Insights and Updates

Hectre QC – The Quickest Way to Improve Your Packout

By October 11, 2022 No Comments
Reading Time: 6 minutes

Drive picker performance and packout improvements.

When you want to optimize your orchard’s performance, no other app delivers the same degree of QC functionality as the Hectre app.

photo of Hectre Orchard Management App

Less damage to the fruit, means more revenue

Whatever fruit you’re growing, you’re going to lose money if the fruit is damaged or has defects. In many cases, the picker is responsible for the low quality of the fruit, either picking fruit with defects or damaging the fruit when picking it. The larger your operation, the more affected the business and your bottom line are likely to be by poor fruit quality.

Hectre’s QC module has been developed according to Hectre’s “Clever Simplicity” modus operandi, meaning it’s leading edge tech which uses sophisticated algorithms, while at the same time it’s super simple to use.

The Hectre QC module tracks picker performance in terms of fruit quality, provides a record of all QC data in one place, generates digital QC sheets directly from your device, and helps to improve packout rates by identifying poor picking performance and reducing the amount of fruit damage.

Hectre customers can generate a digital Quality Control sheet on their iPad. The QC sheet is linked directly to the bin that the picker has picked and the picker, bringing the ability to report and measure all of the QC data together in one place.

If you have Hectre’s QC module, all picking jobs can be tracked and reported on by picker name, which means you gain full visibility of a picker’s performance over time. 
See Hectre’s QC module in action: WATCH VIDEO NOW
Toutube Hectre QC module

Identify poor picking performance and improve your packout

The QC module also provides real-time reports and visual benchmarking, as well as allowing for photos and notes to be added to give a more complete and accurate record of the quality of fruit being picked (or the performance problems you have identified).

Having all the information in one place, directly tied to the picker, and being able to see the long-term trends, ensures current and potential picking issues are quickly identified and resolved.

Comparisons between individual pickers and the team’s performance are also available, highlighting those that are star performers and those… that are not. At a glance you can easily identify a picker that has QC rates below the team average. That means you can address the issue quickly and stop the negative impact on your packout. 

Read Grower Case Study
Hectre's QC module on display
Photo of ipad

Add photos and comments to aid picker discussions

Once you have Hectre’s QC module, keeping a record of fruit damage and defects is as easy as selecting the bin you wish to QC, or simply scan the bin ticket QR code, and then load up the damage or defect volumes from the sample you are checking.

For evidence-based coaching for improved picker performance, you can take a photo with your iPad straight into the Hectre app and it will attach the photo to that QC sample. There is no hiding from data and evidence – there is no subjectivity either. The photo can show the problem and you can get it sorted. 

The QC module is linked to the picker and the bin to streamline the process, making it super easy to use.

If your QC staff aren’t doing enough QC activity, what ARE they doing?

For many orchards, quality control has traditionally involved relatively small samples being taken without a place to store all the information, making it difficult to identify patterns and accurately pinpoint the cause of low-quality fruit. 

With Hectre’s QC module, it’s easy to record damage or defects, meaning more bins can be checked, and all the information is there to analyze and make real-time decisions to address any issues.

And if you’re reading this thinking “My QC people don’t have time to be doing that because they’re too busy writing out bin tickets” well then, it’s time to digitize your bin ticket process. We can help with that too! After all, QC staff are there to do QC, to manage the quality of your fruit and ensure you achieve the best packout – not waste time writing bin tickets… And if you’re reading this and thinking “I want to see my QC staff do more QC like I pay them for”, then Hectre’s QC module will highlight exactly how much QC work is actually being done (or not). 

Quality checking is the most important thing for us to do, and if we're writing everything down then we don't have the time to do it.

Leah BaileyHead Quality Controller, Wairepo Orchard
photo of female orchard worker

Do you want a better packout?

If you’ve got Hectre’s QC module:

  • You’ll be reducing time spent arguing over who caused the damage or where it came from. The data does not lie! 
  • You’ll be able to see exactly how much QC activity is being carried out. 
  • You’ll be able to quickly and clearly identify poor picker performance and address it quickly so fruit damage is minimized. 
  • You will increase your revenue because you will have less fruit damaged and will achieve a greater packout.

Less damage. Better packout. More revenue.

Don’t miss one of the easiest opportunities to optimize your orchard performance.