The most common mistake with a shipment that has an excursion is to put the tag on the container when the excursion belongs to the goods. The goods are unloaded, the pallet enters the warehouse, the tag goes to the wash bay with the empty container and the goods are no longer in quarantine; nobody notices.
| Doubt | Where the tag goes | Who decides |
|---|---|---|
| Condition of the goods | Case or pallet of goods | Quality officer |
| The container itself (gasket, body) | Container body | Technical and quality together |
| Both | Two separate tags | Two separate decisions |
Write on the tag the container and goods or pallet IDs, the reason, date and time, who attached it and who may release it. A tag that says only quarantine becomes a mark nobody dares remove three days later. The TITCK guide for medicine manufacturing sites likewise recommends stating the status in words and often adding colour (item 5.13).
A tag carries information; an area stops movement. In a small warehouse the two merge; in a large one, without a quarantine area a tag is no use because the goods stay inside the flow. The same guide asks that a separate quarantine area, where one is set aside, is clearly marked and entry limited to authorised staff (item 3.21).
Removing the tag is a decision, recorded with date, person and reason. The tag goes in the bin and the record stays in the file; mix the two and nobody knows when the quarantine ended. The date of the next assessment is also written on the tag, and if no decision comes on that date the period is extended and that is recorded too.
