A container goes into quarantine, gets its tag and the shift changes; the next morning the tag is gone: it fell off, came away in the wash bay, or somebody removed it. A missing tag does not lift the quarantine decision, which stays in the record. The container stays where it is; even if it has reached the clean area it is not moved back, because what container it is and why it was set aside must be established first.
- Read the permanent number on the container body.
- Search the quarantine record for that number.
- Compare it with the line on the handover form: are the decision time and reason the same?
- If it is not in the record, keep the container in quarantine and tell the quality officer.
If a record is found, the tag is refitted and carries the date and reason of the first tag, not today's; a wrong date makes the quarantine look shorter than it was. If no record is found, the container is not released, since it may have been set aside without one. Whoever knows the reason is sought, and until they are found the container waits on hold.
The tag goes on a spot that does not rub during handling, fixed with a clip or tie. The written record is the second safeguard: if container number, first decision time, reason and owner are written down, the record remains when the tag disappears; if not, only memory remains and the container either waits for nothing or is released too early.
Who removed the tag, when and during which task gets asked, and the answer goes into the record. It is usually well meant: the container was washed, the tag got wet, someone took it off during cleaning. That fact is the only thing that stops it happening again.
