Below is a discussion with Russell Beamsley, Director of Program Operations for the Texas Cooperative Inspection Program (TCIP).
The Texas Cooperative Inspection Program is a Federal-State Cooperative Program of the Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Marketing Service created to conduct grading and standardization inspections of fruits, vegetables, tree nuts, and peanuts in Texas. TCIP has been a loyal MobileDemand customer since 2017, first deploying the entry-level Flex 10A devices. As their technology needs evolved, they switched to the ultra-rugged xTablet T1150, and now deploy the xTablet T1180.
What problem did MobileDemand help solve?
“The initial problem was simple: time is money. The basis of our business is to provide a clear and accurate interpretation of a perishable commodity we are inspecting as quickly and seamlessly as possible. Before our venture into electronic certification, the certification work TCIP did was all done by hand. Our data was written on paper, which we called note sheets, then transferred to an official document, called a certificate.
The time and location of the inspections are very diverse and widespread across the state of Texas. Due to an increase in services needed for these perishable commodities, switching to an electronic platform and inputting this information on a mobile device was critical.”
What results were realized from the deployment?
“Increased accuracy, smooth and speedy transmission of the documents produced, reduced redundancy of specific tasks, reduced inspection time from one to two hours to just 30 minutes, improved labor costs, and clarity of certificates. No more handwriting to interpret!”
“Overall, the introduction of MobileDemand’s rugged tablets have done wonders for TCIP and the way we conduct business.”