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When supplying products for the United States Department of Defense, there are numerous codes and regulations that a company needs to follow. One of those is for products that are over $5000 in value. For each of those products, the company must have a unique identification, or UID metal plates. These plates are used to uniquely identify each item sold to the Federal government. UID marking is important for a number of reasons. Each one of these unique identifications, or UID metal plates is unique, hence the word "unique" in the name. The UID coding onto unique identification metal plates is done using a 2D Data Matrix ECC 200 Symbol. The coding standard for the UIDs is used on a global level so there is no risk that the same identifier will be used in another region or country. This is done because assets for the US Department of Defense are distributed and used globally wherever there is a United States defense presence. UID markings are assigned to individual units or allotments of items. An Individual Unique Identifier, or IUID, can be assigned to a single item or to multiple items that are grouped or shipped together. The UID metal plates on the item casing or on the shipping container are in the form of bar codes that are encoded with identifier string. A manufacturer of material for the US Department of Defense must manufacture the UID metal plates or contract out to a company that specializes in making and affixing those metal plates to items or containers (or both). Not all UIDs are printed on metal plates. The type of tagging can vary depending upon the item or grouping of items. The important thing is that the unique string is encoded into a bar code that can be scanned upon acceptance of the item or container. UIDs can be in the form of Unique Identifier metal plates, tags, or labels. However, it is not enough to just stick a label on a box or piece of equipment. The UID must be firmly affixed to the object that is being accepted by the US Department of Defense; this is why companies often use Unique Identifier metal plates since a metal plate is a permanent part of the item or container and follows that item through to the final use. In the case of a single machine or item, the UID remains the same whether that item is later re-manufactured or re-worked into another item. Durable polymers or laser etching are also used to make UID markings permanent. There is more than one method used to create a unique identifier. The standard used depends upon the normal practices of the organization performing the manufacturing. The standard is serialized so that it is unique to each item, trackable to each item, and encodable into a bar code. There are approximately six different standards used to create UIDs. These standards include UID Construct 1, UID Construct 2, Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs), Global Returnable Asset Identifiers (GRAIs), Global Individual Asset Identifiers (GIAIs), and Electronic Serial Numbers (ESNs). All of these are generally intended for different industries or usages. A VIN, for example, is used by the automotive industry. An ESN is often used by the cell phone industry. The US Department of Defense expects compliance in the use of UIDs. The UID metal plates are often affixed based upon the usage of the equipment and use the encoding accepted to the industry or the encoding used by the prime contractor of the product. Regardless, the intent is to provide unique, trackable IDs to each item purchased by the United States Department of Defense.
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