M.71.A Weekly Date Code
“
Product Specifications
- Manufacturer: Watts Water Technologies
- Date Code Format: YYWWXX
- Legibility Requirement: .08 inches [2 mm]
- Lettering Type: All capital letters using Arial or Helvetica
font
Product Usage Instructions
Date Code Format
The date code consists of six digits in the format YYWWXX:
- YY: First two digits represent the year of
manufacture. - WW: Middle two digits represent the week of
manufacture, based on a schedule outlined in Table 1. - XX: Additional identifier characters.
Marking Requirements
The marking system provides traceability to the manufacturer and
date of manufacture. Legibility should meet human readability
standards without magnification. Use Arial or Helvetica font for
marking characters.
Legibility and Lettering
Characters should be at least .08 inches tall for legibility.
Arial font in all capital letters is preferred. Automated processes
like dot peen or laser are recommended for generating
characters.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q: What products does the date code apply to?
A: The date code applies to all Watts purchased and manufactured
products with UPC barcodes and specified individual components.
Q: How can I determine the manufacturing date from the date
code?
A: The first two digits indicate the year of manufacture, and
the middle two digits represent the week of manufacture. Refer to
the provided schedule for accurate decoding.
Q: What if the characters cannot meet the minimum height
requirement?
A: If component size or geometry constraints prevent meeting the
minimum character height, consult Watts for approval on an
agreed-upon configuration.
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Applicable Products: All Watts purchased and manufactured products containing a UPC barcode and individual components as specified on production drawings or purchasing specifications.
ASSEMBLY AND TEST INSTRUCTION
ATI No. M.71.D EDP NO. 5001994
REV.: 3 PAGE: 1 OF 11
SUPERSEDES: REV. 2 OF 4/13/21
REV. 3
ALTERATIONS
ADDED FACTORY CODE S FOR ST. PAUL’S
ALERT 25FR10148
DATE 2/17/25
BY RYT
ENG. JPJ
Q/A JWN
Scope:
This document specifies marking requirements for application of date code and manufacturer identification on all Watts Water Technologies (Watts) purchased and manufactured products that have a UPC barcode and individual components when specified. The purpose of this marking system is to provide traceability to the specific manufacturer and date of manufacture throughout a product or component’s service life.
A. Individual Product / Component Requirements:
Date Code Format: Date code will utilize six digits with code format YYWWXX as identified below:
Year of Manufacture identifier (“YY”): The first two digits of the code identify year of manufacture
Week of Manufacture (“WW”): The middle two digits will identify the week of manufacture of the component or finished product assembly. In the event that a fixed template or date stamping means is applied, a span of 1 week prior to and 1 week after the actual date of final product completion is acceptable. The production week is based on January 1st being start of year. Specific date code schedule is outlined in Table 1.
Supplier Code (“XX”): The final two digits will identify the supplier via an alphanumeric code. The alphanumeric code will utilize numeric digits 0 through 9 and upper case alphabetic characters A through Z with the letters I and O excluded. The supplier code is generated by converting the 6-digit decimal Supplier number in the Watts system to the two digit alphanumeric representation. Note: Watts MRP system will automatically generate this code and populate field on Watts purchase orders and/or supplier schedules.
Example conversion of 6-digit supplier number 156622.
The alphanumeric code representation of 156622 is GJ. The complete code for a product manufactured by this supplier in the 12th week of 2010 would be 1012GJ.
Exception: The following Watts facilities will use the following single digit codes.
Webster Valve:
W
Regtrol:
R
TWVC:
T
WNV:
N
NOGALES MEXICO: M
St. Paul’s
S
Applicable Products: All Watts purchased and manufactured products containing a UPC barcode and individual components as specified on production drawings or purchasing specifications.
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SUPERSEDES: REV. 2 OF 4/13/21
Product / Component Date Code Placement Code is to be applied on all finished products containing a UPC barcode and on specific components as specified on the production drawing or purchasing specification. For finished products, refer to Table 2 for recommended marking location by product type. If the product is not listed or if a manufacturer is unable to mark in the recommended location, a marking location must be reviewed and agreed upon by supplier and Watts. Agreement is to be confirmed via formal approval issued by Watts (active production drawing or temporary marked-up drawing signed by Watts).
Placement must be in a location that is not in contact with final service media (i.e. internal wetted parts); it shall not be applied on surfaces used during installation and servicing. Wherever practical, the marking location on the item shall be selected to ensure readability during normal operational use. The main body in case of an assembly, or most pronounced surface on a fitting or component is the preferred location to apply the marking. In cases where product geometry or material form does not permit marking directly on principal surfaces, use of a nameplate, handle or tag securely attached to the product may be considered. Marking size shall satisfy the legibility requirements of this specification.
Permanency Markings applied via direct product application, nameplate, handle or identification bands shall be as permanent as the normal life expectancy of the product/component and be capable of withstanding the environmental conditions experienced in normal application use. The directly applied identification marking method must ensure that the mark will withstand installation and service procedures and shall account for final finished condition of the item including paints, coatings, and sealants to assure readability. Refer to Table 3 for guidance on acceptable marking methods.
Legibility Legibility shall be as required for human readability without magnification. The recommended minimum character height is .08 inches [2 mm]. In cases where component size or geometry does not permit use of characters per this minimum height, supplier must consult Watts to obtain approval of agreed upon configuration.
Type of lettering. Letters shall be all capital letters using either Arial or Helvetica font. Preferred font is Arial. Generating characters by automated processes (e.g., dot peen, laser, interactive graphics systems, stencils, or embossed stamp) shall be the preferred method. Example of all characters used for marking requirements specified in this ATI: 0123456789ABCDEFGHJKLMNPQRSTUVWXYZ (Arial font 12-point BOLDFACE shown)
Applicable Products: All Watts purchased and manufactured products containing a UPC barcode and individual components as specified on production drawings or purchasing specifications.
ASSEMBLY AND TEST INSTRUCTION
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Table 1 Week Code Values
Date of Product Manufacture January 1 – January 7 January 8 – January 14 January 15 – January 21 January 22 – January 28 January 29 – February 5 February 6 – February 12 February 13 – February 19 February 20 – February 26 February 27 – March 5 March 6 – March 12 March 13 – March 19 March 20 – March 26 March 27 – April 2 April 3 – April 9 April 10 – April 16 April 17 – April 23 April 24 – April 30 May 1 – May 7 May 8 – May 14 May 15 – May 21 May 22 – May 28 May 29 – June 4 June 5 – June 11 June 12 – June 18 June 19 – June 25 June 26 – July 2
Week Code 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26
Date of Product Manufacture July 3 – July 9 July 10 – July 16 July 17 – July 23 July 24 – July 30 July 31 – August 6 August 7 – August 13 August 14 – August 20 August 21 – August 27 August 28 – September 3 September 4 – September 10 September 11 – September 17 September 18 – September 24 September 25 – October 1 October 2 – October 8 October 9 – October 15 October 16 – October 22 October 23 – October 29 October 30 – November 5 November 6 – November 12 November 13 – November 19 November 20 – November 26 November 27 – December 3 December 4 – December 10 December 11 – December 17 December 18 – December 24 December 25 – December 31
Week Code 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52
Applicable Products: All Watts purchased and manufactured products containing a UPC barcode and individual components as specified on production drawings or purchasing specifications.
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SUPERSEDES: REV. 2 OF 4/13/21
Table 2: Date Code Marking Location Guide
Product Type / Family Air Separators / Air Vents Automatic Control Valves Backflow Prevention Valves Balancing Valves Ball Valves Boiler Drain Valves Boiler Level Controls Butterfly Valves Check Valves Corrugated Connectors Di-electric Union Fittings Drainage Products Electronic Products Escutcheons Expansion Tanks Faucets Filtration Equipment Fittings (Quick-Connect, PEX) Float Valves Flow Checks Flow Switches Gate Valves Gauges General Fittings / Saddle Valves Globe Valves Hose Bibbs Hose Connection Vacuum Breakers Hydronics Fill Valves Hydronics Isolation Valves Kitchen Sink Strainers Metal Tubular / Bath Wastes Metering Valves Pipe and Tubing Pipe Nipples Plastic Tubular / Bath Wastes Pressure Regulators Relief / Bypass Valves Strainers (Wyes : Water filtration) Tempering Valves Trap Primers Vacuum Relief Valves Wall Hydrants Washing Machine Shut-off Valves Water Hammer Arrestors Water Supply Hoses Water Supply Stop Valves
Preferred Marking Location Valve Body** Valve Body** Valve Body** Valve Body** Valve Body** Valve Body** Valve Body** Valve Body** Valve Body** Nut Tail piece Body Primary Circuit Board Non-exposed back side External Tank shell Valve Body Under Spout Body and Filter Bowls Fitting Body Valve Body** Valve Body** Valve Body** Valve Body** Gage Housing Fitting Body Valve Body** Valve Body** Valve Body** Valve Body** Valve Body** Strainer Body: Bottom of strainer body All tubes / castings near the threaded end Valve Body** Outside surface with standard markings Non-threaded External Surface All tubes near the threaded end Valve Body** Valve Body** Valve Body** Valve Body** Valve Body** Valve Body** Valve Body** / Tube Extension Main Body & Elbows Copper Tube Crimp Sleeve Body Flats
Alternate Location none Nameplate Nameplate none Adapter none Nameplate none none Exposed Tube OD Adapter Cover Nameplate none Nipple Flats near UPC markings Nameplate none none Bonnet none Bonnet none none Bonnet none none Cage Adapter none none none none none none Nameplate Nameplate none none none none none none Brass Adapter Flats Nut none
** Note: Valve Body date code to appear near size or model marking.
Applicable Products: All Watts purchased and manufactured products containing a UPC barcode and individual components as specified on production drawings or purchasing specifications.
ASSEMBLY AND TEST INSTRUCTION
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TABLE 3. Marking Methods (This table is given only as a guide)
Marking Methods
Mark Characteristics
Recommended Use
Blast (grit) ( with pre-encoded stencils) Acid Etch ( with pre-encoded stencils) Vibro Peen Metal Stamp
Dot peening Engraving
Embossing Cast or forged (with preencoded stencils)
Variable depth or height
Abrasive method which can be used on most surfaces
Characters produced by use of acid. Use on metal and glass
Metal or nonmetallic parts that may deform if metal stamped. Hand held operation. Metal or nonmetal parts that will not deform under the stamping pressure required. Also, the alteration of the surface roughness finish will not be detrimental to proper functioning.
Metal or nonmetal parts that may deform if metal stamped.
Sheet metal fabrication that will deform if metal stamped. Functional marking with color filler
Thin sheet metal, plastics on nonfunctional surfaces
Castings or forgings characters raised or depressed depending on method of manufacture, unless otherwise specified on the drawing. Marking should be used on non-machined surfaces only
Molded (with pre-encoded stencils) Electro-chemical etch (electrolytic process)
Laser Discoloration
Laser (Paint pigmentation)
Laser (Bonding)
Laser (Engraving)
Surface mark
Raised mark Variable depth
Usually plastic or rubber parts; may be either raised or depressed, unless otherwise specified.
Characters normally depressed, but may be raised. Used on fine surface finishes without protective coating, also high hardness parts (HRC 50 or higher)
Heat from the laser discolors the material surface without associated metal removal
Chemicals added to some plastics that will react by changing color when contacted with a laser.
Mark produces by bonding a medium to the surface of an item, marking with a laser and producing a raised mark.
Very good resolution of alpha numeric and machine-readable marking symbology. Character height and width range from .007 to 4.0 inches.
Laser (Etching)
Laser markable Inks/Paints
Surface Mark
Generally limited to 0.001 inch max. depth, done at lower power settings
Inks and paints containing pigments that discolor when struck with a laser beam
Applicable Products: All Watts purchased and manufactured products containing a UPC barcode and individual components as specified on production drawings or purchasing specifications.
ASSEMBLY AND TEST INSTRUCTION
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SUPERSEDES: REV. 2 OF 4/13/21
B. Package Requirements:
Date Code Requirements: All packaging utilized for individual product containment (bag or individual box) and for packaging multiple individual products (master carton) must have a date code applied on the product label itself or other location as directed per this specification. The date code is to accurately identify the date of packaging. Where inner cartons are packaged, both inner packaging and master containers must have this date code applied based on actual date of packaging.
Date Code Format: Date code will utilize eight digits with code format MM/DD/YY-XX as identified below:
Month Packaged identifier (“MM”): The first two digits of the code identify the month product is packaged.
Day Packaged identifier (“DD”): The second set of two digits identify the actual day of the month the product is packaged.
Year of Manufacture identifier (“YY”): The third set of two digits identify the year.
Supplier Code (“XX”): The final two digits will identify the supplier via an alphanumeric code. The alphanumeric code will utilize numeric digits 0 through 9 and upper case alphabetic characters A through Z with the letters I and O excluded. The supplier code is generated by converting the 6-digit decimal Supplier number in the Watts system to the two digit alphanumeric representation. Note: Watts MRP system will automatically generate this code and populate field on Watts purchase orders and/or supplier schedules.
Example conversion of 6-digit supplier number 156622.
The alphanumeric code representation of 156622 is GJ. The complete code for a product packaged by this supplier on the 15th day of February in 2010 would be 02/15/10-GJ.
Exception: The following Watts facilities will use the following single digit codes.
Webster Valve:
W
Regtrol:
R
TWVC:
T
WNV:
N
NOGALES MEXICO: M
St. Paul’s
S
Permanency / Legibility: Date code shall be applied using ink that is not water-soluble. Specific minimum character heights are defined below per each package type.
Applicable Products: All Watts purchased and manufactured products containing a UPC barcode and individual components as specified on production drawings or purchasing specifications.
ASSEMBLY AND TEST INSTRUCTION
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SUPERSEDES: REV. 2 OF 4/13/21
Type of lettering. Letters shall be all capital letters using either Arial or Helvetica font. Preferred font is Arial.
Carton Marking: Date code must be stamped on cartons using a rubber stamp (not water-soluble ink), stencil or direct printing via ink jet. DO NOT hand write on the master or Inner carton. If date code is applied on pre-printed glossy labels, use of inkjet, stencil, screen or punch pin printing is to be used to print the Date code.
Acceptable
NOT Acceptable
Master Carton: Master carton refers to a box that contains an individual or smaller quantity packaged units (Figure 1). For finished products containing a UPC barcode, date code shall be applied in location as shown in Figure 2. For manufacturers using print-on-demand labels, date code shall be printed as shown in Figure 3. Minimum acceptable character height for master carton date code shall be .25 inches [6.4 mm].
Applicable Products: All Watts purchased and manufactured products containing a UPC barcode and individual components as specified on production drawings or purchasing specifications.
ASSEMBLY AND TEST INSTRUCTION
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Figure 1 Master Carton
DATE CODE
Figure 2 Date Code Stamp Location Figure 3 Print-on-demand Label Inner/Individual Plain Carton: Plain carton refers to a box with no pre-printed graphics of the product detail that it contains. Individual carton is a single pack unit and inner carton is multi pack unit that are placed into a master carton (Product in individual or inner case is identified by a pre-printed label). Minimum acceptable character height for inner/individual plain carton date code shall be .25 inches [6.4 mm].
Applicable Products: All Watts purchased and manufactured products containing a UPC barcode and individual components as specified on production drawings or purchasing specifications.
ASSEMBLY AND TEST INSTRUCTION
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SUPERSEDES: REV. 2 OF 4/13/21
INDIVIDUAL CARTON
INNER CARTON
Figure 4 Inner Carton (multi-pack) Example For date coding inner and individual cartons refer to Figure 5. For placement of these cartons into a master carton refer to Figure1.
Figure 5 Inner Carton Date Code
Pre-printed Individual Cartons and Bags: Date coding on pre-printed cartons and bags is governed by the location noted and defined by individual SKU’s artwork / Graphics. Date code mark is to be applied by needle punching, inkjet or ink stamp in specified area. Minimum acceptable character height for pre-printed carton and bag date code shall be .13 inches [3.3 mm].
Applicable Products: All Watts purchased and manufactured products containing a UPC barcode and individual components as specified on production drawings or purchasing specifications.
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Figure 6 Pre-printed Bag
DATE CODE
Individual or Multi Pack Plain (non pre-printed) Bags: Plain individual or bulk pack bag refers to a plastic bag with no Watts graphics applied. Date code on the bags to be applied by needle punching, inkjet, ink stamp or permanent label in an area that does not interfere with heat-sealing of the bag and is visible on both sides of the bag. Minimum acceptable character height for plain bag date code shall be .13 inches [3.3 mm].
DATE CODE
Figure 7 Plain Bag Sample
Applicable Products: All Watts purchased and manufactured products containing a UPC barcode and individual components as specified on production drawings or purchasing specifications.
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Crated Product:
Crated packaging applies to wood or other structural packaging utilized for large or heavy items requiring reinforced packaging. Date code is to be applied to item label applied near label by stamp or stencil. Minimum acceptable character height for date applied on crate shall be .39″ [10 mm].
Figure 8 Wood Crate Packaging
ITEM LABEL WITH DATE CODE
Components: This applies to product supplied in bulk packaging that does not have specified marking requirements. Date code is applied via stamp or stencil or printed directly on label used for item identification as required by Watts purchasing specifications. Minimum acceptable character height for date code shall be .25″ [6.4 mm].
Documents / Resources
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WATTS M.71.A Weekly Date Code [pdf] Instructions M.71.A, M.71.D, M.71.A Weekly Date Code, M.71.A, Weekly Date Code, Date Code |