Rack Tracking is Here: Beta Now Available
Location-based tracking for high-volume farms is now in beta. Reduce scanning overhead by 30x with rack-based bulk operations while maintaining full traceability.
Rack Tracking is Here: Beta Now Available
Back in January, we shared our thinking on scaling item tracking for larger farms. The core insight was simple: at high volume, the question shifts from "What's the history of substrate bag #2,847?" to "What's on Shelf B3 in Fruiting Room 2?"
Today, we're excited to announce that rack tracking is now available in beta.
What We Built
The result of weeks of on-site observation and iterative development with our high-volume pilot customers: a location-based tracking system that dramatically reduces scanning overhead while maintaining full traceability.
The Core Hierarchy
Instead of scanning individual substrate blocks, you work with physical infrastructure:
- Locations remain your top-level organization (Fruiting Room 1, Incubator A)
- Racks are physical structures within locations, each with a single QR code
- Shelves are horizontal levels labeled A through Z
- Positions are slots on each shelf, numbered 1 through 99
- Sides support double-sided racks accessible from front (A) and back (B)
One rack scan gives you access to up to 500 items. Bulk operations let you update dozens of items in seconds instead of minutes.
Key Features
Visual Rack Grid
The centerpiece of rack tracking is the visual grid view. Think airplane seat map, but for substrate blocks.
Each cell shows:
- Green: Healthy items progressing normally
- Yellow: At-risk items flagged for inspection
- Red: Contaminated items requiring attention
- Gray: Empty positions available for assignment
Click any position to view full item details. Select multiple positions for bulk operations.
Bulk Operations
The real-time savings come from bulk actions:
Stage Changes: Select an entire shelf (or any group of positions) and advance all items to the next stage with one action.
Contamination Tracking: Mark suspicious items and automatically flag cardinal neighbors (up, down, left, right) as at-risk. The system understands physical proximity.
Harvest Recording: Record individual weights for each item while harvesting a batch. Weights auto-calculate to a yield tray if configured.
Clear and Clean: When a rack is done, clear all items (archive, move to storage, or keep active) and mark for cleaning in one operation.
Two-Sided Rack Support
For double-sided racks accessible from both front and back:
- Toggle between Side A and Side B views
- Position labels include side indicator (A1-A vs A1-B)
- Each side tracks occupancy independently
- Moving a rack updates all items on both sides
Automatic Location Sync
When you move a rack to a new location, every item on that rack automatically updates. No need to individually update 50+ items—move the rack, and they all follow.
The Numbers
Let's revisit the math from our original post. For a 4,000 bags-per-week operation:
Before (Per-Item Scanning):
- 570+ labels to print and apply daily
- 12,000+ scans per week for stage changes
- 10 seconds per scan = 33+ hours weekly
After (Rack Tracking):
- Print 1 rack QR instead of 50 item QRs
- Scan rack → select all → update = 15 seconds
- Stage change for 50 items: ~15 seconds vs ~8 minutes
That's roughly a 30x improvement in tracking efficiency for stage changes. Labeling goes from an hour daily to a one-time rack setup.
Getting Started
Enabling rack tracking takes three steps:
Enable the Feature
Go to Settings → Racks and toggle "Enable Rack Tracking" on.
Create Your Racks
Configure racks to match your physical infrastructure. Specify shelves, positions per shelf, and whether the rack is single or double-sided.
Assign Items
During item creation or stage changes, select a rack and positions. Items automatically inherit the rack's location.
Once enabled, you'll see:
- Occupancy summary cards showing total capacity and utilization
- Rack management table with quick access to each rack's grid view
- Visual grid for each rack with color-coded position status
What's Next
This beta is fully functional, but we're continuing to refine based on feedback:
Coming Soon:
- Rack templates – Save common configurations for quick rack creation
- Position history – Track which items occupied a position over time
- Mobile grid view – Optimized touch interface for rack assignment in the field
On the Roadmap:
- Rack QR printing – Generate printable rack labels directly from the app
- Heat mapping – Visualize contamination patterns across racks over time
- Automated position suggestions – Smart recommendations based on strain, stage, and historical performance
We Want Your Feedback
As a beta feature, rack tracking will continue evolving based on how you use it. Some questions we're actively exploring:
- What position naming schemes work best for your operation?
- How do you handle racks that mix different strains or production batches?
- What information would be most helpful in the grid view?
If you're running a high-volume operation and trying rack tracking, we'd love to hear from you. Reach out at support@mycoqr.com or use the feedback form in the app.
Ready to reduce your tracking overhead by 30x? Enable rack tracking in Settings → Racks and let us know what you think.