Specification and Criteria for the DoD UID Labels

The DoD has mentioned the specification and criteria for the DoD UID labels. The contractors and vendors are required to follow these instructions while manufacturing the DoD UID labels.

DoD UID labels are required for IUID marking of items where the direct part marking is not applicable. As the DoD has made it a mandate for the items to have globally unique identification, UID labels has added to the functionality of the system. The UID labels are generally provided by the contractors, which they either manufacture or procure from the vendors. There are several criteria defined for the DoD UID labels to meet the standards of MIL-STD-130.

There are certain specifications mentioned in the MIL-STD-130 for the DoD UID labels and the information is provided for the contractors to meet the standard.

Specifications required for the UID Label Materials to Meet

It is mandatory that the performance of the material of DoD UID labels should meet the MIL-STD-130 requirements. The MIL-STD-130L has mentioned the criteria of marking the DoD UID labels. Basically, it has been specified that the marking should be permanent for the functional life time of the items. The DoD UID labels shouldn’t affect the performance of the items and should be able to resist normal use, cleaning, and environmental changes. The information provided by the contractors to assure that the labels and markings can survive for the functional lifetime of the items includes historical data, manufacturer’s guarantee, commercial standards met, etc.

Quality Checking of UID Labels in Accordance with MIL-STD-130L

As the contractors procure the UID labels or nameplates from the vendors, it is the responsibility of the contractor to secure a Certificate of Conformance from their vendors as an assurance that the labels have been manufactured according to the requirements of MIL-STD-130L. It is the responsibility of the contractors to investigate about the manufacturing procedure of the vendors and ensure that the DoD UID labels meet the specific requirements. The CoC states the Grade of the mark at the time of manufacture. The application process of the contractors is reviewed to confirm that labels are not damaged and the markings are not altered. The MIL-STD-130L has mentioned a re-verification process if any type of alter in marking is discovered.

Criteria Mentioned by the MIL-STD-130n for DoD UID Labels

• Depending on the requirements, the labels (name plates, data plates or ID plates) can be made up of metallic or non-metallic materials.
• It is mentioned by the standard that the labels can be of same or different material than the material of the item that requires this DoD UID label. However, if the materials are different, care should be taken that the materials don’t harm each other and the material of the labels should get affixed to the part or item.
• The length of the UID labels shouldn’t be more than 50 characters.
• According to the MIL-STD-130N standard the DoD UID label should contain both machine-readable information and free text marking for item identification.
• The verification of the IUID marking is done as per the MIL-STD-130N standard.

The contract between the government and suppliers states about the nature, utility and condition of the objects regarding the number of operation, for days, months and years.