Roast Number

Roast Number was initially introduced in RoastPATH so users were not forced to add a name to every batch roasted. If a user opted not to enter a custom name, a default name was created, such as “RP-347” to indicate this was the 347th roast that used a default name. 

This feature has evolved based on user feedback, and Roast Number is now a separate data field that is recorded for every roast. Roast Number offers a variety of benefits depending on the operations of your roastery.

In Process Tracking:

Roast Numbers are now reserved when you hit Charge on a roast. The number is visible in the Roast Details tab from the sidebar immediately after Charge. Some users will record this number in a different software system, in a paper notebook, or on a whiteboard while roasting. They may write this number on the bucket/bin after they discharge the coffee from the cooling tray. Knowing this number before the roast is complete, gives the user the ability to label and record batch information that can stay with the roasted coffee while the coffee is still in the machine.

Quality Control: 

Numbers are reserved when a roaster is charged, those numbers are never re-used and cannot be edited. Therefore if a Profile is discarded (not saved), there will be a gap in your Profile history. For example, if your Profile List shows roasts 346, 347, and 349, you will know there was a problem. Did you open the charge gate but forget to load the hopper with greens? Did you accidentally hit charge? Was there a glitch in the sensor or software and Charge randomly triggered? All of these scenarios are fine and easily explained. However, what if an entire batch of coffee is missing because an employee opened the cooling tray with nothing to catch the coffee, or perhaps an entire batch of coffee went missing for some other reason. The sequential roast numbers creates an opportunity to spot anomalies in your process, allowing you to evaluate if a missing batch was a problem or not.

Flexibility in Naming:

Prior to the Roast Number having its own data field, if a user entered a custom name the Roast Number was prepended to the custom name, such as “RP-347 Sunday Blend”. With Roast Number having a dedicated field, this no longer happens. If you opt not to name your profile, a default name of RP-347 will still be created, but it will not be added to a custom profile name on save. This allows you to adopt a naming convention that fits your production process. For example, you may decide to name your Profiles with “Customer - Coffee - Order Number”. This would then make it much easier to sort your recent profiles in a way that matches how you organize your coffee production.

APP UPDATE 2.2.1815 - Roast Number is set when the user Charges the coffee. At that time we set the Roast Number. In addition, if the field is blank at the time of charge, we are also setting the Name field to "RP-[number]". The user as the option to keep the prefix or remove it.

Gaps: 

The Roast Number is not intended to be a count of roasts completed. If you roast perfectly and never have an accidentally charge or discard a roast, this number will match your actual roast count. However this number is not intended to match your actual roast count. To ensure the number can be used to evaluate if the cause of the gap was an issue or a simple mistake (see Quality Control above), the Roast Number cannot be edited or reset.