What is Traceability?

Basic Knowledge about Traceability, an Indispensable System for Quality Management

Traceability is the ability to trace all processes from procurement of raw materials to production, consumption and disposal to clarify "when and where the product was produced by whom." Due to improving product quality and the rise in safety awareness in recent years, traceability has been increasing in importance and spreading into a wide range of fields, such as automotive, electronics, food and pharmaceutical. This section describes basic knowledge about the increasingly-popular traceability.

The term Traceability is formed by Trace and Ability. Although its definition slightly varies depending on the industry, such as automobile, electronic component, food, and pharmaceutical, it is defined as follows in the manufacturing industry:

Traceability

记录了制造商，供应商和经销商等必要信息。在所有工艺中跟踪了这些信息，从原材料和零件采购加工，装配，分配和销售，以确保其历史可以追踪。

Traceability has been defined inISO 9001.standard from the International Organization for Standardization.

虽然有各种观看可追溯性的方法，但它通常可以分为两个观点：链可追溯性和内部可追溯性。

Chain Traceability

The general concept of traceability in the world applies to chain traceability. Chain traceability means that the history from procurement of raw materials and parts to machining, distribution, and sales can be traced forward or backward. Manufacturers can monitor “to where their products have been delivered (= can trace forward)” while companies and consumers in the downstream can understand “from where the products in their hands have come (= can trace back)”.
This provides manufacturers with the benefit of easier cause investigation and product recall when unexpected problems occur with their products. Consumers can also use this as a benchmark to select highly reliable products, without worries such as mislabeling.

Internal Traceability

Internal traceability means to monitor the movement of parts/products within a limited specific area in a whole supply chain, such as a single company or plant.
例如,一个发动机装配厂促成engine parts such as camshafts and pistons from suppliers and assembles them.
Management and utilization of the manufacturing history and inspection results of these parts by the plant can also be regarded as internal traceability.

Specific Example of Internal Traceability

Traceability in Manufacturing Processes

Traceability in manufacturing processes is an activity of collecting and managing information regarding what has been done in manufacturing processes from acceptance of raw materials and parts to shipment of products. For traceability in manufacturing processes, each product or lot is assigned识别号码然后，然后诸如工作细节，检查结果和尺寸之类的信息与每个过程中的该标识号相关联，使得它可以在稍后的过程中用于组装。使用这些加工信息有助于提高生产/工作效率和质量。

Traceability in Parts Control

Traceability in parts management is used to control and operate repeatedly used parts such as tools and jigs. Serial numbers for individual identification (such as 2D codes) are marked on each tool to manage their conditions, including usage and wear limits. As the entire flow, warehoused tools and other parts are marked with management 2D codes and assigned information such as plant names, shelf numbers, and serial numbers to manage put-out and return. Other information such as the count and date/time of grinding is collected and managed to maintain and stabilize product quality.

如果出现产品质量问题，产品的制造商必须及时采取有效措施。
A slow or ineffective response from the manufacturer will create a sense of distrust among consumers or business partners, which may even endanger the existence of the company.
In addition, as laws to protect consumers have been implemented, the number of companies required to quickly recall their products due to problems has been increasing every year.

在汽车行业中，可追溯性长期促进了促进。它广泛用于防止召回问题，最大限度地减少损害，提取/提高管理挑战以及确保质量管理。然而，难以通过处理数成千上万的所有组件来检查制造中的数据，并遵守随时间变化的法律和法规。此外，全球化正在进行，而近年来成本和交付时间竞争加剧，因此可追溯性的重要性不断增加。迫切需要从植物内外的全球角度构建历史管理系统。有关详细信息，请参阅汽车行业在描述关于可追溯性的标准，法律和法规的部分。