Tuesday, December 25, 2012

Common Facts about MIL-STD-130 Compliance

MIL-STD-130 is a standard implemented by the United States Department of Defense (DoD). It maintains full control over the requirements for Item Unique Identification (IUID) and covers relevant information that is associated with this identification and registration process. These guidelines lay down specific rules and procedures that ultimately regulate the purchase, registration, tracking, and distribution of a majority of government products, parts, and other assets. These rules are applicable to all manufacturers and contractors supplying products or parts to many U.S. government and military offices.

Moreover, this protocol established by the DoD, includes full specifications to regulate necessary processes and identification nomenclature; including compliant marking technologies, quality checks, maintenance documentation, and product storage or distribution processes. These guidelines help to ensure that government assets are manufactured with the highest quality assurance and delivered with fail-safes in place to secure greater safety for the United States through automation-assisted tracking.

Although a large majority of IUID labeling is required for DoD contracts, there are some cases where these specifications are not applicable to all products. These guidelines spell out the necessary information to assist manufacturers, or contractors, with determining whether a product requires IUID labeling or not.

A few other things of significance also find special mention in MIL-STD-130, such as item identification and production numbering, details of production, compliant marking procedures and substrate types. ALL IUID labels must also include a machine readable barcode to meet various automation requirements. In order to understand the specific information required on compliant IUID labels, there are detailed specifications provided in these standards that cover marking/labeling, compliant methods, nomenclature and materials.

According to the identification guidelines established by the Department of Defense, the use of scanners may help organizations to more easily maintain records for full compliance. Apart from this, it must be kept in mind that suppliers must use permanent marking methods for all identification. Government suppliers and manufacturers can choose from a variety of methods to mark their items; such as laser-marking technology, chemical etching, offset printing, indenting, and more. What matters the most is the long-term quality and durability of the labels or direct-part markings. In order to assure that they can withstand tough conditions this identification must be made of materials that are weather resistant, durable, and legible throughout the full lifetime of a part or product.

For more information, please visit www.id-integration.com to learn more about this standard and how to properly meet compliance.

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