Traceability
Gonçalo Fortes avatar
Written by Gonçalo Fortes
Updated this week

Introduction

Some words are inherently difficult to define. Not because they are technical jargons but because we’re so used to them and we never think of how to define them. For instance, try defining happiness without using the word happy. Tough, right? Traceability is one of such words.

What is Traceability?

Let’s break it down. It is the ability to verify the history, location, and other metrics pertinent to the manufacturing process of an item. Normally, it is achieved via manual documentation or using automated tools. The increased demand for visibility and customer satisfaction is the underlying reason for traceability’s widespread adoption.

What are the Goals of Traceability?

1. Augment the Weaknesses of Employees

Incessant demand for warranties, bad publicity, and lawsuits are some of the fastest ways for companies to become crippled and lose their place in the market. These also, are chief indicators of how much revenue your company will generate. Traceability is the key to ensuring that the inherent flaws of the human nature do not bankrupt your business.

2. Increase Customer Satisfaction and Safety

Sometimes, a product recall is inevitable. Even big companies like Toyota an Audi sometimes recall thousands of vehicles after production. Traceability will ensure that the impact of such disaster is well-mitigated. Most times, faulty products might just be a fraction of the total items produced. When there’s a documentation process on ground, it becomes easier to recall just a batch of products delivered as opposed to everything you have ever produced.

3. Companies Can Comply with Regulatory and Quality Standards

Traceability eases the burden on companies and, to a large extent, helps businesses meet the rigorous standards stipulated by government agencies. It also minimizes the chances of incurring fines or stiff penalties for non-compliance issues. Most especially, for manufacturers of consumables, adherence to regulatory and quality standards cannot be overemphasized.

Industries where Traceability is Required

Great innovations have no problem finding relevance in any sphere of business, do they? The internet is a perfect example of this axiom. Like the internet, traceability techniques can be applied to a host of industries and some of them are discussed below.

  • Systems and Software Development- By being able to link the client’s demand to the design specifications, code, and eventual development, optimization is well achieved.

  • Food Processing- Without a doubt, there’s an urgent need to trace the movement of products and ingredients to aptly identify any anomaly.

  • Supply Chain and Logistics- The journey from the manufacturing house to the final consumer is tortuous and long. Monitoring goods in a particular distribution batch can help to improve efficiency.

  • Healthcare- Yes, even healthcare! Tracing the origins of medications and tools used on patients can give us insight into how we can improve quality of health.

Conclusion

Retracing your steps to the beginning of this article, you were probably wondering, “What is the big deal about traceability?” Well, now you know. There are easy ways and hard ways to achieving efficiency. You can either monitor and trace manually or use automated tools like Autodesk Fusion Operations. Get more information here.

Need help? Request a Fusion Operations expert to contact you here.

Did this answer your question?