Capability · for Production head, IT
Lines are not straight, and the software should not assume they are
Trace models a route as a graph of operations with explicit dependencies. That is what lets it express a parallel sub-assembly branch, an optional operation and a rework loop without any of it being special-cased for your plant.
Eight gates decide whether a unit may advance
Identity scanned, operator certified, predecessors complete, components match the BOM, mandatory values captured and in limit, named test passed, mark read back and verified, and finally the interlock released to the fixture. Each is configuration on the operation, so one list describes what must be true.
The interlock is released last, and only last
The signal to the PLC or fixture is emitted only after every other gate on that operation is green. That ordering is the difference between a poka-yoke and a suggestion.
Failures route somewhere specific
Retry with a bounded attempt count, rework back to a named operation with the operations it invalidates, quarantine for a supervisor, or scrap. A rework loop forces the voided operations to be performed again and stays visible in the final trace, because an audit that cannot see the loop has not seen the truth.
A bad route is caught at load, not mid-shift
Cycles, dangling predecessors, self-references and duplicate sequence numbers are rejected when the route is loaded. The failure you never want is a configuration error surfacing with a part already in the fixture.
Dry-run it before the hardware arrives
A route simulator pushes a unit through the whole route with no plant, no PLC and no printer, and a device simulator plays a torque wrench that fails every fifth part. You can validate the configuration before commissioning week rather than during it.
Book a 20-minute line walkthrough
We walk one line, list what each operation should capture, and tell you plainly which of your machines can be read. You get that list whether or not you buy anything.
Where this matters
- EV componentsEV programmes arrive with traceability written into the contract. Cell lots, module serials and busbar torque have to be recorded per unit from the first production part.
- MES or standalone traceability: choosing without over-buyingWhen a full MES is the right answer, when standalone traceability is, and the questions that separate the two for a mid-size manufacturer.
- Recall and forward traceGive Trace a component lot code and it returns every finished unit that consumed it, where each one went, and when. An indexed lookup, not an overnight report.