METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR ERROR REDUCTION IN ITEM PACKAGING

Each item a system or order group carries a label having, in addition to a predetermined primary code denoting its item type, another, secondary, code representing a random identifier for that individual item. When a system or order group is to be packaged, a worker selects each item according to a list, scans its label, and physically places the item with the order group. The predetermined primary and random secondary codes are compared with those of previous items in the same order group. A complete match with the codes of another item in the same group causes the item to be rejected.