Tracking and Traceability Applications of BellHawk

BellHawk's tracking and traceability capability is designed specifically for food processors and other industrial organizations that are required to maintain complete lot and/or serial number traceability throughout their operations. BellHawk uses technologies such as barcode scanning and wireless mobile computing to simplify data collection by eliminating most of the manual paperwork for the traceability data collection required by the FDA and similar organizations.

BellHawk stores all the data required for tracking and traceability compliance in a computer database so that it can quickly be accessed to provide the one–step–forward and one–step–backward recall data as required by the Bioterrorism Act of 2002, HAACP, HIPAA and similar requirements. BellHawk enables organizations to minimize recalls when they have problems. This not only can save human lives but minimizes the cost and legal exposure from such incidents.

The FDA and similar agencies now have the right to shut down organizations that do not have good traceability and recall mechanisms in place. They can insist on draconian recall policies that can literally put you out of business. BellHawk helps you ensure that you have all the data you need when, and not if, problems occur.

BellHawk provides a cost effective solution that enables mid–sized food processors and other industrial organizations to track their inventory and production operations, including automatically collecting materials traceability data. BellHawk includes all the materials traceability capabilities required by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for food processors and distributors as well as those required by aerospace, automotive and similar organizations. BellHawk was designed to comply with the FDA's 21 CFR Part 11 regulations for software compliance and is being used in Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology material tracking applications.

BellHawk not only enables organizations to comply with traceability requirements but can pay for itself in 6 months or less through improvements in efficiency by tracking inventory and work–in–process in real–time. Such savings come through reductions in inventory, reductions in waste and spoilage and reduction in overtime and expedited shipments to get orders out on time.

BellHawk includes the following tracking and traceability capabilities:

1.   Tracking the receipt of raw materials, including tracking lots, serial numbers and expiration dates of materials.

2.   Tracking quality control (QC) status of all materials by item, container and lot.

3.   Ensuring that all materials that are required to be QC inspected are quarantined and approved before use.

4.   Tracking put–away of material in a stock room or warehouse so the exact locations of all materials are known for inspection and recall purposes.

5.   Tracking expiration dates on all lots and containers to make sure that materials are used before their expiration dates.

6.   Tracking the consumption of materials on jobs, including tracking which lots and containers from which vendors were used.

7.   Tracking recipes and comparing the usage of materials in mix operations with the recipes. Also warning or stopping operators if they use the wrong materials.

8.   Tracking the movement of materials to and from the production floor.

9.   Tracking work–in–progress as it moves from production operation to operation, including tracking the quality control status of work–in–progress and not allowing it to be used on the next step until it passes QC inspection.

10.  Tracking which people processed and handled materials.

11.  Tracking which machines and equipment were used including tracking any problems.

12.  Tracking scrap and rework operations.

13.  Tracking return and put–away of unused materials from jobs.

14.  Tracking the quality control inspection of finished goods.

15.  Tracking the exact locations and expiration dates of all finished goods in the warehouse.

16.  Enabling material handlers to quickly find and use the oldest material in stock first to avoid wastage and spoilage.

17.  Tracking warehouse operations including picking, packing, and shipping. This includes tracking which containers and lots went to which customers.

18.  Producing one–step–forward and one–step–backward traceability reports for rapid recall and regulatory compliance.

Barcode scanning is used to record all material handling and processing transactions thereby enabling use by personnel who have limited abilities to read and write English. This scanning can be performed on wireless mobile computers, such as the Motorola/Symbol 9090–G, or on PCs equipped with corded or cordless scanners.

To learn more about BellHawk Systems cost-effective implementation process, please click here.

For details of the application of BellHawk to food processing and distribution operations, please click here.

For more information about how BellHawk Systems can help you with your specific tracking and traceability solution, please contact BellHawk Systems by clicking on the link below: