Material Certification on Surgical Instruments

How do we know where a piece of steel began its life? Every piece of stainless steel that is used to manufacture a surgical instrument should have a mill or certificate of conformity (manufacturers version of this). As a buyer, this may tell you where the steel came from, what grade it is, its exact composition but ultimately the stand it is manufactured to. Any company that is manufacturing and selling instruments should be able to present you with information such as standards instruments and materials are manufactured in accordance with. A mill certificate may look like this:

The above steel is for a 304 (1.4307) grade stainless steel, which has been used to manufacture a hip rasp. As an instrument manufacturer, we catalogue each certificate and this is tied to a lot number, which would be laser marked on the finished instrument, so should it be needed, the certificate is produced at any time if required.