Part traceability documents the location of a part along the supply chain while it goes towards making a finished product.  The intention of part tracing is to reduce errors due to its ability to track product defects and fix them before they go out to market. 

• Part traceability has become a critical issue for manufacturers in all types of industries. There is increasing pressure to implement traceability systems to reduce errors and meet the needs of customers who require that the products they purchase are marked to their specifications.
• Part marking and tracking, in the overall scope of a manufacturing operation, is often overlooked as an area for improvement. Even as the need for part traceability increases, a surprising number of manufacturers still use labor-intensive, error-prone, manual marking techniques.
• The consequences of using equipment that is outdated or that needs constant maintenance can be measured in terms of lost production, direct labor, high consumable costs, and scrap due to mis-marked product. Then there are the downstream costs to consider.
• Improving product traceability also allows manufacturers to pinpoint product defects more precisely. If products fail, a manufacturer can limit its liability on product recalls, service, and warranty claims.
• There are many types of marking systems available, from simple hand-held marking tools to fully automated marking, verification, and data collection systems. There are many factors that influence the selection of the right system, including the type of material being marked, the production speed, the information being marked, how often the mark information changes, the environment where the equipment must operate, and the processes and environments the mark must survive.
• When evaluating manufacturing cells to identify opportunities to cut costs and increase throughput, take a closer look at the marking and verification process. There are several things to consider when evaluating the efficiency of the marking operation.

To read the original article please click:

http://www.assemblymag.com/CDA/Articles/Howto/1cdcd62c8194a010VgnVCM100000f932a8c0