What is the difference between heat number tracking and lot tracking?
Heat number tracking and lot tracking are two distinct material traceability methods used in manufacturing. Heat number tracking identifies material by its original production batch from steel mills, providing metallurgical identity and strict quality control. Lot tracking groups materials based on production runs or receiving batches, offering broader inventory management. While heat numbers trace back to the exact manufacturing melt, lot tracking offers more general traceability for materials that don’t require the same level of scrutiny. Heat number tracking is a specialized traceability system that follows materials based on their original metallurgical batch from the steel mill or foundry. Each […]