GTIN / Serial numbers

GTIN / Serial numbers

Two additions to the DALI protocol were the additional Serial and GTIN numbers. These two features make identifying and displaying DALI devices on a control system much easier than before.

GTIN (Global trade Item Number)

The GTIN allows control system manufacturers the ability to scan each device and read the GTIN from the device’s memory. The GTIN number can then be used to find and display the product’s real name when viewing the device from the controller. This ability saves the installer/commissioner the need to add this manually, reducing the installation cost and the room for human error.

IEC-62386-102 requires the GTIN to be included in every product. The GTIN cannot be made up and needs to be purchased and administrated through the correct channels.

The ability to display the device’s name, rather than a default description, reduces the complexity when looking at a list of 64 devices all with the same name. Also, each manufacturer of light fittings can add their own unique fitting GTIN(OEM) to the DALI device, making it even easier to determine which fitting is being selected. Ektor provides software that can allow the OEM fitting manufacturers to easily add their own GTIN(OEM) and serial number(OEM) to their fittings, which is different from the product GTIN and serial number.

Serial numbers

IEC62386-102 has the requirement (“SHALL”) to have unique serial numbers per product. This is important for product traceability and compliance to ISO-9000/9001, where it allows for every product to be tracked, traced and reported on.

A system that has been designed to be compliant with ISO-9001 will use this information to keep records of changes made to the product and other relevant information.

The use of non-changeable serial numbers allows control systems to recover sites and devices in the case of malicious damage or loss of data. The combination of the “serial number + the GTIN” provides a unique product key that will never be repeated. 

Secondly, the use of the manufacturer(OEM) serial number can associate multiple ballasts in one fitting to the same physical product(or device location), making the commissioning of devices with 2 or more DALI devices easier.

For example, a fitting containing a DALI ballast and a DALI emergency inverter could be assigned the same manufacturer(OEM) serial number, allowing the control system to group the two devices in the one fitting.

Note that the manufacturer(OEM) serial number is not the same as the product serial number and is located in a different memory bank location.

An example of the two DALI devices in on Fitting can be seen below.