PhotoTag for Manufacturing

Summary: Streamline your quality control process by categorizing your photos by work order, serial number, damage type, and more.

Many small and medium size manufacturers don't have in-house resources (like an industrial engineer) who can develop efficient quality control processes and find ways to eliminate wastefulness in production. With quality control measures now covering almost every part of the manufacturing process, it’s more important than ever for small manufacturers to ensure that they have the means to reduce waste, improve quality, and stay ahead of their competitors.

Quality control is an ongoing process and includes specification compliance, a low percentage rate of defects, on-time shipping, undamaged deliveries, and quick customer service. While it’s impossible to completely prevent defects and other problems from occurring, knowing exactly where and when they are happening and how to stop them is key to improving productivity, reducing waste, and reducing costs.

PhotoTag is an easy, cost-effective photo documentation application that allows you to keep a visual record of the quality of your products. PhotoTag allows you to quickly scan a barcode, such as a work order, and capture images of products or assemblies. You can label and sort photos by barcode numbers, serial numbers, work orders, location, or any other relevant data. Photos are automatically uploaded to the cloud for review and corrective action.

How do I organize my photos?
A brief summary of the PhotoTag mobile app workflow

Step 1: Set up tags and categories

Log in to the app. Click on the Tag setup tab to add the tags and categories you want to be applied to your photos. Categories are used for broad groupings of photos, while tags label your photos in more detail.

Optional: Tag photo with barcode or serial number

If you would like a photo to be associated with a barcode or serial number, select the barcode icon to scan a barcode using your device’s built-in camera.

Step 2: Take a photo

To take a photo, select the Camera tab. The tags and categories you selected in step 1 are automatically linked to your photo and are uploaded to the cloud.

Step 3: Use List View to find images

View the photo in the Photo list tab. Search and filter images using the app or web interface. Search images typing in the search box or by selecting tags, categories, date, or GPS coordinates.

Incoming Quality Control (IQC)

Most manufacturers rely on suppliers for raw materials and components. It’s important to proactively test and examine these raw materials before the manufacturing process even begins to ensure that they meet your quality standards. By conducting an initial inspection, you can classify defects and direct your supplier to address quality issues before production starts, avoiding high rework costs and shipping delays in the process.

As part of your IQC inspection process, use PhotoTag to take photos of the raw materials and components, and add tags documenting any damage or other issues that are present. Adding tags of the order number and customer or supplier may also be helpful.

Outgoing Quality Control (OQC) and Shipping Verification

After your products are assembled, inspect their packaging, appearance, workmanship, function, and performance. Examine the condition of the packaging as well as the accuracy of labels, and make sure all accessories are included, if applicable. Use PhotoTag to take photos of the final products, including packaging. When taking photos of outgoing orders to verify condition or quantity, tag the photo with the tracking number, serial number, and/or order number so it can easily be found later.

In-Process Quality Control (IPQC)

Just as you check the quality of your materials and components before you start the manufacturing process, it’s important to also keep a quality record during the manufacturing process. Doing so will help you identify patterns of defects, if there are any, and help you troubleshoot when and where issues are occurring. Use PhotoTag to take photos of your products at different checkpoints, adding tags to include the damage type as well as the number and location of the workstations used to manufacture your products.

Digitization of Paper Documents

Paper files are much easier to find if there is a digital record of them. If you haven’t already invested in digital software and filing systems, you can use PhotoTag to help with that transition:

Take photos of invoices, receipts, purchase orders, or other documents that you want to keep track of.
Create a category for the type of document and a tag that includes the order number so you can easily find it later.

Having a central repository for these photos can help keep your field personnel on the same page, and enable a faster workflow of delivery acknowledgement and invoicing.

PhotoTag 30-Day Free Trial

Sign up for a free 30-day trial at phototag.app. You can also download our PhotoTag app on the Apple or Google Play store. If you want to learn more about PhotoTag in general, you can visit our main PhotoTag page.

TallyFlow RFID Tracking Software

Taking photos is an important part of keeping a visual record of your products, but it is only part of the quality control process. If your company doesn’t have a way to track your manufacturing processes in real time, our TallyFlow RFID tracking software can help you track materials as they are being manufactured.