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Digitising Mill Certificates and Ensuring Compliance

Table of Contents

This guide is designed for quality assurance managers, compliance officers, and anyone who handles Mill Test Certificates (MTCs) or material test reports (MTRs). Learn how to use GoSmarter’s Compliant Metals feature with its MillCert Reader AI to turn piles of certificate PDFs into searchable, actionable data.

Overview

The Problem

Manufacturers often receive material certificates as scanned PDFs or emails. Finding the right certificate later or extracting specific details can take hours of manual searching through files or different mill portals. This creates bottlenecks in:

  • Verifying material specifications before use
  • Responding to customer requests for certificates
  • Conducting compliance audits
  • Ensuring traceability for safety-critical applications

How GoSmarter Solves This

GoSmarter digitises mill test certificates in seconds using AI technology:

  • Automated extraction - Upload a PDF, get structured data instantly
  • Searchable database - Find any certificate by heat number, batch, supplier, or specifications
  • Full traceability - Link certificates to inventory for complete product lineage
  • Compliance ready - Generate reports and documents for audits with one click

Time Savings

One manager saved 120 hours per year by automating certificate handling with GoSmarter. Instead of manually searching through binders or typing data from PDFs, certificates are digitised and searchable in seconds.

Why This Matters for Safety and ISO Compliance

In metals manufacturing, using the correct grade material is critical:

  • Welding applications - Wrong grade can compromise structural integrity
  • ISO compliance - Traceability requirements for quality management systems
  • Customer requirements - Many customers require certificates with deliveries
  • Legal liability - Documentation proves materials meet specifications

GoSmarter ensures you can verify any material’s specifications instantly, reducing compliance risk and improving quality assurance.

Uploading Certificates

Single Certificate Upload

To digitise a new mill test certificate:

  1. Navigate to Compliant Metals → Mill Certificates in the main menu
  2. Click +Upload Certificate
  3. Click Choose File and select your PDF
  4. Click Upload
  5. GoSmarter’s AI begins processing immediately

File Quality

For best results, use clear, high-resolution scans or original digital PDFs. The AI can handle most mill certificate formats, including handwritten or lower-quality scans, but clarity improves accuracy.

AI Extraction Process

How It Works

GoSmarter uses advanced AI trained on mill certificates from suppliers worldwide. When you upload a certificate:

  1. Document analysis - AI identifies the certificate type and format
  2. Data extraction - Key fields are automatically extracted:
    • Heat number / Batch number
    • Steel grade / specification
    • Chemical composition (C, Si, Mn, P, S, etc.)
    • Mechanical properties (yield strength, tensile strength, elongation)
    • Dimensions (diameter, length, thickness)
    • Manufacturer/mill information
  3. Validation - AI checks that extracted values are logical and consistent
  4. Structured storage - Data is saved in searchable database format

This process typically takes 5-15 seconds per certificate page.

Viewing Extraction Results

Once processing is complete, you’ll see the extracted data. The interface displays:

  • Certificate metadata - Supplier, date, certificate number
  • Material identification - Heat number, grade, dimensions
  • Chemical composition table - All elements with percentages
  • Mechanical properties - Strength values, elongation, hardness
  • Test results - Any additional test data
  • Original PDF - Link to view the source document

Growing coverage

GoSmarter’s AI is trained on mill certificates from suppliers our customers use, we train it continuously as we onboard more customers. As part of onboarding, we’ll ask you about your common suppliers to prioritise training data.

Getting certificates for use elsewhere

After uploading, data is available exported as a CSV or as zip files of PDFs. The reason for the PDFs is to enable you to access the certificate PDFs for integration in other systems or for producing traceability packs.

Downbloading by page will give you a PDF per page and it will be named with all the heat numbers found on that page. Downloading by heat code will give you a PDF per heat code, named with the heat number.

By making copies of the PDFs available with metadata filenames, you can easily integrate them into other systems or produce traceability packs for customers.

Viewing and Searching Certificate Data

Finding Certificates Quickly

The power of digitised certificates is instant searchability. To find a certificate:

  1. Navigate to Mill Certificates main page
  2. Use the Filter area to search based on a range factors, including for a specific head code.

Results appear instantly, showing matching certificates with key information.

Viewing from Inventory

You can also access certificate data directly from inventory items (see Managing Inventory Guide).

  1. On an inventory item, select Actions → View Certificate if the heat number is available
  2. View the full certificate data linked to that material
  3. Download the original PDF if needed

This provides instant verification when allocating materials to orders or checking specifications before use.

This relies on heat codes being entered against inventory items and the mill certificates being uploaded. Linking is automatic and requires no extra work once both sides are in the system.

Ensuring Traceability

Best Practice Workflow

For complete traceability, follow this workflow:

  1. Material arrives → Upload mill certificate immediately
  2. Certificate digitised → Verify key data extracted correctly
  3. Add heatcodes to inventory → Make sure inventory items have correct heat numbers when added during Goods In / REceivable
  4. Material used → Certificate data follows material through production
  5. Delivery to customer → Certificate included automatically

This ensures every piece of material has verified, traceable properties from mill to final delivery.

Compliance Checks in Production

Pre-Production Verification

Before starting a job, production managers can verify materials meet specifications:

  1. Review job requirements - What grade/properties are needed?
  2. Check allocated inventory - What materials are assigned to this job?
  3. View certificate data - Click certificate icons in inventory
  4. Verify compliance - Confirm grade, properties meet requirements

Example: Before cutting steel for a job requiring B500C rebar:

  1. Job specs require: B500C, minimum yield strength 500 MPa
  2. Allocated stock: Inventory item #1234
  3. View certificate for item #1234:
    • Grade: B500C ✓
    • Yield strength: 545 MPa ✓
    • Certificate valid ✓
  4. Proceed with confidence

This verification takes seconds with digitised certificates vs. potentially hours of searching with paper systems.

FAQ / Troubleshooting

Common Questions and Solutions

Q: What if the AI misreads a value?

A: The AI is highly accurate but not perfect. To correct:

  1. Click Edit on the field with the incorrect value
  2. View the original PDF side-by-side for reference
  3. Enter the correct value manually
  4. Click Save

All edits are logged. Over time, you can report persistent issues to GoSmarter support to improve the AI.

Q: What if a certificate is not in English or uses unusual formatting?

A:

  • GoSmarter handles many languages and formats automatically
  • For very unusual formats (rare regional mill formats), the AI may struggle
  • If extraction fails or is very inaccurate:
    • Contact GoSmarter support with a sample
    • Meanwhile, manually enter key fields while keeping the original PDF in the system
    • Support can update the AI to recognise similar formats in future

Q: How do I handle multi-page certificates?

A:

  • Upload the entire multi-page PDF as one file
  • The AI processes all pages and combines the data

Q: Can I edit a certificate after it’s been uploaded?

A: Yes:

  • Click Edit on any certificate
  • Modify any extracted field
  • You cannot edit the original PDF (it’s read-only), but you can upload a replacement if needed
  • All changes are tracked in the audit log

Q: How do I export certificate data for use in other systems?

A:

  • Select the certificates you need
  • Click Export
  • Choose format: CSV (for Excel/database) or a PDF option
  • Download the export file

Q: Are my certificates secure?

A: Yes:

  • All data is encrypted in transit and at rest
  • Access is controlled by user permissions (only authorised users can view)
  • Audit logs track who accessed what and when
  • Data is backed up regularly
  • GoSmarter complies with relevant data protection standards

See the Security section below for more details.

Security Note

Data Protection for Sensitive Documents

Mill test certificates often contain sensitive information:

  • Chemical analysis (proprietary blends)
  • Supplier relationships
  • Pricing information (sometimes)
  • Test results that could be commercially sensitive

GoSmarter protects your data:

Encryption:

  • All data transmitted over HTTPS/TLS
  • Database encryption at rest
  • Certificate PDFs stored in encrypted storage

Access Control:

  • Role-based permissions (define who can view/edit certificates)
  • Multi-factor authentication available
  • User activity audit logs

Compliance:

  • Designed to support ISO 9001 quality management requirements
  • GDPR-compliant data handling

Backup and Recovery:

  • Automated daily backups
  • Point-in-time recovery available
  • Disaster recovery procedures tested regularly

Best Practices Summary

Quick Reference for Success

Certificate Management:

  1. ✅ Upload certificates immediately when materials arrive
  2. ✅ Verify AI-extracted data for critical fields
  3. ✅ Use consistent naming for certificate files
  4. ✅ Configure compliance rules for automatic checking

Quality Assurance:

  1. ✅ Always verify grade and key properties before using material
  2. ✅ Generate certificate packages for customer deliveries
  3. ✅ Keep original PDFs even though data is extracted (for legal/audit backup)

Team Workflow:

  1. ✅ Define roles: who uploads, who verifies, who can edit
  2. ✅ Train all relevant staff on search and verification
  3. ✅ Establish SOP for certificate receipt and digitisation
  4. ✅ Review extracted data quality quarterly with GoSmarter support
  5. ✅ Continuously improve process based on team feedback

Next Steps

Now that you understand GoSmarter’s mill certificate digitisation capabilities:

  1. Start uploading - Begin with current/active certificates, then add historical as time allows
  2. Link to inventory - Use the Inventory Guide to connect certificates with materials
  3. Configure compliance - Set up rules for your specific requirements
  4. Train your team - Ensure quality, production, and office staff know how to search and verify
  5. Go paperless - Phase out paper certificate management, keeping only digital copies

Additional Resources

Welcome to Digital Compliance

You’re now ready to move to a near-paperless system for mill test certificates. Upload, verify, search, and share certificates at the click of a button - saving tremendous time and ensuring compliance with minimal effort.