Across industries, companies are beholden to certain regulations enforced by various governments or other industry authorities. While these regulations can be different across industries, all companies need to ensure that they are within compliance and staying up to date on any changes. After all, the consequences could be dire for their continued existence. Luckily, asset tracking technology can help both manufacturing and logistics companies achieve compliance without breaking the bank.
The Importance of Meeting Regulations
Regulations are put in place to ensure the safe functioning of a company, often including precautions for various concerns regarding the company’s employees, their customers, and the public at large. All industries have their own unique set of regulations to follow, although there can be overlap. For instance, right now we are speaking to regulations that affect both manufacturing and logistics simultaneously rather than just one or the other. Whether or not a company maintains industry regulations often determines whether that company needs to pay fees or – in extreme cases – whether that company can continue operations at all. Neither of these situations are ideal, so it benefits decision makers to find ways to both meet regulations and provide proof of their efforts.
New Regulations Affecting Manufacturing and Logistics
Most companies prime themselves to meet necessary regulations from the start because they understand that it impacts their ability to function. However, issues can sometimes arise when new regulations are put into place, ones that weren’t accounted for in the original conception of the company. In this case, it is important to stay updated on regulatory changes and make adjustments before the enforcement period begins.
Many new regulations are being put into place in 2023 and beyond. Some of the following examples will affect manufacturing and logistics companies alike.
Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA)
The Food Safety Modernization Act (FMSA) is a series of regulations put in place by the FDA with the goal of preventing foodborne illness before it happens. It seeks to do so by maintaining accountability through all stages of the production and delivery processes for food and pharmaceuticals. The FMSA is composed of a number of regulations that have been gradually introduced over the years. Still, the most recent one concerns traceability requirements that account for where food and pharmaceuticals go during and after production, including the temperatures at which they’re held. This new rule went into effect in January 2023 and will become a compliance issue starting in 2026, giving companies three years to plan and implement a system.
If you want to learn more, we discussed this regulation in depth in a previous blog.
Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA)
The Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA) is in some ways very similar to the FSMA. Also, put into place by the FDA, the DSCSA dictates that companies involved in the manufacturing and distribution of pharmaceuticals must initiate tracking procedures that ensure that these medications reach their intended destination. This aims to prevent the theft and resale of drugs during production and transportation. Although originating in 2015, many aspects of the DSCSA are only starting to be enforced fully in 2023 and new additions are expected.
Standardized Climate Disclosures
The Standardized Climate-Disclosures were proposed by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in 2022, to be initiated in 2023. Although this has been pushed back until at least 2024, it is still worth paying attention to. These regulations require companies to provide information on their waste, energy use, emissions, and more to evaluate their overall climate risk and the adequacy of their preventative measures. All this is done with regard to what daily operations require of a given company and how much additional waste or energy a company is using beyond what is considered the norm for comparable companies.
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How Asset Tracking Can Help Achieve Compliance
Asset tracking can help achieve compliance differently depending on the regulation in question. For instance, both the FSMA and DSCSA regulations revolve around traceability requirements. One of asset tracking’s biggest use cases is location tracking; these systems have embedded sensors that monitor temperature. Companies can easily comply with these regulations by implementing an asset tracking system. For other regulations, like the proposed Standardized Climate-Disclosures, asset tracking can be used indirectly to monitor the effective use of materials and disposal of waste, as well as operational times. All of this information impacts a company’s climate risks, and by tracking it, they can better reduce their risk to imposed industry standards.
But meeting industry regulatory requirements is only half the battle. The other half is being able to prove that your company complies with these mandates. When proof of compliance is requested, it cannot be denied. This can create a disruption in daily operations and operators work to compile the necessary information and pass it on in a way that is both accurate and easily understood. After all, misunderstandings create more steps in the compliance process or create the illusion of noncompliance. Both of these scenarios are not conducive to maintaining primary operations and achieving productivity goals. It disrupts the primary functions of both manufacturing and logistics companies alike by creating tasks that must be prioritized even if they don’t directly lend to daily operations.
Asset tracking can help guarantee not only compliance, but proof of compliance as well. When data is stored automatically, it can also be compiled automatically. There’s no question about where the pertinent compliance information is stored, as it is all hosted in an easily accessible, central location. Further, it requires very little input from the user to separate the information that is needed from the information that is not, which further reduces the time it takes to compile regulatory compliance.
An Asset Tracking Solution for Improved Compliance
Whether you’re a manufacturing company looking to adhere to waste regulations or a logistics company looking to secure your cold chain compliance, Link Labs provides an asset tracking solution built to meet your needs. With a wide variety of use cases and applications centered around compliance, we want to help you meet industry regulations in a way that saves you both time and money. To learn more about how our solutions can work for your regulatory concerns, book a demo today.
