Each product coming out of our production line is a subject to strict labelling and tracing. All industries in the EU must follow proper standards of labelling and tracing of their products, which have been put in place due to public safety, health, or environmental concerns.
Mandatory labels on products must adhere to strictly defined size and content. There are also several marks that can be used on the label, in order to give the consumer clear information about the type, quality and origins of the product.
There are three types of labels used on TAF trusses, with each of them having a specific function and listing important information for better customer orientation, as well as product identification and management. To better understand the labelling on TAF products, we will have a brief walkthrough of the entire manufacturing process and handling of materials during production.
Our manufacturing process includes many technological processes, materials, and specialized equipment. We’ll simplify the manufacturing process a bit, so the tracing process will be easier to understand and follow. For production of our trusses, we know they are made with aluminium tubes of various diameters and lengths.
Aluminum tubes are delivered to us by truck, with each truck load divided into several packages according to the tube size and strength. These individual packages are originally labelled by the supplier. The label specifies the type of tube in the package, material used in its production, and date of production. Delivery information for the tubes is then uploaded to TAF’s inventory software and each part of the delivery is given a label from TAF. This is an important step for proper monitoring of the product’s movement within the factory’s manufacturing process.
Production of any truss segment is not possible without a detailed product task sheet that is both printed out and created in an online production monitoring software before the start of the manufacturing process. The product task sheet accompanies each truss segment from the beginning of production, with the completion of each manufacturing task imported into the production software by workers responsible for the task, allowing for complete monitoring of the manufacturing process at all times. The first step is adding the tube to inventory. Once the task sheet is complete and the product is ready for the manufacturing process to start, the tube goes to the cutting line and is cut to the proper length. End connectors are then welded to the tube and it goes to the welder’s table or the welding robot for welding, which turns individual pipes into a fully functional truss segment. The welding process ends once the complete truss segment is constructed. Each step of the production process is uploaded to the system after the worker responsible for each manufacturing task completes their work.
After the welding process is finished for the truss segment, the welder enters his work into the system as complete. At this point, the first tracking label is printed out and placed on the truss. The label is a small sticker with a QR code that effectively serves as the welder’s signature on the finished product. The QR code can be read by any smartphone. When the QR code is scanned, a certain number of digits are displayed. This number indicates the date of production, personal number of the welder that worked on the product, and the production plan number. As soon as the company gets these numbers from the customer for whatever reason, they are able to trace the complete history of the production process for each individual piece, which includes all workers who took part in the manufacturing process, materials used and dates.
There are three additional, major steps that the finished truss segment goes through before the manufacturing process is complete. These three steps are ensuring the dimensions are accurate, performing a quality check, and packing the product. As the heat used for welding aluminum trusses is quite significant, each welded product needs to cool down on the welding table after the welding process is finished. During the cooling process, the width and height of the welded product might change a bit. It is extremely important that trusses have identical dimensions to ensure their perfect alignment and trouble-free connection to other truss segments. To ensure the product has all proper dimension, it is taken off the welding station and placed into a tool that checks all dimensions to ensure the truss is not twisted and the required dimensions are correct. The truss is then ready for cleaning and a final weld check on the packing line. Once these steps are taken, and the welded product is good to go, a second label is placed on one of the main tubes of the truss. This label lists all necessary information for the consumer or installer.
The truss label is printed by a thermal printer. Thermal printing is a printing technology in which the image is printed on special paper (thermal paper) that changes color when exposed to heat. This type of printing is supposed to last longer than any other label printing method. However, the label itself is not indestructible. The size of the truss label on the tube follows standards set by the EU and includes the following information, marks, and logos:
Company logo – TAF
Type – production code of the truss segment, product category and version – corner (type of corner) or straight segment (length)
Date - date when production of the product was completed
QC – number of the Quality Control Manager
Controller – number of the Controller
Serial number – production plan number and the number of the item in the manufacturing series
CE marking – including the CE certification number of the TAF compliance certificate
TÜV SÜD logo – confirms the products have been tested by this independent testing company
GSI SLV logo – certifies that the welding process was properly carried out and follows EU standards for aluminum welding
TAF website
Company Address
Origins of the product – where was the product made
The last step of any product coming out of our production line is the final packaging. For welded products, we use multilayered cardboard boxes made from recyclable materials. This material was chosen for many different reasons. First, they ensure high-quality protection of the products during transport and handling. Second, cardboard materials are light. And third, cardboard paper can be fully recycled. Each product is properly packed and the final product label is placed on the outside of the packaging. The label again features the TAF logo, company name, address, website, phone number, and most importantly, the product code of the item inside the packaging.
