Product tools · Manufacturing stage
BetaMaterial traceability check: trace every part from final tag to material certificate
The Material Traceability Check walks the chain from final equipment tag down to the material certificate. It reads the bill of materials, certificates, heat list, fabrication records, weld map, tag list and packing list, and links each heat number with evidence. Quality engineers get every broken, duplicate or ambiguous chain reported with citations.
Material Traceability Check is in beta. Request access and we onboard each team ourselves: we run your first real documents with you and check the results together.
Last reviewed:
What goes in and what you get out
What goes in
- BOM (required)
- Heat list (optional)
- Material certificates (required, several files)
- Fabrication records (optional, several files)
- Weld map (optional)
- Tag list (optional)
- Packing list (optional)
What it checks
- Flag unlinked heat numbers
- Flag certificates without a part
- Flag conflicting material grades
- Flag duplicate or suspicious coverage
What you get out
- A trace from each final tag through parts and heat numbers to the certificate, where the evidence supports it
- Unlinked heat numbers and certificates that cover no part
- Conflicting grades and duplicate or suspicious coverage, each with quotes from the records
- CSV or JSON export for your traceability record
Who uses it: Quality engineers, QA/QC managers, Production engineers, Project managers.
20 questions about the Material Traceability Check
What is material traceability?
Material traceability means you can prove which material went into each part of the finished equipment. For each part, you can follow a chain of records from the equipment tag to the part, to the heat number marked on it, to the material certificate for that heat. If any link is missing, you cannot prove the part is made from certified material.
What is a heat number?
A heat number identifies one melt or cast of metal at the mill. Every piece made from that heat shares its chemistry, and the material certificate reports results for it. The heat number is marked on the material and printed on the certificate. It is the key that links a physical part to its paperwork in a traceability chain.
What is a heat list?
A heat list is a record that shows which heat number was used for each part or item on an order. It is often a table of part or item numbers against heat numbers and certificate numbers. It sits between the bill of materials and the certificates, and is one of the main records a traceability check relies on.
What is heat number transfer?
When material is cut into pieces, the heat number marking may be on only one piece. Heat number transfer means marking the heat number onto each new piece before cutting, often witnessed or recorded by quality staff. The transfer record proves the new piece came from the certified material. A missing or conflicting transfer record breaks the traceability chain.
What does the Material Traceability Check do?
It lists the identifiers in your records: tags, part marks, heat numbers, weld numbers and certificate numbers. Then it checks each link between them, using only links the records actually state. It reports heat numbers with no certificate, certificates that cover no part, conflicting grades, and duplicate or suspicious coverage. Each finding quotes the records involved.
Which documents do I upload to the Material Traceability Check?
The bill of materials and the material certificates are required. You can add the heat list, fabrication records such as heat number transfer records, the weld map, the tag list and the packing list. Each extra record adds links to the chain, from the final tag down to the certificate. It reads PDF, Word, Excel and CSV files.
How do you check material traceability by hand?
Start from the bill of materials or the tag list. For each part, find its heat number in the heat list or fabrication records, then find the certificate with that heat number. Check the grade on the certificate matches the part. Then check the other way: every certificate should cover a real part. It is slow and easy to get wrong on large orders.
What are the most common traceability breaks?
Common ones are a heat number on a part that matches no certificate, often because of a typing error, and a certificate that covers no part. Others are a grade on the certificate that differs from the part, two certificates for the same heat with different data, and a transfer record that conflicts with the heat list.
What is an orphan certificate?
An orphan certificate is a material certificate that no part in the order links to. It may be for material that was never used, a spare, or material whose part record has the wrong heat number. On its own it may be harmless, but it often points to a break elsewhere: a part that should link to it but does not.
Does the tool link heat numbers that look almost the same?
No. The tool never links records because the numbers look similar. A heat number with two digits swapped is reported as unlinked, not quietly matched to the nearest certificate. A guessed link could hide wrong material in the finished equipment. Your quality engineer can then check the marking and correct the record if it was a typing error.
What does a conflicting material grade mean?
It means two records disagree about the material of the same part or heat. For example, the bill of materials calls for one grade but the linked certificate shows another, or two records give different grades for one heat. The tool flags each conflict with quotes from both records, so your team can find out which record is wrong.
What do customers and inspectors expect for traceability?
Most expect every part named in the specification, often the pressure-containing parts, to be traceable to its material certificate. Many ask for a traceability record or matrix in the manufacturing record book that lists each part, heat number and certificate. Inspectors may check markings on the equipment against that record, so the paperwork must match the hardware.
Which parts need full material traceability?
The customer's specification decides. Pressure-containing and pressure-retaining parts are the usual minimum on pressure equipment. Some orders extend it to bolting, trim or other parts, and some ask only for traceability by batch for small items. Check the specification and the inspection and test plan, because tracing too little is a finding and tracing too much costs time.
How do the tag list and packing list fit into traceability?
The tag list gives the customer's equipment tag numbers, which are the top of the chain: the customer knows their equipment by tag. The packing list shows what was shipped under each tag. Adding them lets the check run from the shipped, tagged item down to the certificate, instead of stopping at the part level.
What do I get back from the Material Traceability Check?
You get the traceability chains the records support, from tag or part to heat number to certificate. Every break is listed: unlinked heat numbers, orphan certificates, conflicting grades and duplicate or suspicious coverage. Each finding quotes the records behind it. You can export the results as CSV or JSON to build or check your traceability record.
When should a traceability check be run?
Run it during manufacturing, once material is allocated to parts, and again before final inspection and the record book. Early runs catch typing errors and missing transfer records while the material is still on the shop floor and easy to check. Breaks found at handover are harder to fix and can delay shipment.
Does the tool fix traceability records?
No. It finds and reports breaks; your quality team checks the parts and corrects the records. It does not change any document, and it does not decide whether a part is accepted. Treat the findings as a careful check of the paperwork that points to the exact records involved, not as a final release of the equipment.
What are the limits of the Material Traceability Check?
It only knows the links stated in the records you upload. It cannot see markings on the hardware, so it cannot prove a record matches the actual part. It reads text and tables, not drawings, so supply weld maps and part lists as tables or lists. The tool is in beta, so we review each team's first runs with them.
Is the Material Traceability Check available now?
The Material Traceability Check is in beta. You can request access, and we onboard each team ourselves: we agree a real bill of materials and set of certificates to start with, run them with you, and check the results together. That way you see how it handles your records before you rely on it. Document Review, our production tool, is generally available.
Which tools come before and after the Material Traceability Check?
Before it, the Material Certificate Review checks that each certificate meets the purchase requirements. After it, the Welding Qualification Review checks that the welding procedures and welder qualifications cover each weld. At handover, the MRB Traceability Verification checks these same chains inside the finished record book.
Where it sits in the order lifecycle
Related standards, guides and templates
Try the Material Traceability Check on your own documents
Tell us which documents you want to check first. We set up your workspace and run the first package with you.