Model, batch or item

I'm Daniel Carlman, and this is DPP Academy. Today: one passport per model, per batch, or per item?

You do not choose this alone. The delegated act for your product group decides whether the passport is set at model, batch or item level, and defines those levels. The data then refers to that level.

The recitals say what the words usually mean. A model: a version of a product whose units share the same relevant technical characteristics and the same model identifier. A batch: a subset of a model, made in one plant at a specific moment. An item: a single unit of a model.

Why not always the item? Cost. The level should depend on things like the complexity of the value chain, and the size, nature and impacts of the products.

The level shows in the identifier. With GS1 Digital Link, a model can be the GTIN alone. A batch adds 10 and the batch number. An item adds 21 and a serial number.

EN 18219 adds three rules. The identifier must be unique at least at the level it serves. That level stays the same once the product is on the market. And if it must change, you assign a new or extended identifier, linked to the old one.

Where the rules allow a choice, the standard lets you go finer, for example item instead of batch, for traceability or operational needs.

Batteries have their answer in law. Each battery in scope has its own passport. It holds information on the battery model, and on the individual battery, including data from its use.

I'm Daniel. See you in episode five.

Next time: what a passport must contain. This is not legal advice.