Solution Summary
The necessity of a recall can really ruin your day. Hopefully it never happens, but if it does you need to respond as QICly as possible, and recall only enough product to eliminate the risk. This requires accurate, complete, and secure data.
Under the European regulations for traceability of
ingredients, as well as the Bioterrorism
Act of 2002 in the US, full traceability of food is fast becoming a major
issue for everyone in the supply chain.
Bottom line is that anyone in the supply chain needs to be
able to produce records as to the genealogy of specific lots within 24
hours. There are serious penalties –
both legal and moral – should a manufacturer not be able to comply if called
upon. Collecting this data can be a
major exercise, although not as major as sorting it out in 24 hours. Writing down lot changes is relatively easy
but storing the paper gets more complicated, and finding every applicable piece
of paper can be close to impossible.
Remember that the contaminant may have inadvertently entered your supply chain, without your knowledge or control. A supplier 3 or 4 levels back in the chain may have been compromised and their product has become a part of your product. You need to know where that ingredient is, and went, in 24 hours or less.
Without proper systems and work practices, this is a virtually impossible task. Some options for solutions include complex data collection systems, RFID, forms management, and other creative solutions. Often these fall down where the “rubber meets the road” – the shop floor. Your people are already busy – another data collection system is an imposition. And we all know that “Garbage in = garbage out”. That is just NOT ACCEPTABLE when people’s lives may be on the line.
Complex solutions are available incorporating sophisticated
technology. Custom systems are built
using SCADA software. One European supplier has a system designed
for all members of a supply chain to maintain a complete
supply chain traceability literally from farm to fork.
QIC’s solution recognizes that simplicity for the operator is the key to accurate data. Our solution builds on GainSeeker™ SPC from Hertzler Systems Inc. and QIC Navigator™ shop floor HMI, which has a great deal of built in capability to retrieve and filter data by user defined traceability elements. As the data collection engine is simple to use, and will probably be used for collection of other data for SPC, Net Contents Control, Visual Inspection, and other applications, it is an ideal way to capture the data. Traceability data is captured, automatically if the systems are in place, as a byproduct of your HACCP, LIMS, SPC, Net Contents Control, SCADA and shipping systems. (or all of the above) Parent child relationships are maintained with many to one, and one to many relationships. Traceability is maintained within the internal supply chain. If thresholds are required on rework product, they are user definable, and available to filter the data.
The data collection engine is configured to force entry of
lot/code date information with each inspection.
This data is stored with the data, and is written to a unique trace
tracking table. In most cases, this
approach will not require any additional keystrokes. For better accuracy we can employ bar code or
RFID data capture instead of operator entry.
The tracking report retrieves all information regarding a
particular lot number and shows both upstream and downstream lots that include
the target lot.
And most importantly, QIC consultants can help you to
structure your business practices to implement lot traceability in the least
intrusive manner possible.
For more information or a demonstration, email us at Info@QIC-Intl.com