Digitizing Quality & Compliance Management Processes For a Lamb Meat Processing Plant
Superior Farms wanted to improve operational efficiencies by eliminating paper-based reviews & forms as it was time-consuming, not actionable and delayed incident reporting that risked compliance deviations
They needed a compliance management solution that could help them acquire, organize, monitor and use day-to-day records to ensure USDA standards compliance from their desks & smart devices.
The web and iPad application automated & digitized Preshipment, record reviews & other forms to save time and take preventive measures to violations with automatic reminders & alerts. Superior Farms can have consolidated view of tasks and performance of all 4 locations in real time.
A renowned market leader in the meatpacking industry with more than 1000 family ranch partners, Superior Farms is a lamb processing plant spread across four locations in the United States. Having recently unveiled the “greenest” lamb plant in the United States, it is known for being extremely vigilant about animal welfare, managing data efficiently, and maintaining traceability.
With ever-growing business, manual processes became challenging for Superior Farms. Conventional ways of keeping records were becoming increasingly difficult to manage, track, and maintain. This is because of several reasons:
Digital transformation facilitates the automation of workflow processes that help optimize internal workflows in an organization.
With the use of automated data management tools KPIs can be tracked effectively for proactive decision making.
Digital transformation helps increase employee engagement by forming a collaborative work environment.
Folio3 helped eliminate the paper-based processes and digitized the whole process and system for the client. The digital transformation not only helped save time, but also solved the data accuracy and transparency issues. Our FSIS food safety and compliance management solution centred around digitizing their location, quality, and compliance management with USDA regulations.
More than 300 forms were digitized so that relevant tasks could be automated, scheduled, and assigned to relevant QC techs and production supervisors.
All the documentation including program manuals as well as SOP-related documents were digitized and linked separately to relevant task forms to help compliance and violation management.
All five departments such as Animal Welfare, Fabrication, Case Ready, Shipping, and Receiving were configured separately so that department-wise performance can be managed and maintained.
Four different locations were set up with separate user management for each location. The forms were divided and organized by location, which helped the client in sorting the data by date as well as location.
If a task is missed, it instantly appears on the dashboard of the manager concerned and helps him identify why it was missed and whether any corrective action needs to be taken. This helps the manager save time and manage tasks in a better way.
Preventive and corrective measures were automated. A rule-based violation management option was introduced, whereby they could set different rules for different situations. This helped the client be more proactive.
Enhanced the user experience with the help of active directory integration. This minimized the effort of remembering passwords.
Record reviews, pre-shipment reviews, and direct observations were all customized and set to automated scheduling, ensuring that none of them were missed and that a history of all reviews is maintained.
The mobile application was designed with offline support so that workers could still submit their tasks, and they would simply get synchronized later when internet connectivity was available.
USDA resources are given their own account on the web application, and they can log in and keep a check according to their schedule. This reduces interaction and saves time.
Folio3 automated the entire process for the client with a continuous support system and facilitated them in the management and tracking of their daily tasks. Tasks were scheduled automatically, which helped them comply with the standard procedures.
All four locations were configured, and the entire process was streamlined by location and user roles, which helped them organize their workflows
19000 forms have been filled out in just the first 3 months of implementation out of the 300 forms that were digitized, which means 19000 tasks have been completed and documented.
The client has witnessed increased productivity and efficiency. Tasks are not missed, and workers can concentrate more on the task rather than juggling paper-based forms.
Quality control managers and technicians have the option to use desktops or iPads to view and submit tasks, which offers them convenience.
Digitizing the system has greatly minimized human errors as well as the number of violations.
There is increased transparency in the entire process. The directors and management heads have access to data for all locations, and they are able to review it in real-time.
Superior Farms ensures food safety and is following digital HACCP & CCP plans with a custom FSIS compliance management software.
