When your work requires inspecting perishable commodities across an entire state - often in extreme conditions - reliable technology isn’t just a convenience, it’s critical. The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) partnered with MobileDemand to equip their Inspection and Compliance teams with rugged tablets built to withstand the challenges of daily agricultural inspections.
The Challenge:
Inspectors with the CDFA are tasked with reporting USDA grade results for a wide variety of commodities throughout California. Their work environments range from 40-degree cold storage facilities to fields exceeding 100 degrees outdoors. Devices needed to perform consistently despite temperature swings, constant mobility, and the inevitable risk of being dropped while moving quickly between facilities.
Prior solutions had caused productivity issues. Inspectors faced challenges with unresponsive screens and devices going black, forcing costly downtime and repairs. With inspection results needing to be transmitted daily to headquarters, device reliability and uptime were mission-critical.
The Solution:
To address these challenges, the CDFA adopted the xTablet T1180, a rugged mobile device capable of handling both environmental extremes and the rigorous daily use of their inspectors. Each tablet is loaded with inspection software, storing data locally with daily user backups, ensuring reliability and continuity of information.
One of the most impactful surprises for the team was the T1180’s long battery life, which proved essential for their inspectors working 10–12 hour shifts without interruption.
Looking Ahead:
While the T1180 is no longer available for purchase, MobileDemand’s xTablet T1175 is the most comparable current model.
Key features include:
- Fully rugged design with MIL-STD-810H drop resistance and IP65 sealing.
- Bright, daylight-readable display.
- Long-lasting hot-swappable batteries.
- High-performance processing for data collection and field applications.
- Built-in barcode scanning and optional 4G LTE or 5G connectivity.
The Results:
- Improved data collection and transmission efficiency across inspection sites.
.png?width=289&height=433&name=food%20%26%20ag%20(1).png)
- Rugged performance in both cold storage and high-temperature outdoor environments.
- Daily backups ensure critical inspection data is safe and accessible.
- High user adoption due to ease of use, reliability, and long battery life.
"The MobileDemand tablets have become an essential tool for our inspection teams. They’re reliable, hold all our inspection software, and perform in extreme conditions - from cold storage to hot outdoor environments - making our work faster and more efficient." - Omar Solorio
Future Plans:
California Food and Agriculture plans to continue expanding tablet use across inspection offices and will maintain a long-term relationship with MobileDemand for future upgrades. The department has also recommended MobileDemand devices to other state agencies, such as Arizona’s Department of Food and Agriculture, who have successfully implemented the tablets for similar applications.
Implementation and Experience:
Inspectors were quickly able to integrate tablets into their workflow, with minimal issues during setup. Some devices initially displayed a blue screen on first power-on but restoring them resolved the problem. Users reported being impressed by the battery life, which easily supports a full day in the field. The tablets have proven highly reliable despite frequent drops and extreme temperature variations.
Client Profile
- Industry: State Government - Agriculture and Food Safety
- Employees: 10,000+
