Effective Manufacturing Process Management with Barcodes

Effective Manufacturing Process Management with Barcodes

The manufacturing industry has found in barcodes and its information carrying capability an effective tool in managing the manufacturing processes from start to finish. By simply scanning the barcodes, immediate and almost error feedback about the part numbers, the components used, the status, the quantities and other relevant information regarding the work in process that are passing through each manufacturing processes until they are finished and packed for shipment. Think about doing all that manually and it's easy to see the big advantage of using barcodes.

The multiple advantages of using barcodes in production, materials and supply chain management have made more regulatory bodies require compliance labeling using 2D barcodes or RFID tags. Because more information in smaller spaces is required in compliance labeling, linear barcodes are not accepted for this purpose.

Following are some examples of the ways at which barcodes are used as an effective manufacturing management tool:

In a manufacturing facility with a barcode system, it is a requirement that raw material packages delivered by the various suppliers have barcodes. This requirement is not just for efficiency and accuracy, but more importantly, for traceability. Traceability is mandatory in companies with quality systems that require complete product traceability such as manufacturers of security-sensitive products. Some manufacturing facilities produce their own barcodes that are attached to all packages received. It is only after checking that the barcodes meet the in-house standards that the deliveries are allowed entry to the inventory location or warehouse.

The materials are then moved to an inventory location determined by their barcode labels. Before the goods are moved, the labels on the destination, most likely shelves, are scanned from the forklift bringing the material packages even as far as 30ft away. This is really a time saver because there is little chance for the forklift operator to misplace the materials and future users will not waste time looking for the materials' location when it's time to use them.

Then, when the materials need to be brought to the production line, they will be identified based on barcodes. There will be no need to search and open boxes. Scanning each box as they are leaving the shelves also updates inventory management records in. The automatic updates may report the new stock level after the materials are taken out, provide production with the available quantity of raw materials available for their use and other supply-chain management records generated.

In the production line, the identity, quantity and other information regarding materials or items are verified by scanning their barcode labels. The scanning results are also like racking reports as they provide information regarding the status of the raw materials. Likewise, items or materials that are to be set aside or rejected because of some issues are also reported with reference to their barcodes. Typically, a new barcode label is generated to for the finished or assembled. The new barcode has to include information that would link to the raw material or components barcodes to maintain for traceability.

The new barcode labels for the finished products are usually print on demand according to UL/CSA regulatory content using thermal transfer barcode printers, on more durable and longer lasting, synthetic labels.

The bar coded products are then packaged individually or in batches or lots. Then another barcode has to be generated for the outer package. The outer barcodes are essential to keep track or just identify the packages during shipment, when they are received at various destinations and while are stored at the warehouses.

The durability of the barcodes for outer packages is very important because they are most likely exposed to various possibilities of being damaged. There are special scanners for damaged scanners.

All barcodes used must comply with the general or special standards for labeling of packages.

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