Practical engineering guide
What a useful MES traceability report should contain
Connect the shipped unit to its product revision, materials, process history, test results and any repair. A serial number is the starting point, not the entire traceability record.
Report structure
Follow the unit from release to shipment
| Record group | Fields to define | Question the record should answer |
|---|---|---|
| Product identity | Serial number, assembly number, hardware revision and work order | Which released product was built? |
| Materials | BOM revision, component lot and approved substitutions where tracked | Which material was used for this build? |
| Process | Operation, station, time and relevant process or recipe revision | Where and under which process definition was it built? |
| Test | Test program revision, fixture, limits, measured values and result | What was tested and did it meet the limits? |
| Repair and re-test | Failure, disposition, repair action and subsequent results | Was a failure resolved before release? |
| Shipment | Release decision, shipment lot and unit association | Which units were shipped together? |
Illustrative record
A repaired unit needs a visible history
Example only — not a Keep Best customer record: unit DEMO-001 fails a communication check under test revision T03. A connector repair is recorded, the unit is re-tested under T03, and the passing result is associated with the release decision. The initial failure remains in the history rather than being overwritten.
| Event | Example field | Why it is retained |
|---|---|---|
| Initial test | Communication check: fail | Shows the original finding |
| Disposition | Connector repair approved and recorded | Connects the action to the failure |
| Re-test | T03: pass | Identifies the procedure used after repair |
| Release | Shipment lot DEMO-LOT-A | Links the accepted unit to delivery |
Supplier discussion
Agree coverage and access before production
- Which fields are recorded per unit and which are recorded per lot?
- How are replacements, repairs and re-tests linked to the original unit?
- Can the record be exported in a usable format?
- Who may access it, for how long, and how are customer data protected?
- What happens if the unit label or an upstream material record is missing?
Use with your project
Traceability follows the agreed manufacturing scope
This guide is a report-design checklist. Actual system fields, retention and export arrangements are agreed for the project; it does not claim that every field is collected for every Keep Best build.
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Tell us what you need to build or the question you would like to discuss. Our team will help define the next step.
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