Method and system for monitoring batch product manufacturing

A system for monitoring a product through a batch manufacturing plant, comprising:

• a plurality of holding units configured to store a product, wherein at least some of the units can be individually decontaminated;
• a plurality of logical representations of the units, wherein a new logical representation of a unit is created upon decontamination of the unit;
• a plurality of records that identify when a first unit started and stopped feeding into a second unit;
• and
• at least one tracing component configured to identify one or more source units that could have fed into a target unit based at least in part on start and stop times of feedings stored in the plurality of records, wherein the determination is iteratively applied so as to identify both direct source units that could have directly fed into the target unit and indirect source units that could have fed into the direct source units.

A product tracking system comprising:

• a plurality of units configured to hold and transport a product;
• a plurality of components configured to detect potential flows from and to source units and target units;
• a database configured to store information about potential flows, including at least a start time and an end time that each potential flow occurred from each source unit to each target unit;
• and
• a software component configured to select a target unit and to determine, based at least in part on the potential flow information, at least one source unit that could have made a contribution to the selected target unit.