Buyoffs are an electronic way to approve the completion of a manufacturing activity performed on a shop floor.
Buyoffs are an electronic substitute for the physical stamps applied to paper travelers by various people in manufacturing to record (or warrant) that they performed, checked, or acknowledged completion of a manufacturing activity. The objective of the buyoff is to facilitate the elimination of paper documents in manufacturing while at the same time providing at least the same level of recording or warranting of the manufacturing activities performed. It refers to an action performed by personnel on the shop floor to validate the completion of manufacturing tasks performed on product at an operation activity within a work center. Manufacturing tasks can include the installation of components, the collection of data values, or the completion of an operation activity. Buyoffs are used by manufacturers where high-quality standards must be adhered to.
Some of the benefits of performing buyoffs are as follows:
Reduction in rework time through real-time task validation
Reduction in manufacturing cost through real-time task validation rather than validation later in the process, where it would be more costly
Conformance to federal guidelines mandated by regulatory agencies such as the FDA (Title 21 CFR Part 11) and FAA