Grading
A grade says what condition a device is in, so you know how to sell it. You decide the rules in the dashboard: which parts are checked, which defects exist and how far each one lowers the grade. Technicians then grade each device at the station in a few key presses.
In short
The short version
- 1In the dashboard, open Grading, tab Standards & Profiles, and click Create Profile.
- 2Add the parts you check, the defects for each part, and the highest grade each defect allows. Save.
- 3Click Set Active to make it your organisation's profile. A batch or a vendor can use a different one.
- 4At the station, the technician answers one question per part with a number key, checks the suggested grade, and presses Enter to save.
- 5The grade shows on the device's page, on its labels and on the stock list.
What a grade is
Every graded device gets three things:
- A grade on a five-step scale. This is the business judgment a buyer reads.
- A condition: Brand New, Open Box or Used. Used is the default.
- A SERI R2v3 code such as
C5-F4. reCore works this out on the server from the defects and the test results. Nobody types it in, so it can't be changed by hand.
| Grade | Shown as |
|---|---|
| A | Excellent |
| B | Good |
| C | Fair |
| D | Poor |
| F | For Parts |
Each part of the device (screen, keyboard, lid and so on) gets its own grade first. The device's grade then follows the worst part. A laptop with a perfect screen and a cracked lid is graded on the lid.
1. Build a grading profile
Admins only. Once, then adjust as you learn.
A grading profile is your rule book: the parts you check, the defects that can be found on each, and the questions technicians answer at the bench. reCore comes with a built-in default, so you can grade before you build your own.
- 1Open Grading and the Standards & Profiles tab.
- 2Click Create Profile. Fill in Profile Name, pick a Grading Standard, and add a Description if you like (for example, the client's criteria).
- 3A new profile starts with a full set of defect rules. To start from another set, open the … (More actions) menu at the top and pick one under Load defect rules from a preset.
- 4Work through the three tabs below, then click Create Profile (or Save Changes when editing).
Defect Rules & Ceilings. One tab per part.
- Add a part with Add part (for example, Front Bezel). Remove one with Remove part. Stations grade only the parts listed here.
- For each part, add defects under Add Custom Defect Rule. Give each a severity: Minor, Major or Critical.
- Optionally set a Max Allowed Grade (a ceiling). A part with that defect can never grade better than the ceiling. For example, "Housing Cracks" with Max D.
Inspection Wizard. The questions technicians tap through at the bench.
- Each step has a Step Title, the Component it grades, and Technician Instructions (what to look at).
- Each step has up to six Choices. A choice is a key (1 to 6 at the bench), the grade it gives, a short label such as "Light Scuffs", and the defects it records.
- Show this step for limits the step to some device types. See the next section.
- The Wizard Preview on the right shows the step as the technician will see it.
Chassis Mapping. Which parts are graded on which device type. See the next section.
Copy a profile or keep a backup
Export on a profile card downloads it as a JSON file. Import JSON loads one back as a new profile.
2. Parts by device type
A desktop tower has no screen to grade.
The station reads the device type from the machine's firmware: Laptop, Desktop, All-in-one or Server. It then grades only the parts that apply to that type, and asks only the wizard steps for those parts.
- Set which parts apply to which type on the Chassis Mapping tab: one row per part, one tick box per device type.
- Limit a single wizard step with Show this step for.
Out of the box, the standard parts apply like this:
| Part | Graded on |
|---|---|
| Screen, trackpad, hinges | Laptops and all-in-ones |
| Keyboard | Laptops only |
| Every other part | Every device type |
3. Choose which profile applies
You can keep several profiles, for example a strict one for an enterprise client and a looser one for bulk resale. For each device, reCore uses the first of these that is set:
| Order | Where you set it |
|---|---|
| 1. The device's batch | Batches: create or edit a batch, field Grading profile. Or Assign Batches on a profile card, to give one profile to many batches at once. |
| 2. The batch's vendor | Vendors: edit the vendor, field Default Grading Standard / SLA. |
| 3. Your organisation's active profile | Grading, Standards & Profiles: Set Active on the profile card. |
| 4. reCore's built-in default | Nothing to set. Used when none of the above is. |
- Publish on a profile card marks it as final. A published or active profile can't be deleted.
- The workflow doesn't choose the profile. It only decides whether and when grading happens (see Workflows).
Add the device to its batch before grading
The station looks up the profile when its grading screen opens. If the device isn't in a batch yet, it gets your active profile and the screen shows Not batch-specific. Add the device to its batch, then click Refresh next to the profile name.
Suggested grade or chosen grade
The technician always has the last word.
reCore suggests a grade. The technician can accept it or pick another. reCore never changes the grade a technician saves.
How a part's grade is suggested from the defects ticked on it:
| Defects on the part | Suggested part grade |
|---|---|
| None | A |
| Any minor | B |
| One major | C |
| Two or more major | D |
| Any critical | F |
- At the station, a defect's Max Allowed Grade also counts: the part gets whichever is worse, the rule above or the ceiling.
- The device's suggested grade is its worst part.
- Test results feed in. Defects the technician flagged in the display, keyboard, trackpad and port tests are filled in on the grading screen, with their notes.
- A failed test caps the grade. Most failed tests cap the device at F; a failed port test caps it at D. The grading screen says The tests cap this device at the grade, and why. A technician can still choose a better grade; the screen then offers a button to use the cap instead.
- In the dashboard, picking a grade other than the suggestion asks for a Reason for override. It is saved with the grade.
- No grade at all? If a device finishes its session with tests run but nobody graded it, the server gives it a grade from the test results and any defects recorded. It is saved as a system grade, not a technician's.
4. Grade at the station
Grading is part of the Manual tests and grading step of the workflow. The final grade waits until diagnostics and the stress test are done, because a failed test can lower it. See Processing a device for the whole run.
The Grading screen shows the device, the profile in use (Profile: and its name) and the test results above. It has two views. Press M to switch.
Rapid Wizard: one question per part, answered with a key.
| Key | What it does |
|---|---|
| 1 to 6 | Pick a choice. It sets that part's grade and defects and moves to the next question. |
| Space | Fast-Pass: answers every question with A, then goes to the review. |
| Enter | On a question: go to the review. On the review: save the grade. |
| Z or Backspace | Back one step. |
| 1 to 5 on the review | Override the final grade: 1 is A, 5 is F. |
The review shows each part's grade, the Final Grade, a SERI R2v3 (preview) and a box for notes. The R2v3 code on the screen is an estimate. The server works out the official one when the grade is saved, so the two can differ.
Full Matrix: every part on one screen. Click a part to tick its defects and add notes; its grade adjusts by itself. Set the device's Condition (Brand New, Open Box, Used) in this view.
Save with Submit grade. A grade saved offline is kept on the station and sent when it is back online.
Print the label as you grade
Tick Auto-print the workflow's labels on submit to print as soon as the grade is saved, or click Print labels now. See Labels and asset tags.
Grade from the dashboard
For devices that left the bench without a grade.
- 1Open Grading, tab Device Grading Queue. Pending Grading lists devices with no grade yet. Search by serial, make or model.
- 2Click a device. Under Component Assessment, give each part a grade, or click the part and tick its defects to get a suggested grade. Mark all parts A fills in every part you haven't graded.
- 3Pick the Device Condition. The Final Grade follows the worst part; pick another and give a reason if you disagree.
- 4Click Submit Grade.
The dashboard queue uses the parts of your organisation's active profile.
Where grades show up
- The device's page: the Cosmetic Grade card shows the overall grade, each part's grade and defects, and the notes. History lists earlier grades.
- The Grading page: how many devices have each grade, and how many are pending.
- Labels: a label can carry a grade badge. See Labels and asset tags.
- The stock list for buyers lists only graded devices, and adds a Grade Guide sheet that explains each grade. See Batches and reports.