Create the quality control questions
The questions are the individual readings an inspector takes. Every question needs three things: a Code that identifies it, a Description that is the text the inspector reads on the check, and a Question Type that decides what kind of answer can be given. Everything else on a question depends on the type — an Option question needs the list to choose from, a Lot Attribute question needs the attribute it writes to, and a numeric question needs a formula symbol only if a calculation refers to it.
The questions below are a deliberately short set. A full intake specification would carry more readings than this, but these are enough to run the workflow end to end.
All questions are entered on one page:
- Select the Search icon
, enter Quality Control Questions, and then choose the related link. - On the action bar, select New.
- Fill in Code, Description, and Question Type.
- Fill in the remaining fields that apply to the type, as listed in the table below.
- Repeat for each question.
Create the following questions.
| Code | Description | Question Type | Type-specific settings | Equipment | Category |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| COLOR | Tomato Color | Option | Quality Control Option: COLOR | VISUAL | — |
| DMG | Damaged Boxes | Option | Quality Control Option: YES/NO | VISUAL | — |
| PHOTOPALL | Pallet Photo | Photo | — | — | — |
| TEMP | Product Temperature | Decimal | — | THERMOMETER | — |
| QTY | Sample Quantity | Integer | Formula Symbol: QTY | — | — |
| BRUISING | Bruised Count | Integer | Formula Symbol: BRUS | VISUAL | MINOR |
| DECAY | Decay Count | Integer | Formula Symbol: DECY | VISUAL | MAJOR |
| DISCOLOR | Discolor Count | Integer | Formula Symbol: DSCLR | VISUAL | MINOR |
| MOLD | Mold Count | Integer | Formula Symbol: MOLD | VISUAL | MAJOR |
| PHOTOPROD | Product Photo | Photo | — | — | — |
| BRIX | Brix | Lot Attribute | Lot Attribute: Set Lot Attribute Name: Brix | BRIX | — |
| MAJOR | Major Damage | Decimal | — | — | — |
| MINOR | Minor Damage | Decimal | — | — | — |
The question codes MAJOR and MINOR are not the categories of the same name. The categories group the defect counts; these two questions hold the calculated damage percentages. They are separate records and the matching names do not conflict, but keep the distinction in mind when reading the plan later.
The option questions
COLOR and DMG are answered by picking from a list. Select the list in the Quality Control Option field, which is only editable while Question Type is Option. The option must already have at least one line, otherwise selecting it is rejected with a message that information is missing — both options were given their lines in Create the quality control options, so both can be selected now.
The photo questions
PHOTOPALL and PHOTOPROD have no further settings. For a Photo question the image is the answer: the inspector uploads or captures a picture instead of entering a value. One records the pallet as it arrives, the other the product itself.
The counts and the sample size
QTY records how many tomatoes were examined, and BRUISING, DECAY, DISCOLOR, and MOLD record how many of them showed each defect. These five carry a Formula Symbol, which is the name a calculation uses to refer to the question. The symbol on the question is a default: when the question is added to a plan line, the symbol is copied to that line, where it can still be changed, and it must be unique within the plan.
TEMP takes a reading rather than a count and is not referenced by any calculation, so it needs no symbol.
The calculated percentages
MAJOR and MINOR hold the share of the sample that showed major and minor defects. They are ordinary Decimal questions here — the calculation itself is not part of the question. A plan line turns a line into a calculated one, and the formula is written there, referring to the symbols above in square brackets. That happens in Create the tomato intake plan. For more information, see Calculated tests.
Leave Formula Symbol blank on both. A calculated line locks its own symbol, so these two questions do not need one.
The lot attribute question
BRIX writes the sugar reading to the lot attribute created in Create the Brix lot attribute.
- Set Question Type to Lot Attribute.
- In the Lot Attribute field, select Set. The field defaults to Check, which only validates the existing value on the lot. Set updates the lot with the answer given during the inspection, and Check and Set does both.
- In the Lot Attribute Name field, select Brix. This field is required for a Lot Attribute question — the question cannot be saved while it is blank.
- In the Quality Control Equipment field, select BRIX.
Assign the categories
The Category Values column on the questions page is read-only. To assign a category, select the field for the question to open the assignment page, then use New to add the category. The Question Categories action on the action bar opens the same page.
Assign MINOR to BRUISING and DISCOLOR, and MAJOR to DECAY and MOLD. The remaining questions are left without a category.
The Question Type of a question cannot be changed once the question has been used on a quality check. Settle the type while the question is still new — to change it afterwards, the question has to be removed from all open checks first.
For the full field reference, see Quality control questions.
Next step: Create the tomato intake plan