Traceability
Encyclopedia
Traceability refers to the completeness of the information about every step in a process chain.
The formal definition: Traceability is the ability to chronologically interrelate uniquely identifiable entities in a way that is verifiable.
Traceability is the ability to verify the history, location, or application of an item by means of documented recorded identification.
's measurement
s to a known standard
. Calibration
to a traceable standard can be used to determine an instrument's bias, precision
, and accuracy.
In many countries, national standards for weights and measures are maintained by a National Measurement Institute (NMI) which provides the highest level of standards for the calibration
/ measurement traceability infrastructure in that country. Examples of government agencies include the National Physical Laboratory, UK
(NPL) the National Institute of Standards and Technology
in the USA, and Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt
(PTB) in Germany. As defined by NIST, "Traceability of measurement requires the establishment of an unbroken chain of comparisons to stated references each with a stated uncertainty."
, traceability refers to the capability for tracing
goods along the distribution chain on a batch
number or series number basis. Traceability is an important aspect for example in the automotive industry, where it makes recalls possible, or in the food industry where it contributes to food safety
.
The international standards organization EPCglobal
under GS1
has ratified the EPCglobal Network
standards (esp. the EPC Information Services EPCIS standard) which codify the syntax and semantics for supply chain events and the secure method for selectively sharing supply chain events with trading partners. Theses standards for traceability have been used in successful deployments in many industries and there are now a wide range of products that are certified as being compatible with these standards.
See Tracking and tracing.
is usually marked on the part or raw material which identifies the ingot it came from, and a lot number may identify the group of parts that experienced the same heat treatment. (i.e. were in the same oven at the same time.) Material traceability is important to the aerospace, nuclear, and process industry because they frequently make use of high strength materials that look identical to commercial low strength versions. In these industries, a part made of the wrong material is called "counterfeit," even if the substitution was accidental.
, traceability is more of an ethical or environmental issue. Environmentally friendly retailers may choose to make information regarding their supply chain freely available to customers, illustrating the fact that the products they sell are manufactured in factories with safe working conditions, by workers that earn a fair wage, using methods that do not damage the environment.
, the term traceability (or Requirements Traceability
) refers to the ability to link product documentation requirements back to stakeholders' rationales and forward to corresponding design artifacts, code, and test case
s. Traceability supports numerous software engineering
activities such as change impact analysis, compliance verification or traceback of code, regression test
selection, and requirements validation. It is usually accomplished in the form of a matrix created for the verification and validation
of the project. Unfortunately the practice of constructing and maintaining a requirements trace matrix
(RTM) can be very arduous and over time the traces tend to erode into an inaccurate state unless date/time stamped. Alternate automated approaches for generating traces using information retrieval
methods have been developed.
In transaction processing software, traceability implies use of a unique piece of data (e.g., order date/time or a serialized sequence number) which can be traced through the entire software flow of all relevant application programs. Messages and files at any point in the system can then be audited for correctness and completeness, using the traceability key to find the particular transaction. This is also sometimes referred to as the transaction footprint.
practice, the term traceability relates to the requirement for a continuous audit trail
accounting for the whereabouts of a blood product and its current status in terms of processing, testing, storage, etc. at all points from initial collection from a donor right through to either transfusion to a recipient or disposal. This is particularly important with regards to prevention of transfusion-transmitted infection, and is a legal requirement in many countries including all member states of the European Union
.
(meat processing, fresh produce processing), the term traceability refers to the recording through means of barcodes or RFID tags & other tracking media, all movement of product and steps within the production process. One of the key reasons this is such a critical point is in instances where an issue of contamination arises, and a recall is required. Where traceability has been closely adhered to, it is possible to identify, by precise date/time & exact location which goods must be recalled, and which are safe, potentially saving millions of dollars in the recall process. Traceability within the food processing industry is also utilised to identify key high production & quality areas of a business, versus those of low return, and where points in the production process may be improved.
In food processing software, traceability systems imply the use of a unique piece of data (e.g., order date/time or a serialized sequence number, generally through the use of a barcode
/ RFID) which can be traced through the entire production flow, linking all sections of the business, including suppliers & future sales through the supply chain. Messages and files at any point in the system can then be audited for correctness and completeness, using the traceability software to find the particular transaction and/or product within the supply chain.
The European Union's General Food Law came into force in 2002, making traceability compulsory for food and feed operators and requiring those businesses to implement traceability systems. The EU introduced its Trade Control and Expert System, or TRACES
, in April 2004. The system provides a central database to track movement of animals within the EU and from third countries. Australia has its National Livestock Identification System
to keep track of livestock from birth to slaughterhouse.
India has started taking initiatives for setting up traceability systems at Government and Corporate levels. Grapenet, an initiative by Agriculture and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), Ministry of Commerce, Government of India is an example in this direction. GrapeNet is an internet based traceability software system, for monitoring fresh grapes exported from India to the European Union. GrapeNet is a first of its kind initiative in India that has put in place an end-to-end system for monitoring pesticide residue, achieve product standardization and facilitate tracing back from pallets to the farm of the Indian grower, through the various stages of sampling, testing, certification and packing. Grapenet won the National Award (Gold), in the winners announced for the best e-Governance initiatives undertaken in India in 2007. Grapenet was designed and developed by Logicsoft, award winning traceability solutions company, based in New Delhi, India.
Uruguay
has also designed a system called Traceability & Electronic Information System of the Beef Industry. It is expected to be fully developed by 2010.
The formal definition: Traceability is the ability to chronologically interrelate uniquely identifiable entities in a way that is verifiable.
Traceability is the ability to verify the history, location, or application of an item by means of documented recorded identification.
Measurement
The term measurement traceability is used to refer to an unbroken chain of comparisons relating an instrumentMeasuring instrument
In the physical sciences, quality assurance, and engineering, measurement is the activity of obtaining and comparing physical quantities of real-world objects and events. Established standard objects and events are used as units, and the process of measurement gives a number relating the item...
's measurement
Measurement
Measurement is the process or the result of determining the ratio of a physical quantity, such as a length, time, temperature etc., to a unit of measurement, such as the metre, second or degree Celsius...
s to a known standard
Standard (metrology)
In the science of measurement, a standard is an object, system, or experiment that bears a defined relationship to a unit of measurement of a physical quantity. Standards are the fundamental reference for a system of weights and measures, against which all other measuring devices are compared...
. Calibration
Calibration
Calibration is a comparison between measurements – one of known magnitude or correctness made or set with one device and another measurement made in as similar a way as possible with a second device....
to a traceable standard can be used to determine an instrument's bias, precision
Accuracy and precision
In the fields of science, engineering, industry and statistics, the accuracy of a measurement system is the degree of closeness of measurements of a quantity to that quantity's actual value. The precision of a measurement system, also called reproducibility or repeatability, is the degree to which...
, and accuracy.
In many countries, national standards for weights and measures are maintained by a National Measurement Institute (NMI) which provides the highest level of standards for the calibration
Calibration
Calibration is a comparison between measurements – one of known magnitude or correctness made or set with one device and another measurement made in as similar a way as possible with a second device....
/ measurement traceability infrastructure in that country. Examples of government agencies include the National Physical Laboratory, UK
National Physical Laboratory, UK
The National Physical Laboratory is the national measurement standards laboratory for the United Kingdom, based at Bushy Park in Teddington, London, England. It is the largest applied physics organisation in the UK.-Description:...
(NPL) the National Institute of Standards and Technology
National Institute of Standards and Technology
The National Institute of Standards and Technology , known between 1901 and 1988 as the National Bureau of Standards , is a measurement standards laboratory, otherwise known as a National Metrological Institute , which is a non-regulatory agency of the United States Department of Commerce...
in the USA, and Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt
Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt
The Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt is based in Braunschweig and Berlin. It is the national institute for natural and engineering sciences and the highest technical authority for metrology and physical safety engineering in Germany....
(PTB) in Germany. As defined by NIST, "Traceability of measurement requires the establishment of an unbroken chain of comparisons to stated references each with a stated uncertainty."
Logistics
In logisticsLogistics
Logistics is the management of the flow of goods between the point of origin and the point of destination in order to meet the requirements of customers or corporations. Logistics involves the integration of information, transportation, inventory, warehousing, material handling, and packaging, and...
, traceability refers to the capability for tracing
Tracing
Tracing may refer to:* Tracing , a process by which a one demonstrates the ownership of property, with the intent to be awarded a claim based on this information...
goods along the distribution chain on a batch
Batch
Batch may refer to:Food and drink*Batch , an alcoholic fruit beverage*Batch loaf, a type of bread popular in Ireland*A dialect term for a bread roll used in Nuneaton and Coventry, England*Small batch, bourbon whiskey blended from selected barrels...
number or series number basis. Traceability is an important aspect for example in the automotive industry, where it makes recalls possible, or in the food industry where it contributes to food safety
Food safety
Food safety is a scientific discipline describing handling, preparation, and storage of food in ways that prevent foodborne illness. This includes a number of routines that should be followed to avoid potentially severe health hazards....
.
The international standards organization EPCglobal
EPCglobal
EPCglobal is a joint venture between GS1 and GS1 US .It is an organization set up to achieve worldwide adoption and standardization of Electronic Product Code technology....
under GS1
GS1
Founded in 1977, GS1 is an international not-for-profit association dedicated to the development and implementation of global standards and solutions to improve the efficiency and visibility of supply and demand chains globally and across multiple sectors...
has ratified the EPCglobal Network
EPCglobal Network
The EPCglobal Network is a computer network used to share product data between trading partners. It was created by EPCglobal. Basis for the information flow in the network is the Electronic Product Code of each product which is stored on an RFID tag....
standards (esp. the EPC Information Services EPCIS standard) which codify the syntax and semantics for supply chain events and the secure method for selectively sharing supply chain events with trading partners. Theses standards for traceability have been used in successful deployments in many industries and there are now a wide range of products that are certified as being compatible with these standards.
See Tracking and tracing.
Materials
In materials, traceability refers to the capability to associate a finished part with destructive test results performed on material from the same ingot with the same heat treatment, or to associate a finished part with results of a test performed on a sample from the same melt identified by the unique lot number of the material. Destructive tests typically include chemical composition and mechanical strength tests. A heat numberHeat number
A heat number is an identification number that is stamped on a material plate after it is removed from the ladle and rolled at a steel mill.Industry quality standards require materials to be tested at the manufacturer and the results of these tests be submitted through a report, also called a Mill...
is usually marked on the part or raw material which identifies the ingot it came from, and a lot number may identify the group of parts that experienced the same heat treatment. (i.e. were in the same oven at the same time.) Material traceability is important to the aerospace, nuclear, and process industry because they frequently make use of high strength materials that look identical to commercial low strength versions. In these industries, a part made of the wrong material is called "counterfeit," even if the substitution was accidental.
Supply Chain
In the Supply chainSupply chain
A supply chain is a system of organizations, people, technology, activities, information and resources involved in moving a product or service from supplier to customer. Supply chain activities transform natural resources, raw materials and components into a finished product that is delivered to...
, traceability is more of an ethical or environmental issue. Environmentally friendly retailers may choose to make information regarding their supply chain freely available to customers, illustrating the fact that the products they sell are manufactured in factories with safe working conditions, by workers that earn a fair wage, using methods that do not damage the environment.
Software
In software developmentSoftware development
Software development is the development of a software product...
, the term traceability (or Requirements Traceability
Requirements traceability
Requirements traceability is a sub-discipline of requirements management within software development and systems engineering. Requirements traceability is concerned with documenting the life of a requirement and to provide bi-directional traceability between various associated requirements...
) refers to the ability to link product documentation requirements back to stakeholders' rationales and forward to corresponding design artifacts, code, and test case
Test case
A test case in software engineering is a set of conditions or variables under which a tester will determine whether an application or software system is working correctly or not. The mechanism for determining whether a software program or system has passed or failed such a test is known as a test...
s. Traceability supports numerous software engineering
Software engineering
Software Engineering is the application of a systematic, disciplined, quantifiable approach to the development, operation, and maintenance of software, and the study of these approaches; that is, the application of engineering to software...
activities such as change impact analysis, compliance verification or traceback of code, regression test
Regression testing
Regression testing is any type of software testing that seeks to uncover new errors, or regressions, in existing functionality after changes have been made to a system, such as functional enhancements, patches or configuration changes....
selection, and requirements validation. It is usually accomplished in the form of a matrix created for the verification and validation
Verification and Validation
In software project management, software testing, and software engineering, verification and validation is the process of checking that a software system meets specifications and that it fulfills its intended purpose...
of the project. Unfortunately the practice of constructing and maintaining a requirements trace matrix
Traceability matrix
A traceability matrix is a document, usually in the form of a table, that correlates any two baselined documents that require a many to many relationship to determine the completeness of the relationship...
(RTM) can be very arduous and over time the traces tend to erode into an inaccurate state unless date/time stamped. Alternate automated approaches for generating traces using information retrieval
Information retrieval
Information retrieval is the area of study concerned with searching for documents, for information within documents, and for metadata about documents, as well as that of searching structured storage, relational databases, and the World Wide Web...
methods have been developed.
In transaction processing software, traceability implies use of a unique piece of data (e.g., order date/time or a serialized sequence number) which can be traced through the entire software flow of all relevant application programs. Messages and files at any point in the system can then be audited for correctness and completeness, using the traceability key to find the particular transaction. This is also sometimes referred to as the transaction footprint.
Coffee Industry
In the coffee industry traceability refers to the ability to track (supplier) or to trace (consumer) every step where the coffee lot has moved. The name of the farmer, the farm location and the processing methods are also included.Blood
In blood transfusionBlood transfusion
Blood transfusion is the process of receiving blood products into one's circulation intravenously. Transfusions are used in a variety of medical conditions to replace lost components of the blood...
practice, the term traceability relates to the requirement for a continuous audit trail
Audit trail
Audit trail is a sequence of steps supported by proof documenting the real processing of a transaction flow through an organization, a process or a system.....
accounting for the whereabouts of a blood product and its current status in terms of processing, testing, storage, etc. at all points from initial collection from a donor right through to either transfusion to a recipient or disposal. This is particularly important with regards to prevention of transfusion-transmitted infection, and is a legal requirement in many countries including all member states of the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
.
Food processing
In food processingFood processing
Food processing is the set of methods and techniques used to transform raw ingredients into food or to transform food into other forms for consumption by humans or animals either in the home or by the food processing industry...
(meat processing, fresh produce processing), the term traceability refers to the recording through means of barcodes or RFID tags & other tracking media, all movement of product and steps within the production process. One of the key reasons this is such a critical point is in instances where an issue of contamination arises, and a recall is required. Where traceability has been closely adhered to, it is possible to identify, by precise date/time & exact location which goods must be recalled, and which are safe, potentially saving millions of dollars in the recall process. Traceability within the food processing industry is also utilised to identify key high production & quality areas of a business, versus those of low return, and where points in the production process may be improved.
In food processing software, traceability systems imply the use of a unique piece of data (e.g., order date/time or a serialized sequence number, generally through the use of a barcode
Barcode
A barcode is an optical machine-readable representation of data, which shows data about the object to which it attaches. Originally barcodes represented data by varying the widths and spacings of parallel lines, and may be referred to as linear or 1 dimensional . Later they evolved into rectangles,...
/ RFID) which can be traced through the entire production flow, linking all sections of the business, including suppliers & future sales through the supply chain. Messages and files at any point in the system can then be audited for correctness and completeness, using the traceability software to find the particular transaction and/or product within the supply chain.
The European Union's General Food Law came into force in 2002, making traceability compulsory for food and feed operators and requiring those businesses to implement traceability systems. The EU introduced its Trade Control and Expert System, or TRACES
TRACES
TRACES is a web-based veterinarian certification tool controlling the import and export of live animals and animal products to and from the European Union. This network is under the responsibility of the European Commission...
, in April 2004. The system provides a central database to track movement of animals within the EU and from third countries. Australia has its National Livestock Identification System
National Livestock Identification System
The National Livestock Identification System is a livestock identification and tracking system used in Australia.The system uses RFID devices to identify and track livestock and keeps a central electronic database of an animal’s residency and animals it has interacted with...
to keep track of livestock from birth to slaughterhouse.
India has started taking initiatives for setting up traceability systems at Government and Corporate levels. Grapenet, an initiative by Agriculture and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), Ministry of Commerce, Government of India is an example in this direction. GrapeNet is an internet based traceability software system, for monitoring fresh grapes exported from India to the European Union. GrapeNet is a first of its kind initiative in India that has put in place an end-to-end system for monitoring pesticide residue, achieve product standardization and facilitate tracing back from pallets to the farm of the Indian grower, through the various stages of sampling, testing, certification and packing. Grapenet won the National Award (Gold), in the winners announced for the best e-Governance initiatives undertaken in India in 2007. Grapenet was designed and developed by Logicsoft, award winning traceability solutions company, based in New Delhi, India.
Uruguay
Uruguay
Uruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...
has also designed a system called Traceability & Electronic Information System of the Beef Industry. It is expected to be fully developed by 2010.