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Return to Resource PageTrace-ability and AccountabilityWHERE DID MY PARTS GO???Every now and then, you send parts out for an added value service and you get back LESS than you sent and that little voice whispers ‘Where did those parts go?’. Or maybe you sent out 1,016 parts and got back 1,088! That could be good, or that could be bad. And so you wonder who can’t count, or did that company mix up some other parts with mine? And if you’re really having a bad day, you know there should be 673 pieces of an obsolete part you need for a kit, and they are no where to be found. And that little voice is mumbling ‘Did shipping send them to the Bahamas for a vacation?’ Who's Double Checking?Let’s face it, times are tough and I think every company in Electronics has suffered significant lay-offs. Those of us remaining know that means more work, fewer people, and when we start hiring again; there will be even more work, with FEWER TRAINED STAFF to carry the load. To a Buyer or Planner, this can mean life or death if things don’t happen correctly or on time. A perfect example is an order I placed last week – as usual I faxed over my PO and requested same day shipment. Since it was 9AM and my contact was really good about it, I knew I would have material by the next day. The 3rd day after the order I called only to discover my contact was out for surgery and his boss says, ‘Oh yeah, I saw that yesterday.’ If you’re thinking it didn’t ship – you’re right. But this is a perfect example, I know his boss and he’s usually on top of things. This is the issue YOU deal with when you send components out for added value services – like Tape and Reel. WHAT DOES YOUR VENDOR DO TO PREVENT MISTAKES AND KEEP TRACE-ABILITY? As our industry faces another soft year, what should YOU look for to keep your parts and your job safe. JOB? Yep, I said job. Think about it, if the company you work for doesn’t make money, eventually you’ll be out of a job if they shut down. Not a pretty picture, but there are a lot of things you can do to help prevent that and make your life easier at the same time. PROCEDURES&RECORD KEEPINGProcedures help reduce the possibility of mistakes. Record Keeping helps us learn from experience. COMBINED, they provide you and your Added Value Vendor important information that gives our end customers that warm fuzzy feeling that everything will be fine. It also provides the information needed to be PROACTIVE instead of reactive. PART COUNTIf you accidentally send parts that aren’t on your paper work, the only way to know who really got them is for them to tell you. Chances are if your vendor really does a basic count and/or receiving inspection, they’ll also tell you about undocumented parts they receive from you. If they don’t do a basic count and/or receiving inspection then who knows what will happen. This may not be a big issue for you. If it’s not, don’t fix it. But if getting back 100% of your parts is, then here’s a simple way to know if your vendor is documenting what they receive. First, there are several different ways to count parts! Just because a vendor advertises ‘100% Part Count’ doesn’t mean they count every single part. Weight Count – This is generally used for chips and through hole devices and bases the quantity on an average weight of the part. The PHYSICAL COUNT can vary by +/- 10% because each part varies slightly. Bag or Box Count – This can be used for parts that are Vacuum Sealed (Dry Packed) so the seal doesn’t have to be broken. This is also acceptable for lower cost parts, or parts that come BULK in a box or bag. Physical Count – This should be used for ALL IC’s in tubes or trays (except possibly parts that are Dry Packed). On any order you are sure you have an accurate count of the parts you sent, call your Vendor and see if they can tell you what THEY counted. If you sent 2 bags at 2K, 1 bag at 500 and 2 bags at 250 they should be able to tell you the correct quantities even months afterward. That is if they actually counted and recorded HOW AND WHAT they counted. TRACE-ABILITYTrace-ability is always critical AFTER the system has failed. That’s what allows you to go back and identify the failure so you can prevent it from happening again. This is why your Added Value Vendor should have not only a Quality System, but also be able tell you if it will provide a level of support that will meet YOUR requirements. Keeping parts separated is critical. Being able to identify two lots of identical parts 6 months from now can be a serious issue for some projects. Here’s a simple way to see if your added value vendor can really keep trace-ability. Look at one of the labels. In order to maintain trace-ability there needs to be a serialized # of some sort on each container. Component Manufacturers use LN/DC (Lot Number / Date Code). We use Job Number / Reel Numbers (and can also track LN/DC when necessary). Any job you send that has multiple LN/DC’s, will usually cause some of the reels to have mixed LN/DC’s. The labeling should clearly indicate quantity of each and have a serialized # in addition. This allows material to be traced backwards if an issue arises at a later date. If your projects don’t require that level of trace-ability, then there should be at least a Job Number (Work Order Number) to identify each specific job. THE A.C.T. STANDARDI have found no two customers have exactly the same needs. The challenge is to provide the correct level of service to each customer. Different Tape and Reel Providers have different answers. At Advanced Component Taping, Inc. we use a combination of things to ensure Count, Trace-Ability and ACCOUNTABILITY.
We believe Trace-ability and Accountability are the ONLY ways an Added Value Vendor can maintain a healthy and profitable relationship with their customers. If you’d like to learn more about how Advanced Component Taping can help you with your Added Value Program, please contact Sales@Actaping.com. |
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