Yesterday's batch code
The line changes from one batch of shower gel to the next after lunch. The operator is busy with the changeover and forgets to update the inkjet coder. Three hundred bottles go through with the previous batch's code before someone spots it during a check. Worse, on another day, the expiry date is set a year wrong because the operator typed the date format differently.
Every bottle has to be found, the code removed where possible or the bottle relabelled, and the batch record annotated.
Coding is set up by hand, every time
Most coders and label printers are reliable machines. The weak point is the manual set-up at each changeover.
- The operator types the batch code and date into the coder from the batch sheet.
- Date formats differ between products and markets, and are easy to get wrong.
- First-off checks are done by eye, often by the person who did the set-up.
- Changeovers happen under time pressure.
- Nothing records that the code was checked.
What a misprint costs
Wrong codes break traceability between the product and its batch record, which undermines the reason for coding at all. Wrong dates mislead customers and can lead retailers to reject stock. Fixing misprinted packs is slow, expensive and sometimes impossible, meaning waste. What date and codes you print is for you and your adviser to decide. We make sure the ones you decide on are the ones printed.
The risk rises with the number of products and changeovers. A site filling one product all day changes the code rarely. A contract manufacturer running several short batches for different brand clients in a shift sets the coder up again and again, and each time is a fresh chance to get it wrong.
A line set-up linked to the batch record
- At changeover, the operator scans the batch record or the bulk container label for the batch about to be filled.
- The system works out the batch code and date from the batch record and the rules you set for each product, in the exact format that product uses.
- Where the coder or label printer accepts messages from a computer, which many modern inkjet, thermal transfer and laser coders do, the code is sent directly. Otherwise, it is shown on screen in large text for the operator to enter.
- The operator prints a first-off and scans or photographs it. The system reads the code and compares it with what it should be. A second person can be required to confirm.
- The line cannot be marked as running on the new batch until the first-off check passes.
- The check, with the photo, is recorded against the batch record, and periodic checks during the run are prompted and logged.
| Step | By hand | Linked to the batch record |
|---|---|---|
| Code and date | Typed from the sheet | Taken from the batch record |
| Format | Remembered per product | Set per product |
| Getting it to the coder | Typed on the coder | Sent directly where possible |
| First-off check | By eye | Read and compared |
| Record | None | Photo against the batch |
Changeovers without the misprint
Operators still do the changeover, but the code comes from the record, not from memory. Mistakes are caught on the first unit rather than the three hundredth. The batch record includes evidence of the check. And new operators can run a changeover safely without having to know every product's date format.
Tick any of these?
- You have printed the wrong batch code or date.
- Coders are set up by typing at each changeover.
- First-off checks are done by eye.
- Date formats vary between products.
- There is no record of coding checks.