Heat number traceability: compare certificate and shipment references

Keep different identifiers separate

Use separate fields for the certificate identifier, heat number, purchase order and shipment line. Copy each identifier with its printed label before deciding what it represents. Do not treat a batch, lot or serial number as a heat number unless the source or issuer explains the relationship.

As one manufacturer example, SSAB’s Strenx documentation describes product marking that includes heat and serial numbers to maintain traceability. That is an example of a manufacturer’s scheme, not a universal numbering format. Ask the supplier to explain unfamiliar identifiers instead of inferring their meaning from their length.

Create one comparison per shipment line

Take the expected heat and grade from your controlled shipment or order record. Place the observed certificate heat and grade beside them, and keep the source page. For a shipment containing several heats, create separate comparisons rather than treating the first match as evidence for every line.

When references differ, inspect the original before changing anything. Check possible reading errors such as O and 0, clipped prefixes, continuation rows and revision changes. Retain leading zeros and preserve the original text even if your internal process also uses a normalized reference.

A heat match still needs the right product row

A certificate can list several products or several heats. In your comparison worksheet, identify the shipment line first, then the corresponding certificate row. Keep the product or piece identifier, grade, dimensions and quantity where those details are needed to distinguish the rows. A heat value appearing somewhere in the document does not establish which row supplies the goods on your line.

The same heat reference may appear beside more than one product identifier. SSAB’s Strenx marking examples include both a heat number and a serial number in a product identity. Preserve the whole source identifier and its stated components; do not discard the serial reference because the heat portion already matches. This is a manufacturer-specific example, not a universal numbering rule.

If one shipment line combines several heats, split your worksheet into separately identified sub-lines using the supplier’s allocation. If that allocation is missing, record the gap and ask for it. Do not invent quantities for each heat or copy one convenient heat across the entire delivery.

Keep identifiers as text in your comparison worksheet

Use a text column for heat, certificate and product identifiers before entering or importing them. Microsoft documents that Excel can remove leading zeros when it treats an identifier as a number, and that applying formatting afterwards does not recover the original missing zeros. Import the column as Text and compare a few imported values with the source before continuing.

For example, preserve 008419 exactly as supplied. Do not assume that 8419 is an approved equivalent, or rebuild a prefix from another supplier’s format. If your internal system uses a normalized code, keep it in a separate column alongside the original and record the rule and its authority.

Document and resolve differences

A useful exception identifies the shipment line, the expected reference, the observed reference and the document location. For example, “shipment line 2 expects H-008419; certificate page 1 states H-008491.” That gives the supplier a concrete question to resolve.

Keep a mismatch open until supporting evidence or an authorized correction explains it. Record the reason and the document revision used for the final decision. Changing a number in a review tool does not change the source certificate or establish a link to physical material.

Keep receiving evidence connected to the document review

Keep the receiving record or marking reference that links the physical material to the certificate. A document comparison and a check of product markings answer different questions. If a marking is unreadable or does not map to the supplied paperwork, leave that link unresolved for the person responsible for receiving or quality review.

For split deliveries, cut pieces or remnants, preserve the relationship to the parent material in your existing inventory or fabrication records under your controlled procedure. Do not assign an uncertain piece to a heat merely because nearby pieces have that marking. This guide proposes an evidence-recording workflow; it does not define a marking procedure or authorize material release.

Use MeltLedger within its comparison scope

MeltLedger compares up to 20 manually entered shipment lines with the single heat value and single grade value currently selected in the review. It does not automatically pair each line with a different row in a multi-heat certificate. For a document with several heats, review one supported heat-and-grade context at a time and include only the shipment lines relevant to that context.

Check the source page and row, retain all original observations, and add a source note when you correct the selected value. Save or export that scoped review before moving to another context. Use a distinct shipment or PO reference for each context so the resulting snapshots can be distinguished. Your external worksheet should retain the complete mapping; MeltLedger is not a warehouse or cut-piece tracking system.

The comparison ignores spaces at the start and end of a value but otherwise uses exact text. Differences in leading zeros, punctuation, letter case or grade designation remain differences; the tool does not infer equivalent grades. “Compared values match” requires the heat and grade to have been reviewed and the line and expected-value source references to be present. That status does not confirm physical identity or acceptance.

Fictional shipment-to-certificate mapping

Common questions