Learning With Leo: UHDI—The Next Leap in PCB Manufacturing
Nolan’s Notes: Is Mexico the Pulse of Electronics in the Americas?
Standard of Excellence: Speed vs. Quality in Customer Service
The Challenge of Traceability Data: A Call for Action
August 7, 2023 | Dr. Eyal Weiss, CybordEstimated reading time: 1 minute
Imagine the following scenario: You’re working in the electronics manufacturing industry as an operations manager in charge of overseeing the assembly of cutting-edge devices. One day, you receive news that one of the series of products you’ve shipped to market has experienced a major malfunction, causing an uproar among customers. You frantically try to pinpoint the root cause only to lose yourself in the labyrinth of incomplete traceability data. The frustration mounts, leaving you grappling with the consequences of an ineffective traceability system. But what if there was a way to transform this experience into a seamless operation?
Traceability is the cornerstone of ensuring product quality, compliance, and customer trust, but traceability data as it exists today is not nearly as reliable as one might hope.
Enter individual material traceability, an upgraded approach to filling in data gaps, mitigating vulnerabilities, and eliminating potentially costly consequences.
The Challenge
Despite diligent efforts by manufacturers to implement robust traceability systems, three gaps persist between expectations and reality.
The first is a date code mismatch. In some cases, the traced date code—the code assigned to a product indicating the year and week it was made—differs from the real date code.
The second is a production lot mismatch. These are cases in which the traced production lot—the number used to relay the batch of origin—does not reflect the real lot code. This disparity indicates the presence of multiple lots within a single traced lot, which suggests reel design variations may have been grouped and packaged together accidentally.
The third is a part number mismatch. A part number reflects an item’s particular rating, voltage, speed, and many of its other qualities, and these parts need to be assembled with compatible ones. When a mix-up occurs and the wrong components get paired, the functionality of the end product is compromised. To make matters worse, it is very hard to detect this discrepancy during onsite testing.
To read this entire article, which appeared in the August 2023 issue of SMT007 Magazine, click here.
Share on:
Testimonial
"Your magazines are a great platform for people to exchange knowledge. Thank you for the work that you do."
Simon Khesin - Schmoll MaschinenSuggested Items
SEMI Reports Global Silicon Wafer Shipments to Rebound 5.4% in 2025, with New Record Expected by 2028
10/30/2025 | SEMIGlobal shipments of silicon wafers are projected to increase 5.4% in 2025 to 12,824 million square inches (MSI) followed by steady growth through 2028 when the market is expected to reach a new industry record of 15,485 MSI, SEMI reported in its annual silicon shipment forecast.
productronica 2025: iTAC Presents AI-supported Knowledge Platform for Connected Production
10/29/2025 | iTAC Software AGIn modern manufacturing facilities, valuable knowledge is stored in systems, documents, and the minds of employees – often fragmented, isolated, and not centrally available.
Unlocking the Promise of AI in Electronics Manufacturing
10/29/2025 | Shobhit Agrawal, Keysight TechnologiesThe electronics manufacturing industry is rapidly evolving as more complicated products are introduced in the production lines, which require technological advancements even in the production processes. The requirements for production that is efficient, product quality that is greater, and product life cycles that are shorter are more crucial than ever before. In the electronic device life cycle, from design to maintenance, test phases have a significant impact on the economy of the company. Test processes are closely linked to the production volume and impacted by the complexity of the product. For businesses to maintain their competitive edge, they need to adopt innovative solutions and redefine processes.
Better Sustainability Policies for Electronics
10/29/2025 | Diana Radovan, Global Electronics AssociationI joined the Global Electronics Association in August 2025 as the director of sustainability policy. Since then, much has happened in terms of geopolitics and in the development and re-envisioning of sustainability policies in the industry. While the European Commission has released several legislative packages to simplify sustainability requirements (“omnibus”), these developments haven’t yet settled and are not in effect. Given the many recent and ongoing public consultations, with often conflicting input from a broad range of stakeholders, final negotiations remain rather polarized among policymakers.
SEMI Reports Global Silicon Wafer Shipments to Rebound 5.4% in 2025, with New Record Expected by 2028
10/29/2025 | SEMIGlobal shipments of silicon wafers are projected to increase 5.4% in 2025 to 12,824 million square inches (MSI) followed by steady growth through 2028 when the market is expected to reach a new industry record of 15,485 MSI, SEMI reported today in its annual silicon shipment forecast.