Traceability

The concept of traceability was embraced by manufacturing industries a long time ago. Especially in the automotive industry, traceability was introduced at an early stage to support the recall system. As the scope of recalls has expanded, it has become necessary to ensure traceability regardless of the industry so as to promptly recover products and improve problems in the event that a defect occurs.

The BSE (bovine spongiform encephalopathy, also known as mad cow disease) problem that occurred in the early 2000s served to spread traceability throughout society. In response to the BSE problem, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan introduced the Beef Traceability Law in 2003. This law mandated that all cows born in Japan be individually identified and that all vendors make records when cows are received and sold. Furthermore, efforts have been started in earnest to ensure the safety of food with food traceability laws such as the Rice Traceability Law, which targets rice, the staple of the Japanese diet. Also in 2003, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare of Japan enacted the Revised Pharmaceutical Affairs Law, which mandated traceability management for business operators and medical personnel who handle biological products such as blood products and vaccines. In this and similar ways, traceability expanded suddenly for food and medicine and has continued to expand to the present day.

There are many ways to obtain traceability. The two main methods of traceability are chain traceability and internal traceability.

Chain Traceability

This method can be used to understand the movement of a product between multiple processes (between manufacturers).

Internal Traceability

This method can be used to understand the movement of a product within a single process.

In traceability, components and products are identified individually or as lots, and information is accumulated in the various processes. Using the accumulated information to track a component or a product's movement as time passes is called “trace forward.” Conversely, using this information to track the series of events backwards according to time is called “trace back.”

Trace Forward

This refers to tracking a component or product forward through time. For example, this is useful in identifying the product a specific component was used in, allowing for precise product recalls in the event a defect in the component is discovered. This method is effective as a countermeasure for recalls and for collecting defective products.

Trace Back

This refers to following a series of events backwards through time. For example, if a trace back can be performed when a problem occurs in a shipped product, the lot or process affected can be identified and the cause can be investigated. This method is effective in improving processes and product quality and in ensuring product safety.