Products
The Administration › Products screen describes the appliances your plant receives, on three levels:
- The product category: a broad group of appliances, for example "Réfrigération domestique" (household refrigeration). In the reception register, it appears as Collected product group (CPG).
- The product type: a family of appliances within a category, for example "Congélateurs" (freezers). The type decides whether the appliance must be degassed. In the reports, it appears as Product type (TP) or Product type (PT).
- The product: a specific model in the catalogue, defined by its brand, model number and year, with its weight and, if it is degassed, its refrigerant gas.
Each physical appliance received in an inbound batch is a unit: it has a product type from the moment it is received and gets its product (its model) when it is identified.
The screen has three tabs, in this order: Products, Product Types and Categories.
This data is used in several places:
- Inbound batches: each unit carries a product type; identification links it to a catalogue model, which can be created on the spot. See Inbound batches.
- Degassing and dismantling: the type's Degassable option decides whether the unit goes through the degassing workstation before dismantling; the model's gas and quantity pre-fill the degassing form. See Degassing and Dismantling.
- Reports and dashboard: the reception register counts units by category (CPG); the mass balance and the recycling register use the type, and a unit's weight is its model's weight. See Reports.
Before you start
- You need the Products permission (see Administration overview). It gives access to all three tabs.
- A product type belongs to a category, and a product to a type: create them in the order category, type, product.
- For a degassable model, the gas must exist in Administration › Materials, ticked Gas and active. See Materials.
Default categories and types
A new organization receives the following product categories and types. They are created in French; you can rename them. All default types are Degassable.
| Code | Category | Icon | Product types (code — name) |
|---|---|---|---|
| RD | Réfrigération domestique (household refrigeration) | refrigerator (refrigerator) | GFR — Réfrigérateurs pleine grandeur; PFR — Réfrigérateurs compacts; CNG — Congélateurs; VIN — Celliers et refroidisseurs à vin |
| DE | Distributeur d'eau (water dispenser) | jug (jug) | EAU — Distributeurs d'eau |
| CD | Climatisation portative et déshumidification (portable air conditioning and dehumidification) | snowflake with droplets (snowflake-droplets) | AIR — Climatiseurs mobiles et de fenêtre; DSH — Déshumidificateurs |
| TH | Thermopompes (heat pumps) | air conditioner (air-conditioner) | THE — Thermopompe - Formats variées |
| AU | Autres (other) | stacked boxes (boxes-stacked) | GLA — Machine à glaçon; GLC — Machine à glacon sur comptoir; AUT — Autres produits |
The catalogue of models (Products tab) is empty at the start.
RecyTrax does not recreate a default category or type you have deleted, and never changes the ones you have modified. It recognizes categories and types by their code.
The product catalogue
View the catalogue
- Open Administration › Products. The Products tab is shown.
- To search, type in Search by brand or model. You can type several words: each one must be found in the brand or the model number (for example "frigi 3000").
- To show a single type, choose it in the All types list.
| Column | Content |
|---|---|
| Icon | The icon of the product type's category. |
| Brand | The model's brand. |
| Model no. | The model number. |
| Product type | The type's code; hover over it to see its name. |
| Year | The model year, or a dash if unknown. |
| Weight (kg) | The weight of one unit of this model. |
| Gas | The gas type and its quantity in kg, or a dash. |
Create a product
- In the Products tab, click New product.
- Choose the Product type.
- Enter the Brand and the Model no.
- Enter the Year if you know it, and the Weight (kg).
- If the type is degassable, the Gas type and Gas quantity (kg) fields appear: choose the gas and, if you know it, the quantity.
- Click Save.
There is no need to enter the whole catalogue in advance. While preparing an inbound batch or identifying a unit, the operator can choose Add a new product when the model does not exist yet: the product is added to the catalogue. See Inbound batches.
If no product type exists yet, the window shows "Create a product type first - every product must belong to a type." Click Create a product type to switch to the Product Types tab.
Edit or delete a product
- To edit, click the pencil icon at the end of the row, change the fields, then click Save.
- To delete, click the trash icon, then confirm with Yes. Units already received keep their product type, and the mass balance and dashboard keep using the deleted model's weight.
The mass balance and the dashboard calculate the weight of received units from their model's weight at the time you view them. Correcting a model's Weight (kg) therefore also changes the weight of units already received in those reports, including for past periods.
Product types
View the types
Open the Product Types tab. Search with Search by code or name and filter with All categories. The list shows the Icon (the category's), the Code, the Name, the Category and Degassable (a check mark or an X).
Create a product type
- In the Product Types tab, click New product type.
- Enter the Code and the Name.
- Choose the Category.
- Tick Degassable if appliances of this type contain a gas to recover.
- Click Save.
If no category exists yet, the window shows "Create a category first - every product type must belong to one." Click Create a category to switch to the Categories tab.
What the Degassable option changes
| Degassable type | Non-degassable type | |
|---|---|---|
| After the reception is completed | The unit enters the Degassing workstation list. | The unit goes straight into the Dismantling workstation list. |
| Before dismantling | The unit must be degassed, or "no gas" must be recorded; otherwise: "Degas the unit before dismantling it." | Nothing to do; degassing is shown as not required ("This product type is not degassed."). |
| Model record | Gas type required, Gas quantity (kg) optional. | No gas fields. |
| Recycling register | The model's gas type and quantity are shown. | No gas shown. |
The workstation lists are worked out from the product type. If you tick Degassable on a type, all its units from completed receptions that have no degassing recorded appear in the Degassing list, including units already processed. If you untick it, its undegassed units go straight to Dismantling. Make this change before receiving appliances of that type.
Delete a product type
Click the trash icon, then confirm with Yes. RecyTrax refuses the deletion:
- if catalogue products still use the type: "This product type is still used by products.";
- if received units use it: "This product type cannot be deleted: units received in inbound batches LE-… still use it, even if their product was deleted from the catalogue." The message names up to five batches, followed by "…" if there are more.
A type that has been used for received units can therefore no longer be deleted.
Product categories
The Categories tab lists categories with their Icon, their Code, their Name and the number of Product types. Search with Search by code or name.
- Create: click New category, enter the Code and the Name, choose an Icon (optional; see The icon picker), then click Save.
- Edit: pencil icon. The new icon appears next to every type and product in the category.
- Delete: only if the category no longer contains a product type; otherwise the trash icon is greyed out and RecyTrax answers "This category still has product types assigned to it."
Fields
Product
| Field | Description | Required |
|---|---|---|
| Product type | The model's type. It decides whether the gas fields are shown. | Yes |
| Brand | Up to 128 characters. | Yes |
| Model no. | Up to 128 characters. | Yes |
| Year | Model year, 4 digits, from 1900 to next year. Leave empty if unknown. | No |
| Weight (kg) | Weight of one unit, greater than zero, to the gram (3 decimals). | Yes |
| Gas type | The model's refrigerant gas, among the active materials ticked Gas. Shown for a degassable type only. | Yes, for a degassable type |
| Gas quantity (kg) | The model's gas charge, greater than zero, to the gram. Shown for a degassable type only. | No |
The brand, model number and year identify a product: two products cannot share all three (ignoring capitals and spaces at the start and end). An unknown year counts as a value of its own: "Frigo X100" without a year and "Frigo X100" from 2019 are two different products.
Product type
| Field | Description | Required |
|---|---|---|
| Code | Up to 32 characters, unique within your organization. Default types use 3 letters (GFR, CNG…). | Yes |
| Name | Up to 128 characters. | Yes |
| Category | The type's product category; it gives the type its icon. | Yes |
| Degassable | Tick if appliances of this type contain a gas to recover. | No |
Product category
| Field | Description | Required |
|---|---|---|
| Code | Up to 32 characters, unique within your organization. Default categories use 2 letters (RD, DE…). | Yes |
| Name | Up to 128 characters. It appears as Collected product group (CPG) in the reception register. | Yes |
| Icon | Shown next to the category's types and products. | No |
Rules and messages
| Message | Cause |
|---|---|
| "A product type is required." | The product has no type. |
| "Brand is required." / "Model number is required." | Empty field. |
| "Weight is required." / "Weight must be greater than zero." | Weight empty, zero or negative. |
| "The year must be between 1900 and next year." | Year out of range. |
| "The gas type is required for a product that can be degassed." | The type is degassable but no gas is chosen. |
| "This gas type no longer exists or is not a gas." | The chosen gas was deleted, is no longer ticked Gas or is inactive. |
| "The gas quantity must be greater than zero." | Quantity zero or negative. |
| "This product type can't be degassed: it carries no gas type or quantity." | A gas is given for a non-degassable type. |
| "A product of this brand with this model number and year already exists." | Duplicate brand + model + year. |
| "A product type with this code already exists." | Duplicate type code. |
| "A product category with this code already exists." | Duplicate category code. |
| "The code is required." / "The name is required." / "A category is required." | Empty field. |
| "This product type is still used by products." | Deleting a type used in the catalogue. |
| "This category still has product types assigned to it." | Deleting a category that is not empty. |
| "This product no longer exists." / "This product type no longer exists." / "This category no longer exists." | The item was deleted in the meantime by someone else. |
Frequently asked questions
Why don't the gas fields appear in a product record?
The chosen product type is not Degassable. Choose another type or tick Degassable on the type (see the warning above).
The "Gas type" list is empty.
No active material is ticked Gas. The window then shows "No material is marked as a gas. Tick "Gas" on a material in Administration › Materials." See Materials.
We don't know a model's year. What do we enter?
Leave Year empty. The table shows a dash. If the year becomes known later, edit the product.
Why does RecyTrax refuse to create a model that looks new?
A product with the same brand, model number and year already exists, even if written with different capitals. Look it up in the catalogue and use it.
I can't delete a product type.
It is still used by catalogue models or by received units. The message names the inbound batches concerned. A type used by received units can no longer be deleted; rename it if needed.
Do we need to create the whole catalogue before we start?
No. Operators add models as they go, from inbound batches and unit identification.