doing now?

well all that was food for thought....

Benchmarking done correctly needs a base, similar to what Al started in his data base thread so you can compare apples to apples and to oranges with fruit salad as the goal.

So basically the plan I typically use is to find the players, and see/know the variables, then define what to benchmark and how to approach it(data to collect)....and then start the comparisons/gather the data. Some one reviews what is submitted and reports to the group.

Ready?

With the changes to the website forum issues, should we do this off line so we don't loose contact?

I have used a cover sheet "traveler" that each sub has to sign off and attach their info/history to. It would list each step/site and their tracking number and authority to release...thus retaining the Work order from the original kit release with sub releases off of it.

Its basically a list of where it goes as it makes its way back, who was responsible for it and what system/lots they assigned and a place for inspection by you or your designated authority (source insp, or incoming at your site or whatever you already do...)

So if a suggestion is what you were looking for, there you go....but hopefully we can get a team project going, was looking forward to that.

its only too long if you think it is, or it doesn't fit on something it needs to.....the date part could be a shorter date code as in 0149M ---"year 2001--week 49, monday" or even just dropping the dashes would give you a few characters.

your choice...email or here...where do you want to go with this? Once set up you could bench mark several things just to see best practice as a reference.

Hi Dawn,

Gotta agree with Barb - as long as your lot number does what you want it to do - maintain tracability - then how long is too long is really up to you. Sometimes shorter is not necessarily better, especially if you loose vital information.

You said that your system is great. Personally, I feel that if it's not broken... why try to fix it?

Cheers!

Mike

Lets see if I remember part of the line that says "When required by contract (how'd I do??)

We use a Julian numbering system for those Items (not that we have that many)

229-137 is todays shipment number - that traces back to our origional Work order release transpose it into 229-1371 for year 2001 and we're in. That shipment left here 8/17/01 and MRP tells us what WO# it was shipped from - clear back to raw material certs.

Regards
Jim

What about all the tons of finals that is not a perfect system?

I guess I am the downer on this subject since I have spent so much time trying to do and perfect it.

In my 20+ years of quality practice we have always used some type of traceability process. The bottom line for me is that when our products were shipped to the customer they removed our tags.

When they called and said they had a problem with a batch of material my first question would be: Can I have the label/traceability info. Invariably they did not have the info but still wanted an answer to their "PRR".

At the time the President I worked for said not to answer any "PRR's" until they returned the traceability info.

I happily complied until the President was called to headquarters to answer to the SQA, needless to say he was unavailable at the time and sent me.

I was politely (hahahahaha) told by the SQA that they were the customer and had bad parts and couldn't give a sh*t about our traceability system. It was not a specific requirement for us from this customer.

Ultimately my President called the SQA's supervisor and had a discussion. We didn't ship that part for two months until the customer finally called and said they had gone through all their back stock that had accumulated over the years and they were perfectly servicable parts.

We resumed production to replentish their JIT process. Boy, sales were good on that part for a good few months and we seemed to have no "quality" problems after that.

Just a rambling story about how the process can work. It doesn't work for everyone, but a supplier can still stand firm if they have their ducks in a row.

Stepping down from soapbox now.

ASD...

Dawn,

I feel I have to apologize again, I truly did not mean my comment to be a downer on the benchmarking traceability post. I think it is important but one of the overlooked aspects of developing, maintaining, and improving a quality/management system. Highlite on management!!!!

ASD...

You could try a "KANBAN" system to trace your product throught the process. Very visual and contains the tracking information.

Greg

The last message was from me. sorry I was not logged in;)