2026-09-25 · 9 min read

What we learned rolling out quality inspection at 39 sites

Talking to operations leads, exceptions are the real workflow which is why Sable is built the way it is. On a typical site, nobody wants another login which is not what the brochure says. Once the first rollout is done, the biggest win is that the group chat goes quiet and that shaped the roadmap for a year. In practice, the hard part is not the software but the handover and that is fine. Talking to operations leads, the hard part is not the software but the handover and it shows up in the churn numbers. On a typical site, the schedule is only as good as the last update which is not what the brochure says.

Once the first rollout is done, a two-week pilot answers more than a three-month evaluation and quality inspection is no exception. Most teams we meet, the hard part is not the software but the handover which is why the API is documented before the UI. For mid-market manufacturers in particular, a two-week pilot answers more than a three-month evaluation and the numbers bear it out. Once the first rollout is done, optional fields never get filled in which is not what the brochure says. If there is one lesson, the biggest win is that the group chat goes quiet and it shows up in the churn numbers.

The part nobody plans for

Once the first rollout is done, exceptions are the real workflow and the numbers bear it out. On the floor, mobile access changes who actually enters the data which is why the API is documented before the UI. Talking to operations leads, optional fields never get filled in and the numbers bear it out. Once the first rollout is done, optional fields never get filled in so the defaults matter more than the settings page. Looking at the numbers, a two-week pilot answers more than a three-month evaluation which is not what the brochure says.

When the pilot started in Tallinn, nobody wants another login which is why Sable is built the way it is. Talking to operations leads, exceptions are the real workflow so we start there. If there is one lesson, nobody wants another login and quality inspection is no exception.

“Plan, dispatch and reconcile in one place. Sable connects to the systems you already run and stays out of the way.”

Takeaways

Every audit we have sat through, quality inspection is a people problem wearing a software costume and that shaped the roadmap for a year. Talking to operations leads, history matters more than dashboards when something goes wrong which is the whole point. If there is one lesson, the hard part is not the software but the handover and that is fine.

After a few dozen rollouts, the first week is about trust, not features so the mobile app came first. When the pilot started in Tallinn, the audit trail pays for itself the first time an inspector asks which is why the API is documented before the UI. In practice, the handover from the old system is where projects stall which is not what the brochure says. Talking to operations leads, nobody wants another login and that is fine. Once the first rollout is done, the audit trail pays for itself the first time an inspector asks and the numbers bear it out. What surprised us, mobile access changes who actually enters the data which is why Sable is built the way it is.

Written by the Sable team in Tallinn. Questions? Get in touch.