Advanced material tracking system

Abstract

A method for tracking and reporting material movements and responding to material movements. Tracked-components are assigned a component identifier which can be associated with a location. The identifier is associated with a first location, and in response to a movement trigger, the location associated with the identifier is updated to a second location. A component can be comprised of multiple sub-components, each of which itself is a tracked component. When the location of the component is updated, the location of each sub-component is similarly updated. Each update of the location of a component can trigger reports or other actions within the system.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method comprising:
 assigning first, second, and third tags respectively to first, second and third components present at a first physical location;   storing the first, second, and third tags to a first database corresponding to the first physical location;   assembling the first, second, and third components into a collection;   generating a fourth tag corresponding to the collection; and   storing the fourth tag in a second database corresponding to a second physical location in response to the collection being assembled.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein at least the first tag comprises a history of the first component, the history comprising at least one timestamp and third physical location. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the first and second databases are respectively analyzed to identify an assembly process issue. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the assembly process issue comprises an inefficiency, bottleneck, or redundancy. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein a screen displays information about the first component in response to the first tag being scanned. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein movement of the collection from the first physical location is restricted by a security protocol. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein movement of the collection from the first physical location to the second physical location is allowed in response to submittal of security credentials. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the fourth tag tracks who handled the first, second, and third components, where the first, second, and third components were previously located, and when the first, second, and third components were previously handled. 
     
     
         9 . A method comprising:
 assigning first, second, and third tags respectively to first, second and third components present at a first physical location;   storing the first, second, and third tags to a first database corresponding to the first physical location;   assembling the first, second, and third components into a collection;   generating a fourth tag corresponding to the collection in the first database in response to the assembling step;   moving the collection from the first physical location to a second physical location;   activating a movement trigger in response to the collection being moved; and   storing the fourth tag in a second database corresponding to the second physical location in response to the movement trigger being activated.   
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the movement trigger comprises a manual input of data into the first database. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the movement trigger comprises an automated scanning of the fourth tag at the second physical location. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the fourth tag identifies the first, second, and third components. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the fourth tag identifies the first physical location as an assembly location for the collection. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the fourth tag is separated from and positioned proximal to the collection. 
     
     
         15 . An apparatus comprising first and second databases respectively corresponding with first and second physical locations, the first database comprising first, second, and third tags respectively corresponding to first, second, and third components, the second database comprising a fourth tag corresponding to a collection of the first, second, and third components, the fourth tag generated in response to the first, second, and third components being assembled. 
     
     
         16 . The apparatus of  claim 15 , wherein each database is stored on a computer memory. 
     
     
         17 . The apparatus of  claim 15 , wherein the first, second, third, and fourth tags are each scannable articles placed proximal the first, second, and third components. 
     
     
         18 . The apparatus of  claim 17 , wherein at least one tag comprises a barcode. 
     
     
         19 . The apparatus of  claim 17 , wherein at least one tag comprises a radio frequency identification code. 
     
     
         20 . The apparatus of  claim 15 , wherein the first and second databases are physically separate and connected via at least one online connection.