Line Clearance - What is the ISO 13485 / regulatory guidance?

J

John Martyn

#1
Hi all,
A quick question with regard to line clearance. What is the regulatory guidance on line clearance? It is not very well highlighted in ISO 13485: 2003 but yet is a critical tool to prevent mix-ups and ensure traceability, etc. Can anyone point me to guidance docs/ regulatory docs for use in creating a policy?
All help greatly appreciated.
John M.
P.S. Thanks Al for your redirection. Much appreciated.
 
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G

Gert Sorensen

#2
I think you're looking for the cGMP. As far as I recall it deals with lineclearance. You are quite right that it is essential to ensure a smooth and secure production so obviously ISO13485 don't deal with it in a timely and efficient manner :notme:
 
K

km214

#3
Hello all,
As I am currently working with a company that must address this issue for the first time in their 17 year history and with my experience I find that tying line clearance with ID and traceability suits the purpose just fine. As this is addressed in ISO as Prod ID traceability I think it helps to be thorough in implementation. In our case we are dealing with several different shaped machined parts...custom for the most part. I too must implement a line clearance procedure but one that will flow with machinists and their machined parts....pretty tricky when it comes to securing lots of parts or segregating them as they travel through the many processes in finishing the parts...Once I have the segregation issue worked out ...line clearance is easy. BUT I have to implement a general line clearance ASAP due to a customer audit that I must get closed out in less than two weeks....I have addressed all the other BIG issues already in the month and a half I have been on site....(including 4 validations that needed polishing while I was contracting from MA for the month I was packing and moving...but I have no doubt I will find something here that can help me in my quest. I hope my sharing will help and if I can provide greater insight on any topic more specific to your needs please let me know.
Best of luck:agree:
 

Ajit Basrur

Staff member
Admin
#4
Hi all,
A quick question with regard to line clearance. What is the regulatory guidance on line clearance? It is not very well highlighted in ISO 13485: 2003 but yet is a critical tool to prevent mix-ups and ensure traceability, etc. Can anyone point me to guidance docs/ regulatory docs for use in creating a policy?
All help greatly appreciated.
John M.
P.S. Thanks Al for your redirection. Much appreciated.
Hi John,

Welcome to the Cove :bigwave:

Yes, Line Clearance is very much required as per FDA and is mentioned under "PRODUCTION SYSTEM" and "PACKAGING AND LABELING SYSTEM" in Compliance Guide . FDA insist on having a procedure for Line Clearance and Documentation resulting there from.

For your info, I got this procedure and templates on Line Clearance titled -
SOP - Procedures for Line Clearance, Line Opening and Line Cleaning

Though not explictly mentioned in ISO 13485, I feel it is mandatory as ISO 13485:2003 specifies requirements for a quality management system where an organization needs to demonstrate its ability to provide medical devices and related services that consistently meet customer requirements and regulatory requirements.
 
R

Roland Cooke

#5
ISO13485 does have specific requirements for traceability. Not every line in every company would need to be cleared, which is maybe why not more is stated in the issue, but I agree that some extra detail in the section would be useful.
 

talal

Registered
#6
Hi everyone,
This discussion in this thread has been with regards to ISO 13485:2003. I want ask that after the revision in the standard, is there any requirement for line clearance in the 2016 edition? I could not find a direct requirement for it.
 

somashekar

Staff member
Super Moderator
#7
Hi everyone,
This discussion in this thread has been with regards to ISO 13485:2003. I want ask that after the revision in the standard, is there any requirement for line clearance in the 2016 edition? I could not find a direct requirement for it.
Hi.. Yes, there is no direct mention of line clearance.
However the line clearance is a production area discipline that will ensure that unintended mix-up are eliminated.
If you see "7.5.1 a) documentation of procedures and methods for the control of production", the line clearance could be one method that you could be using to meet this requirement.
 
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