Many industries now use digital product traceability for its many benefits. Textiles customers are demanding better visibility over the supply chain for ethical reasons. In food, we are accustomed to barcodes providing traceability for safety and quality reassurance. In automotives, traceability is used to drive efficiencies across a complex manufacturing process and end-user safety, from tracking components to enabling specific recall in the case of faults.

Supply chains across the globe have taken up digital product certification for better safety and quality; optimised process efficiencies; improved sustainable performance; and increased consumer confidence. It benefits manufacturers, end-users, and everyone in between. 

Complexity in construction

Construction has complex processes, with multiple procurers, manufacturers, and parts sourced from around the world. For safety critical components, compliance must be demonstrated, but for materials like steel, concrete and timber, safety-critical traceability exists mainly in paper-based systems. These systems can be cumbersome and open to fraudulent behaviour – thus reducing confidence in the conformity of the materials and raising questions regarding providence. 

In recent years, numerous industry inquests and reports have highlighted quality and traceability of building products as a critical component of ensuring compliance of buildings. Consequently, the industry is seeing a move to holding all parties in the supply chain responsible for the supply of conforming material, to ensure traceability is transparent from end to end. There has also been a substantial push to demonstrate environmental credentials.

Users need public safety; product conformity; sustainability; and productivity during construction – by specifying product certification and digital product traceability from source to site, these needs can be met.

Steel certainty

ACRS, Australasia’s leading steel certifier, has been providing traceability to the market for more than 20 years, with product traceability through the supply chain being a core element of ACRS certification. 

ACRS has introduced ACRS Cloud, the first digital certification system of its kind for steel in the New Zealand Australian region. ACRS Cloud gives steel buyers and users instant assurance over product certificates at the touch of a button, in a secure environment to provide confidence of products’ conformance to AS/NZS Standards. 

Users through the supply chain can get product piece of mind by checking the nature and authenticity of ACRS steel certificates in the new ACRS Cloud app - available free on Apple and Android. 

The app further protects the market from product compliance issues: QR codes on ACRS certificates can be scanned onsite to instantly identify the source of the product and its certification details against a single source of truth, simply:

1. Download the ACRS Cloud App
2. Scan the QR code on delivery papers or electronic certificate
3. In the app, select the ACRS ID of the certificate
4. View the certificate in full, including scope, origin, and key dates.

Find out more or get the app >

By Andrew Wheeler, Executive Director, ACRS

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This article originally appeared in BOINZ Straight Up Magazine, Spring 2023 Edition. You can access the full edition and past editions here >