You have just won a government contract and in the contract it is calling for you to meet the MIL STD 130 IUID marking requirement. In order to insure you are paid in a timely manner marking the asset with a fully compliant MIL STD 130 label is a must! In order to mark the asset with a fully compliant MIL STD 130 IUID label it must go through a validation & verification process after the label has been created but before it is applied to the asset. Only after each of your IUID labels has passed the validation & verification process can you be assured that you will be marking the asset correctly.
What is Validation?
Validation is all about the data that is encoded in the 2D Data Matrix barcode along with having the correct format and syntax. You need to be sure that your data, regardless if you are using a Construct 1 or Construct 2 format, meets MIL STD 130 guidelines. This means your data can be comprised of alpha uppercase (A to Z) or numeric (0-9) characters. You can also use a dash (-) or forward slash (/) character. If your data is comprised of any other character it would then be considered non-compliant against MIL STD 130. Examples of non-compliant characters would be a “&” “#” or “@”. A space in your part or serial number would also be considered non-compliant. In order to meet the compliance requirement you would need to replace the non-complaint character with a compliant character or simply remove it altogether.
What is Verification?
Verification is the process of assessing the quality grade of the 2D Data Matrix barcode that was created based on your data. Regardless of the various marking methods available such as a thermal transfer printer or a laser etching process the 2D Data Matrix must meet MIL STD 130 quality grade guidelines. The 2D Data Matrix must also maintain its quality grade of “C” or better for the life of the asset. The only way to insure this happens is to produce a quality mark that has been verified against MIL STD 130 guidelines. The use of a verifier is essential to identify if the mark has met this quality grade. Remember, just because you are able to scan the barcode does not mean that it is MIL STD 130 compliant.
Before you apply the IUID label to the asset you need to know that it has passed the validation & verification processes. If you are outsourcing your IUID labels your vendor should also be providing you with a verification & validation report confirming your labels are in full compliance. We also offer a free web-based application called UC! Web™ Validator that you can use to validate IUIDs and check existence of entries to the IUID Registry. UC! Web™ Validator enables scanning and interpreting of Data Matrix barcodes, marks and tags that meet MIL STD 130N. Click here to sign up for UC! Web™ Validator.
Make sure that your organization is fully compliant from the beginning and that you are properly marking and labeling all of the assets with an appropriate IUID label before you ship them to the government. To learn more about IUID labels that will keep you audit-ready to all military standards watch our recent on-demand webinar here. This free webinar will outline the information that you need to include, the advantages of different types of materials and marking methods for your label, verification & validation as well how to register your items and stay fully compliant so that you can get paid in a timely manner and also pass the inevitable DCMA audit.
