Container validation

Container validation, also called load validation, checks item by item that a container holds exactly what it should before it leaves. Scan App confirms every item that belongs, refuses anything that does not, and shows how far the load has progressed.

Content in this article:

• Before you begin
• Create a Scan App event for container validation
• Validate a container
• Progress figures
• Item colors
• Refused item messages
• Container rules

Before you begin

Make sure containers are part of your workflow. Items are put into containers with a container onboarding event first, and the Containers tab must be shown in Scan App. See Container onboarding.

Key concepts

• Item – a package, a shipment, or a container that is directly inside the container you validate.
• Container validation event – a Scan App event that agents use to validate the contents of a container.
   

Create a Scan App event for container validation

Create an event that agents use to validate the contents of a container. This task is for Action Center admins.
 

Steps

1. Go to Action Center > Settings > Scan App events in nShift Portal.
    
2. Select New at the bottom of the list of events.

3. Enter a name for the event.
    
4. Select Container validation.
    
5. Make sure all Related info options are disabled.
    
6. Leave Barcode suffix and Signature closes event empty.
    
7. Select Save to create the event.

Validate a container

Scan the items in a container to check them against the contents of the container. Scan App confirms items that belong to the container and rejects items that don’t.
 

Steps

1. Open the Containers tab.
    
2. Select the container validation event.
    
3. Select a container from the list, or enter or scan the container barcode in Search by container barcode.

Note

Each container card shows when the container was created, how many items it holds, and whether it is a top-level container. For the search, the beginning of the barcode is enough. If several containers match, Scan App lists them so you can pick one.

4. Scan or enter the items under Add items to validate, or select an item in the list

Note

You can scan a whole shipment, or its packages one by one.

5. Select Complete. Scan App confirms with Event registered successfully.

Note

You can complete a container that is only partly validated. The rest can be validated later, by you or someone else.

Progress figures

The card at the top of the container screen counts the items directly inside the container. A pallet that holds 10 shipments counts as 1 item.

The percentage shows previously loaded and currently loaded items together, as a share of the total items.

Below the counts, Scan App shows the previously loaded, currently loaded, and total loaded weight, in the unit set in Display settings. Weight is added only for complete items, so a shipment counts once all its packages are covered. If an item has no weight in nShift, Scan App can’t calculate the weight and says so.

Item colors

Each item in the list has an icon for its type, which is a package, a shipment, or a container, and a color for its state. Select the arrow on a shipment or container to see what is inside it. This view is read only.

Refused item messages

Container rules

• Validating a container also validates the items directly inside it.
• Validated items are not moved to another container by a later onboarding.
• Containers that hold nothing don’t appear in the list or the search.
• Scan App doesn’t update an open container by itself. Changes made by others appear when you pull down to refresh or open the container again.

Related topics

Container onboarding – put items into a container before you validate it

Display settings – set the unit used for weight