Decision Tree: Validation Failing¶
Use this when cases are being rejected, the red light keeps coming on, or validation results show "Failed" or "Rejected."
Step 1: Is the application running?¶
- YES -- Go to Step 2
- NO -- See Application Errors
Step 2: Is validation turned ON?¶
Look for the green ON/OFF toggle button in the main screen.
- YES (green ON button is active) -- Go to Step 3
- NO (validation is OFF) -- Turn validation ON and test again. If validation cannot be turned on, see Application Errors.
Step 3: Is the correct validation mode selected?¶
Check the mode displayed on screen. It must match the site:
| Site Type | Expected Mode |
|---|---|
| Teasdale | Teasdale |
| Cargill RFID (St. Clair, Sidney, Gainesville, Fullerton) | CargillRfid |
| Cargill Salt (Hersey) | CargillSalt |
| Hormel (Austin, Beloit, Barron) | AV50 |
| Zebra Futures Lab | Zfl |
- YES (mode is correct) -- Go to Step 4
- NO (wrong mode) -- Change to the correct mode, turn validation ON, and test again.
Step 4: Are all hardware devices connected?¶
Open the Diagnostics panel (gear icon) and check the status of each device.
- YES (all devices show "Connected") -- Go to Step 5
- NO (one or more devices show "Disconnected") -- See Hardware Disconnected. Fix the hardware connection first, then test validation again.
Step 5: Is production data loaded?¶
- Teasdale: Check the pallet display. It should show "Pallet X of Y". If blank, no job is loaded.
- CargillRfid / Chipotle: Check the log for Matthews connection messages. Production data comes from the Matthews TCP interface.
- CargillSalt: Check that the import file exists in the configured import directory.
- AV50: No production data is needed. Go to Step 6.
-
Zfl: Check the EPC queue in the UI. If empty, no ZPL data has been received.
-
YES (data is loaded) -- Go to Step 6
- NO (no data) -- See Data Import Issues
Step 6: What error message is shown?¶
Check the failure reason displayed on screen or in the log file. Find your error below:
| Error Message | Go To |
|---|---|
"Missing required barcodes (2D and UCC-128)" |
Step 7a - Camera not reading |
"Missing 2D barcode" |
Step 7a - Camera not reading |
"Missing UCC-128 barcode" |
Step 7a - Camera not reading |
"No barcode read from camera" |
Step 7a - Camera not reading |
"No barcode data from FS40 scanner (0 barcodes)" |
Step 7a - Camera not reading |
"No matching RFID data" |
Step 7b - RFID not reading |
"Missing: DataMatrix barcode" or "Missing: RFID tag" |
Step 7b - RFID not reading |
"GTIN mismatch: expected ..." |
Step 7c - Data mismatch |
"Lot number mismatch: expected ..." |
Step 7c - Data mismatch |
"Expiration date mismatch: expected ..." |
Step 7c - Data mismatch |
"Pack date mismatch: expected ..." |
Step 7c - Data mismatch |
"DataMatrix ... does not match RFID ..." |
Step 7d - RFID/barcode mismatch |
"EPC mismatch: expected ..." |
Step 7d - RFID/barcode mismatch |
"Invalid GS1 barcode format: ..." |
Step 7e - Barcode format issue |
"Missing expected production data" |
Go back to Step 5 |
"No production data available - waiting for file import" |
Go back to Step 5 |
| Something else or no clear error | See Validation Errors Reference or When to Escalate |
Step 7a: Camera not reading barcodes¶
The camera is not detecting barcodes on the case.
- Check that the case has a visible, undamaged barcode label.
- Check that the barcode is positioned correctly in front of the camera.
- Open Diagnostics and try a manual camera trigger if available.
- Check the log for
"NOREAD"messages. - If the camera is connected but never reads, the camera may need recalibration or the label quality may be too low.
Resolution: Adjust case positioning or label quality. If the camera itself is malfunctioning, see Test Camera Connection.
Step 7b: RFID not reading¶
The RFID reader is not detecting the tag on the case.
- Verify the case has an RFID tag.
- Check that the case passes close to the RFID antenna.
- Open Diagnostics and check the RFID tag cache -- are any tags being read at all?
- If tags are being read but not matching, the tag may be from a different case (read too early or too late).
Resolution: Adjust antenna positioning or check RFID tag encoding. See Test RFID Reader.
Step 7c: Data mismatch (GTIN, Lot, Date)¶
The barcode on the case does not match the expected production data.
- Compare the expected value (from the import or Matthews) to the scanned value.
- If the wrong product is on the line, this is an operator issue -- correct the line.
- If the import data is wrong, contact the data source provider (Deacom, Matthews).
- For date mismatches after midnight, check if midnight rollover occurred. See Handle Midnight Rollover.
Resolution: Correct the data source or the product on the line.
Step 7d: RFID/barcode mismatch¶
The DataMatrix barcode value does not match the RFID EPC.
- The RFID tag may be from a different case. Check that only one case is in the read zone.
- The RFID tag may be encoded incorrectly.
- For Teasdale mode: The DataMatrix must match the RFID EPC exactly after URN-to-hex conversion.
Resolution: Ensure only one case is in the RFID read zone at a time. If the encoding is wrong, contact the label printing team.
Step 7e: Invalid barcode format¶
The UCC-128 barcode cannot be parsed as a valid GS1 barcode.
- Check the physical label -- is the barcode printed correctly?
- The barcode may be damaged, smudged, or partially printed.
- Check with the label printing team to verify the barcode content.
Resolution: Replace the label or fix the label template. See Validation Errors Reference for more detail on GS1 parsing errors.
Still not resolved?¶
If you have followed all steps and validation is still failing, see When to Escalate and gather diagnostics using the Collecting Diagnostics guide.