New York medical center to implement GS1 standards

A prominent medical center in New York's Hudson Valley announced it will adopt GS1 standards in its supply chain process through a data synchronization effort that will make use of the Global Data Synchronization Network (GDSN).

In a press release, Westchester Medical Center said it would improve its supply chain efficiency with help from DataPros for Healthcare – a data cleansing company for the healthcare sector – and 1SYNC, the GS1-certified, GDSN-member data pool.

The medical center is part of a larger medical group that is a member of the GS1 Healthcare U.S. Initiative. That initiative includes more than 130 healthcare organizations that strive to improve standardization across the industry.

"We always challenge ourselves to have the best supply-chain processes, with a sharp focus on driving waste out of the system," Roger Weems, an executive at the Westchester Medical Center, said in a press release. "One key strategy has been ensuring completeness and accuracy of our data."

More than 19,000 companies nationwide participate in the GDSN, and healthcare providers are joining at an increasing rate. 1SYNC has been a leader in that regard, connecting more medical centers, like Westchester, with the supply chain data they need to improve productivity and workflow.

Ideally, such standardization would have a beneficial impact on healthcare as a whole. Improved label tracking and traceability through the Global Trade Item Number (GTIN), for instance, allows providers to identify potentially defective or troublesome medical equipment. Similarly, the Global Location Number (GLN) makes it quick and easy to locate healthcare providers and suppliers anywhere in the world.

The GDSN uses both of those identifiers to offer users vital updates on product changes, system upgrades and other important information.

At Westchester, administrators hope adopting GS1 standards will help the center improve the quality of care it provides to its 3.5 million potential patients.
 

Restaurant group to study supply chain, traceability issues

We've talked a lot recently about label tracking and traceability concerns in the food and beverages industry. It seems consumers are taking an active role in pushing for better regulations or more enforcement at every level of the food supply chain.

Of course, these talks have cost and management implications for stakeholders in the food and beverages industry. One trade group says it would now like to study supply chain processes and measures to determine best practices moving forward.

The National Restaurant Association (NRA) announced the formation of an Executive Study Group, which aims to research "issues such as increasing commodity and wholesale food prices, sourcing of ingredients, and traceability of products," according to a press release.

Dawn Sweeney, president and CEO for the NRA, added that food safety and supply chain efficiency are both top concerns for restaurateurs. The group – composed of major restaurant executives and managers – will also look at the Foodservice GS1 US Standards Initiative as a potential jumping-off point in its discussions.

That initiative was developed in 2009 to provide direction to food industry stakeholders with issues such as label tracking and traceability as well as counterfeit labeling. GS1 said it wants at least 75 percent of the industry subscribing to these standards by 2015, and an October 2011 press release said GS1 is now halfway towards that goal. More than 1,400 food service companies have adopted the GS1 standards, up from 191 in 2009.

That's certainly encouraging progress, but as a report this week from the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) shows, label compliance remains a challenge because fraud in the industry lacks definition. Dishonest labels or packaging are only part of the puzzle when it comes to food fraud, said the report.

All the same, the more companies that subscribe to standards like the ones that GS1 has laid out, the better the overall industry may be. If you have questions about the Foodservice G1 Standard or anything else GS1-related, don't hesitate to reach out to Loftware.
 

GS1 U.S. announces details on 2012 conference

Businesses that adhere to GS1 standards for label tracking and traceability and supply chain efficiency can get the latest on the organization's latest standards, updates and regulations at the 2012 GS1 Connect Conference, which was announced November 16.

This year's event will take place June 4 to 7, 2012, from Las Vegas's Aria Resort and Casino, GS1 U.S. announced in a press release.

You may recall the gathering's previous name as the U Connect Conference, which it had been known as since its 2000 debut. The name change will also occur for the corresponding online community that was once known as U Connect Online and will now be known as GS1 Connect Online.

The annual event attracts more than 10,000 visitors each year from a wide swath of industries, including healthcare, manufacturing, apparel, food and beverage and consumer goods.

Each of those sectors can expect to have industry-specific information available at individual sessions, which are being developed by the GS1 Connect Community Advisory Board (CAB). The CAB includes representatives from businesses within each stakeholder industry. For example, Mike Sarachman, the industry standards adoptions manager at Johnson & Johnson, co-chairs the healthcare planning group.

"We are planning sessions that will enable people to learn from the experiences of not only the healthcare industry, but from the experiences of other industries that are realizing the value of appropriate standards," Sarachman said in the press release.

The conference – register for it here – may be a great way for businesses in any one of those industries to receive relevant news and information regarding label compliance and standardization in their sector. In the meantime, it can be helpful to partner with a trusted label software solutions provider to keep abreast of GS1 label compliance developments and updates.
 

GS1 Healthcare US Showcases Healthcare Supplier’s Implementation of Global Location Numbers

In a recent six-page case study, GS1 Healthcare US spotlights how and why the STERIS Corporation has made the move to GS1-based data and product marking standards. In case you’re not familiar with STERIS, it is a leading provider of infection prevention and surgical products with more than 5,000 employees worldwide.

The story is an interesting one, if not a little breathless for my taste. I’m not sure why the word ‘customer’ throughout the piece carries a capital ‘C’ for example. Still, good information is provided about the perceived benefits of making the GS1 transition. Three things in particular drew my attention.

Voluntary Interindustry Commerce Solutions Association Endorses GS1

It’s not a surprise that the Voluntary Interindustry Commerce Solutions Association (VICS) has endorsed GS1 standards. The story about it, courtesy of Apparel, notes that the organization had previously endorsed the use of GS1 keys, barcode data capture standards and other GS1 technical standards, including VICS EDI. This latest reaffirmation, however, is expected to advance the Association’s VICS Item Level RFID Initiative (VILRI).

Joe Andraski, president and CEO of VICS, and Bob Carpenter, president and CEO of GS1 US are both quoted in the story.

Healthcare, aerospace sector to benefit from new GS1 EPC standards

GS1, the nonprofit standards organization, announced Friday that it has ratified two new Electronic Product Code (EPC) standards, which offer additional capabilities to users tagging items with radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology.

The first standard is the EPC HF RFID Air Interface Protocol Version 2.0.3, which the GS1 release explained was developed out of a need for better high-frequency tag reading in the healthcare industry. The standard's improved reading and interrogating abilities is backwards compatible with older high-frequency systems, the organization said in a news release.

GS1 also announced a new version of the Tag Data Standard (TDS) to introduce an update to the EPC Header for Aerospace and Defense. That new standard will allow manufacturers in that sector to attach their own identifiers as a prefix to the EPC number. This should increase label tracking and traceability for aerospace and defense companies that manufacture aircraft parts, GS1 announced.

The nonprofit noted that it worked closely with major organizations in that sector to coordinate efforts on the new header. NATO, the U.S. Department of Defense and the U.S. Air Transport Association all provided representatives who helped collaborate on the standards' direction and implementation.

Ultimately, GS1's approach in developing and introducing these new standards show the organization's efforts to listen to user needs. Giselle Ow-Yang, a standards manager at GS1, told RFID Journal that the EPC HF RFID Air Interface Protocol was updated specifically at the request of healthcare professionals out of a desire for more flexible RFID tagging.

At the same time, the healthcare sector won't be the only one able to benefit from the new standard. As the RFID Journal report notes, high-frequency technology is in use in many situations that require short-range tag reading, such as beverage manufacturing.
 

GS1, Global Healthcare Collaboration, and Electronic Medical Records

According to a recent news release, this coming September, 2011, in London, a prestigious group of healthcare professionals and Roger Lamb, healthcare sector manager at GS1 UK, are convening an event to address the concerns and challenges of the European healthcare market. The event is being organized by Healthcare IQ, a division of International Quality & Productivity Center (IQPC). A spokesperson from that organization summed up the chief objective

Chemical Industry: Future of Worldwide Harmonization Hinges on Getting MAD!

A timely article in Express Pharma entitled, “Enhancing REACHability,” provides a thorough accounting of the events and themes of the recently held third Helsinki Chemicals Forum which discussed current issues and future challenges of the chemical industry, chemical safety, and chemistry research. It is mostly about the ongoing evolution of REACH (registration, evaluation, authorization and restriction of chemicals) regulations for European Union member countries.  For example,

Commentary: Traceability is the Buzzword, But it is Really About a Global Marking Standard and Who’s in Charge

Here’s a shocker: traceability isn’t really a new idea. In the fresh produce industry, for example, traceability has been happening in the United States pretty much across the board for over 80 years. So what is new? Why now is there so much talk about traceability?

The big breakthrough is actually based on a very simple, new-ish idea. While the fresh produce people, for example, actually have traceability systems, they have traditionally all  been different. This means at least two things: one provider’s methodology isn’t compatible with another; and two, a central authority like the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) or the Agriculture Department (USDA) can’t very quickly or very accurately pinpoint the source of a food borne illness because everyone’s record keeping is different. Here’s an analogy: lots of countries have sophisticated languages.

Meeting Customers’ Needs for Chemical Data

The headline on this post comes from the name of a newly minted report of 50+ pages developed by the Green Chemistry and Commerce Council. They’re a project of the Lowell Center for Sustainable Production at the University of Massachusetts Lowell. There are several really important features of this report. Most immediately it becomes quite apparent that the chemical industry affects products of all kinds and touches all industries. For example, I first learned of this new report from

At long last, from ‘Farm to Fork’… almost…

The U. S. Foodservice… you know them, they distribute more than 43,000 national, private label and signature brand items and an array of services to more than 250,000 customers… came out pretty strong recently to welcome federal passage of the Food Safety Modernization Act. In particular, Jorge Hernandez, senior vice president of food safety and quality assurance for U.S. Foodservice was especially vocal in his support. That’s to be expected. Among the many roles he has held in his career,

GS1, Global Healthcare Collaboration, and Electronic Medical Records

This month, in London, a prestigious group of healthcare professionals and Roger Lamb, healthcare sector manager at GS1 UK, convened to address the concerns and challenges of the European healthcare market. The event was organized by Healthcare IQ, a division of International Quality & Productivity Center (IQPC). A spokesperson from that organization summed up the chief objective of the planned gathering:

“Healthcare providers across the continent are looking forward to the day when EU-wide e-Health collaboration is a reality, when data can flow freely, yet securely, across institutional and international boundaries, thus increasing efficiency and improving patient outcomes.”

Of seven topics identified as being at the top of the agenda for the event, in addition to a focus on electronic medical records, two others

World’s 10th Largest Drug Market Pushes for GS1 Serialization by 2011

According to Phil Taylor, writing for SecuringPharma, Brazil’s 191 million inhabitants represent the biggest pharmaceutical market in South America, valued at around $17bn in 2008. He notes it is the tenth largest drug market in the world. Soon, the country plans to implement a drug serialization mandate that will affect you if your company sells pharmaceuticals in Brazil.

Specifically, Mr. Taylor writes: Last year, the national regulatory agency – ANVISA - implemented a series of healthcare reforms to shore up patient safety

Medical Device Barcode and RFID Tips that can Streamline Joint Commission Visits

Recently, MD Publishing posted an excellent article entitled, ‘Cover Story: Strategies For Success,’ which is all about the ways in which clinical engineering professionals can and should  track and manage medical devices and why this is important. The article not only spotlights the requirements of The Joint Commission, which accredits and certifies more than 18,000 health care organizations

Track and Trace is a Thing of Beauty in Cosmetics, Too!

I recently came across a rather breathless news release about a new industrial printing solution. That’s OK. I write a lot of somewhat over-the-top stuff, too. Happily, my boss usually tones it down. But of importance to me in this news release was a mention of the cosmetics industry’s problem

American Pharmacists Association Expresses Concern Over Track and Trace Implementation Implications

A pharmaceutical expert told me once, and I have confirmed this many times since from other sources, that quite often a drug recall will see the return of more product than was originally manufactured in the first place. That’s how porous the system is to counterfeiters and how vulnerable people are to fake drugs. This is why I wanted to bring you the following report:

In a recent set of comments provided to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the American Pharmacists Association (APhA) registered its concern that

Financial Services Industry: GS1 Leads Initiative for Legal Entity Identifiers (LEI)

When Forbes starts writing about product marking technology, it’s a sign that the topic is going mainstream.  That’s my take, at least, on a recent report by Tom Groenfeldt who writes in general about financial technology for the publication. His recent piece, entitled, “Lehman, Lithium and Lettuce — The Need for Unique Identifiers in Finance,” is all about the advent and advocacy for Legal Entity Identifiers (LEI) in the financial industry and the leadership in this area that has been shown to date to by GS1.

Prominently featured in the article is Bob Carpenter, CEO of GS1 U.S., who provides a lucid and compelling explanation about why LEIs are needed and how they would be implemented using GS1 standards.

GS1 Belgium Completes 3-Year Trial of RFID-driven Drug Track and Trace

This latest update about a three-year GS1 pilot to test end-to-end supply chain product tracking shows that people are thinking about the right kinds of problems. But still missing from much of the analysis of RFID- and GPS-based solutions is the cost analysis part of the equation. It doesn’t seem to me we need another test to prove that RFID works from a technological perspective. The question is, at what price point does it make sense and at what level: every pill, every packet, every box, or every pallet? Here’s the story, courtesy of the European Commission.  

AMA Expresses Concern Over Track and Trace Implementation Implications

A pharmaceutical expert told me once, and I have confirmed this many times since from other sources, that quite often a drug recall will see the return of more product than was originally manufactured in the first place. That’s how porous the system is to counterfeiters and how vulnerable people are to fake drugs. This is why I wanted to bring you the following report:

In a recent set of comments provided to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the American Pharmacists Association (APhA) registered its concern

Commentary: The Inevitability of Global, Standards-Driven Track and Trace

Uncertainty seems to be the natural default position for many of us when contemplating the possibilities or probabilities of new things, including emerging technologies. Will they or won’t they catch on? Is everyone really going to adapt to it? This kind of thinking puts decisions into neutral which is sometimes a good thing. Why? Because it reduces the risk of going all out for a passing fad or for something that never actually fulfills its promise. But neutral is not the best place to be if, while waiting to read the tea leaves, a major strategic/competitive opportunity is missed.

Today, manufacturers of all kinds, pharmaceutical and medical device companies, and providers of fresh produce, fish, meat and poultry, just to name a few categories, are contemplating the future of a standards-based product marking system for