01 / Code and station study
Use the hardest marked code to define the capture method.
Manufacturing codes may be printed, laser marked, dot-peened or etched onto curved and reflective surfaces. Collect samples from normal production, rework and reject conditions. Record the size, contrast, material, distance, angle, lighting and line speed instead of describing every code simply as a QR code.
A DPM-capable reader is useful only when it reads the production mark repeatedly without slowing the station. Test the complete range of acceptable and marginal codes, then define what the operator does when a code cannot be read. Manual entry should be controlled and auditable rather than an invisible shortcut.
Confirm during discovery
- Good, marginal and rejected code samples
- Surface, lighting, angle and working distance
- Read feedback in a noisy station
- Controlled unreadable-code and manual-entry process
02 / Production traceability
Connect each scan to a material, operation and result.
A scan by itself does not create genealogy. The MES or production application must know which work order, station, operator, component and operation the event belongs to. Define when the system validates before work, when it records completion and how it handles a component that belongs to another order.
Keep the screen focused on the current station. Operators need a clear pass, warning or stop response, plus a route for supervisor review. Synchronization should preserve event order and identifiers if the network is interrupted, because late or duplicated records can break the traceability chain.
Confirm during discovery
- Work order, station and operator context
- Component-to-product validation rule
- Rework, scrap and supervisor override
- Offline event order and duplicate protection
03 / Station rollout
Approve a different physical setup where the work really differs.
A handheld may suit material movement while a fixed reader is better at a repetitive station. Vehicle mounts, tablets and wearable scanners solve other movement patterns. Standardization should reduce unnecessary variants without forcing one form factor into every job.
For each station type, document the reader, mount, cables or charging, host interface, software release and recovery owner. Run the pilot at production pace and measure first-read success, retries, cycle impact and operator intervention before purchasing at scale.
Confirm during discovery
- Handheld versus fixed capture decision
- Mount, cable, power and trigger arrangement
- Production-rate repeatability test
- Named ownership for support and change control