grabowski
c56d403da0
Most people the team talked to in Haarlem were strongly interested in the full-traceability approach. For Sibert it was one of the reasons to talk to us at all; without it their representative would strongly advise against the plan, and seeing buildfor.life's development and data work convinced him the project comes from the right direction. Exhibitor briefing gets an "After the show" section (feedback, what has been filed since); traceability.md opens with the market signal; roadmap item 1 notes it as supply-side evidence, with buyer prices still missing; README project status updated (show attended, Payap lead).
71 lines
3.6 KiB
Markdown
71 lines
3.6 KiB
Markdown
# Process Logging and Traceability
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Every step of production is logged continuously, so that every record is
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traceable end to end for the customer. This is a set requirement, and it is
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the core specification for the factory software this repository will
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eventually host.
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It is also the part of the plan the industry responds to. At Making Vinyl
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Europe 2026 most people the team talked to were strongly interested in it,
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and Sibert's representative named it as a reason to work with a newcomer
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he would otherwise have advised against building a plant; buildfor.life's
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development and data work settled the question for him (see the
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[exhibitor briefing](suppliers/making-vinyl-europe-2026-exhibitors.md#after-the-show)).
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## What a customer can trace
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For any order, the customer can follow the full chain:
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1. **Audio intake**: file received, checksums, versions, who handled it,
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approval trail
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2. **Mastering**: session log, engineer, settings, customer approvals
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3. **Cutting**: lacquer IDs, lathe parameters, stylus used, inspection
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result
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4. **Galvanics**: silvering and plating batch IDs, bath chemistry logs,
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father/mother/stamper genealogy (which stamper came from which mother
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from which father), or the external stamper supplier and batch if bridged
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5. **Pressing**: press ID, operator, shift, mold and stamper IDs, cycle
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parameters (temperatures, pressures, cycle times), PVC compound lot and
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virgin/recycled mix, label lot
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6. **Quality control**: test pressing approvals, inspection results, reject
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counts and reasons (the automated instrument layers feeding this are
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specified in [quality automation](quality-automation.md))
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7. **Finishing and packaging**: trimming, sleeving, carton lot, packaging
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partner batch
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8. **Fulfillment**: warehouse location, shipment or dropshipping consignment,
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carrier tracking per end customer
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## Principles
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- **Log at the source**: machine data comes from the machine (the presses
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and the plating rectifiers expose PLC data; the AD12 supports remote
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monitoring), not from manual transcription. Manual steps get simple
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operator check-ins, not paperwork.
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- **Batch and genealogy first**: every physical artifact (lacquer, father,
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mother, stamper, press run, box) gets an ID, and every ID knows its
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parents. A customer complaint about one record resolves to a specific
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stamper, press, shift, and compound lot.
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- **Environment attached**: the whole-factory HVAC monitoring (temperature,
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humidity, PM per zone) is logged on the same timeline, so any production
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window can be correlated with plant conditions.
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- **Immutable and retained**: logs are append-only and retained for the
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life of the customer relationship; stamper genealogy is retained as long
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as the archive holds the metal parts.
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- **Customer-facing view**: traceability is a product feature, not an
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internal file. Customers get a per-order view (portal or report) covering
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the chain above, without exposing other customers' data.
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## Open design work
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- Data model for batch genealogy across all eight steps
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- Which PLC/machine interfaces each vendor exposes (ask Newbilt, Pheenix
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Alpha, and Digital Matrix during procurement, before purchase)
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- Retention, backup, and PDPA handling for operator-linked records
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- Whether test-pressing approval workflows live in the same system from day
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one
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This system should be specified alongside equipment procurement: machine
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data access is a purchasing requirement, not an afterthought. The systems
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that implement this specification (machines, networks, collectors,
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database, application) are planned in [digital-factory.md](digital-factory.md).
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