Scans and identification

Scan events record what a device or person read. A scan can carry a tag code, device event identity, time and scanned units. Its parent request and organization put that read in operating context. These details let a reviewer distinguish a scan of the intended stock from a read that needs investigation.

The scan’s status and revision describe its own review path. They are separate from the status and revision of the parent request. A completed scan therefore needs to be read alongside the request decision and movement history. The team can inspect all three without confusing a device observation with a posted quantity change.

• Capture identity. Inventory Coordinator records the tag, device event identity, time and units against the correct request.
• Compare context. Inventory Reviewer checks the item, lot, location and approved request revision before accepting a disputed read.
• Resolve outcome. The team records the scan status and inspects the linked operation outcome before closing the physical task.

A repeated device event needs special attention. The device event identity gives the team a way to recognize a retry. When a scan cannot be matched to the expected item or lot, the coordinator should preserve the read for review. A tag by itself is an observation, not an instruction to change stock.

Choose the tag format used on labels and devices, and decide where a tag-to-item mapping is maintained. Define the source of device event identities and how long a scanner keeps its retry identity when offline. Agree on the unit used by the scanner and how it is compared with the item’s base unit. The organization and request should be selected before a read is treated as part of an operating case.

Decide which scan statuses the coordinator may set and which need a reviewer. The team should distinguish a submitted read from an approved read, and both from a completed operating action. Record the time of the actual read when possible, since later entry time can conceal the order of events.

A coordinator is fulfilling an approved stock request for a specific lot. A handheld reader sends a tag and quantity. The coordinator finds the request and compares the tag with the item and lot selected for the task using the agreed tag mapping. If the reader sends the same device event again after losing its response, the event identity should lead to the earlier read for inspection.

If the agreed tag mapping identifies another item, the reviewer needs the original scan and request context. The Inventory Reviewer can mark the scan Rejected while retaining the physical observation. It should not change posted inventory because the device returned a value. The team can then compare the valid scan with the posted movement and operation receipt linked to the same request.

• Scans pending decision — Submitted reads that need inspection of tag, units and parent request.
• Completed scans — Finished scan records with device identity and time for trace work.

See scan to movement for the physical handoff and reconciliation for uncertain outcomes.