December 13, 2023 Industry news
Leading insulation, drywall, and ceiling products distributor CCF has developed a new process to provide a detailed ‘end to end’ report that tracks products from the manufacturer, at manufacturing batch level, all the way through the distribution process and delivery to the goods-in location on a site.
As a central part of the construction supply chain, CCF wanted to take a proactive role in establishing a system for batch traceability. This will help the industry adapt and prepare for the future as many of the requirements set out by Building Safety Act 2022 and the ‘golden thread of data’ come into force.
Developed in collaboration with a manufacturer, Kingspan Insulation, and a customer, Berkeley Group, the innovative system has been specifically designed to be practical to implement and, above all, drive positive change.
CCF are currently trialling this product traceability programme. The first phase of the project is focusing on batch-level traceability of full pallets containing three Kingspan products for use at two of Berkeley Group’s sites.
By using GS1 GTINs (Global Trade Item Numbers) to uniquely identify each batch of products and linking up with the manufacturer’s batch code, they now have the ability to pull together a bespoke report showing which batch was delivered, where it was delivered to and when.
The results from this first phase will inform the next stage of the initiative which will expand the scope of the trials in the early part of 2024.
The Golden Thread: building trust, collaboration and transparency
UK construction currently faces significant challenges in becoming more efficient, safer, more productive and reducing costs.
The need for cross-industry collaboration, especially when it comes to resolving issues around product information and traceability, has never been higher as no single organisation can tackle these challenges on their own.
Effective collaboration is built on trust. Proving the provenance of products, collecting and sharing trusted data on those products, and being able to trace exactly where and when they are used provides a solid foundation for building greater trust between organisations and stakeholders.
This is the core principle behind the “golden thread,” a comprehensive and structured approach to managing building information and data throughout the entire lifecycle of a building.
The importance of interoperability
The golden thread emphasises transparency, accountability, and the need for effective communication among all parties involved in a building's lifecycle.
In order for the this “thread” of data to function, it is essential that information can be seamlessly shared, accessed, and utilised by any stakeholder, system or registry that requires it.
This would not be possible without a standardised system for product information.
Without a common, universal data language that works for all, the effectiveness of the golden thread would be significantly compromised. Different manufacturers adopting different processes and technologies for tagging or labelling products would not only be inefficient, it would erode trust, lead to gaps in oversight and could have serious repercussions in terms of building safety.
That is why CCF has conducted its product traceability proof of concept trial in partnership with a manufacturer and a customer – to showcase how the technology supporting the data collection must be useable by all three parties. Only by working closely together can the industry find a workable solution that suits everyone.
Building a digital future
Sitting at the centre of the supply chain, and with clear connections to both manufacturers and customers, distributors such as CCF have a central role to play in driving adoption of digital solutions for enhancing product traceability.
CCF’s proof-of-concept trial has clearly demonstrated that an industry-standard tagging or labelling system would be beneficial, reducing the need for distributors and contractors to invest in different scanning technologies.
GS1 standards can power such a system and Global Trade Item Numbers (GTINs) can play a particularly vital role by both uniquely identifying any physical product and capturing the necessary data surrounding it.
As a result, the GTIN has the potential to function as a fundamental building block for driving efficiency, facilitating greater collaboration and improving safety.
In a world where we expect sustainability and product safety to be verifiable, the traceability of building materials from the supply chain is becoming increasingly important. We know this is an issue that really matters to our customers, and that the majority of traceability checks currently are done manually. CCF, with its extensive and trusted supply chain, will play a key role in developing a more accurate, data driven solution that will provide the detailed information customers require in a much smarter way."
Catherine Gibson
Managing director, CCF
