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Emydex Livestock Payment System

All three flavours of the Emydex multi-species livestock payments system are now live and running in abattoirs spread across Ireland and the UK.

Emydex’s Beef payments system is live in Liffey Meat’s plant in Ballinasloe, as well as Euro Farm Foods in Ireland. The Lamb payments system is live in Scotlamb (Vivers) in Scotland and the Emydex Pig payments system in Dawn Pork and Bacon in Ireland. Since being installed at these plants the system is being considered by a number of plants in the UK and Ireland, and even further afield in mainland Europe and Africa via our re-seller network.

Integration with other Emydex Kill Line Components

The payments system integrates with Emydex’s livestock booking component in order to ensure that any special prices applied at the time of booking are used for the payments. If no special prices are used then the system defaults to a base price per species/category.

When integrated to the payments system the booking component is able to retrieve the previous historical prices paid to a producer and the previous quality of animals received. This is for assistance when special prices need to be negotiated.

Whilst the main kill data is read from the Emydex carcass classification component, the payment system is in effect a stand-alone module, and whilst integration with other Emydex kill line components offers advantages, they are not compulsory. The Emydex payments system is capable of integration with any supplier’s kill line systems.

Settlement Schemes

The payment system itself is highly configurable. The method of calculating the amount to be paid for each carcass is called a ‘settlement schedule’. Whilst it would be simplest to administer if there was a single settlement schedule for all producers, this is often not possible. The system therefore allows any number of settlement schemes to be created and allocated against producers/agents.

Each settlement scheme can be made up of any number of elements. All schemes will start with a default base price/kg for each category of livestock being killed. In its simplest form this price is used to calculate the initial value of the carcass. Base prices can be over-written with prices agreed at time of booking, and/or at time of payment.

There are then a set of adjustment tables that are applied sequentially to the carcass to arrive at the final purchase price. Whilst these adjustments are normally always deductions, the Emydex system will allow bonuses to be paid for specific conditions.

Typical Adjustment tables would be:

Weight range table – with flat rate value paid above specific weights
Eurograde table – with adjustments based upon a grid of confirmation and fat class
Fault table – with adjustments based upon specific fault conditions
Quality table – with adjustments based upon the producers quality status

The Emydex system enables the user to set up as many adjustment tables as required using any parameter either captured in the system or recalled from the database.

The system has now calculated the individual value of each animal and the gross value of the lot. There are now a set of deductions that need to be applied to the gross value.

Again these deductions are created by the user. A specific set of deductions is defined for each settlement scheme.

Typical deductions (which can be specified as per kg or per head) include Haulage, Industry Levies, Veterinary Levies and Clipping Charges.

Pricing Screen:

Emydex Payments screen

Report Printing

Dependent upon the species/producer, there may be a requirement for the remittance advice note to show individual animals or grouped animals (e.g. by weight range or grade range). The system can be set to print either or both.

If the user requires it, the remittance advice note and cheque can be incorporated into the same document.

Reports are also available for any deductions specified.

Financial Integration

The Emydex payment system has the functionality to be operated in two modes.

Financial System Prints Cheques

In the first mode Emydex simply prints remittance advice notes and a list of all individual lot payments. This list is also available as a file for export into the user’s financial system for invoicing.

In the case of deductions, an invoice is normally received from the service provider, the Emydex deductions reports can be used to cross check the invoice amounts.

Emydex Prints Cheques

In this scenario the cheque is printed by the Emydex system (either attached to remittance advice note or on separate stationary). The Emydex system will also then print invoice lists with cheque numbers. This list is also available as a file for export into the user’s financial system.

Summary

The Emydex Livestock Payments System eliminates calculation errors by integrating the payment calculation system with the livestock classification system. It is a real time system that enables the payment calculation to be made as soon as a lot has been processed, significantly improving the efficiency of the payments office.

Historical data analysis enables processors detailed views of producer’s deliveries to the plant, such information can be shared with producers to the benefit of both parties.

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Emydex Embrace RFID Technology

Emydex have been a long time user of bar coding technology as a means of maintaining traceability throughout their applications. Whilst we have been aware of, and trialled RFID technology for the past few years, it is only in the last 12 months that Emydex have really started to utilise RFID technology in real-life operational environments, enabling our customers to gain from the benefits of its application.

There are essentially two types of RFID tags, passive and active.

Passive Tags
Passive tags are generally lower cost and have a longer life cycle. They are encoded at manufacture with a unique ID number. This ID number can only be read from the tag when it is inserted into a radio frequency field generated by an RF reader. The efficiency of the reading is dependent upon the strength of the field and the time that the tag is in the field. This generally means that the tag has to be as close to the reader as possible at the time of reading.

Active Tags
Active tags have their own power source in the form of a battery. They are therefore more expensive and have a finite lifetime (battery life). For this reason active tags are best utilised in closed loop systems where the tags never leave the premises. Like the passive tags they are encoded with a unique ID number at the time of manufacture. In addition an active tag can be manufactured with varying amounts of read/write memory, enabling applications to write variable data to the tag for later retrieval direct at a reading point.

By means of the internal battery the tag can broadcast its data at the same time as the tag readers are creating the reading field. This leads to a greater tolerance on reading distance.

rfid_tags

Advantages
The greatest advantage of RFID tags over bar coded tags is that the tag can pass through the reading field in any orientation; this makes total automation, without the necessity for operator interaction a viable proposition.

Emydex have used both types of tags dependent upon the application. In the case of carcasses being transported on an overhead conveyor there is no need for active tags. The tags are encapsulated in a heat and impact resistant plug which is embedded in the carcass hooks. As the hooks are on a track system the readers can be positioned very close to the hooks. The tagged hooks recirculate within the system and never leave the site. By positioning data capture equipment close to the reading locations Emydex are able to 100% verify correct carcass data with no possibility of sequencing errors.

Examples of data that can be captured and recorded in the system relative to the hook tag ID are:

  • Ear Tag
  • Dentition Data
  • Tissue Samples
  • Veterinarian Data
  • Carcass Inspection Data
  • Classification Data
  • Weight Data
  • Chill Location

 

After the classification, bar-coded carcass tag labels are printed enabling forward traceability reporting of the carcass, after it has been removed from the original carcass hook.

By situating readers at strategic points on the track it is possible to identify exactly where each carcass (and carcasses in a lot) is located in the abattoir.

Another application for which we are using RFID is the destination control and product/operator traceability of plastic crates (and products within) in a processing department.

Each crate in the system is embedded with an active RFID tag. This tag has a unique ID number and an amount of memory for reading and writing data.

Operators place their output products into the crates. Via strategically placed read/writers and data capture equipment, the contents of the crates can be identified against individual operators and individual processes. The required destination of the crates can be written to the tag, enabling subsequent tag readers to automatically direct the crate through the conveyor control system until it reaches its next process or packing machine destination.

The Benefits
The benefits of automating such processes are a smoother product flow, greater operator efficiency (enabling better throughput and yield), less drip loss due to shorter overall processing times, better traceability. Not only can the system 100% trace the contents of every crate but it can also identify every product that has ever been in that crate, and everywhere that crate has ever been.

This experience has resulted in Emydex investigating alternative applications for RFID, particularly regarding the speed benefits of being able to read multiple tags at the same time and the efficiency benefits of effective automation.

Our initial investigations suggest that every company can benefit from using RFID in closed loop systems (where the tagged containers stay on the site or stay within the group), whether connected with fully automated solutions or not; the readability of RFID tags without the necessity of line of sight (as with bar codes) can have a significant impact on efficiency.

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Updated Post Mortem QC Station Developed

This application was developed so that it could be run on either fixed position industrial PC stations or mobile devices (MDA). It was developed in response to a need to eliminate poorly presented carcasses.

The carcasses arrive at the inspection point in sequence. The QC operator can enter a fault type and the system will give the opportunity to select the part of the carcass where the fault is present. Any number of faults can be registered against each carcass. After a pre-defined number of instances of the same fault a supervisor is informed allowing corrective action to be taken and recorded.

All fault history is recorded.

Please note that this is intended for use by in plant QC. It is not intended as a veterinary inspection station; however it would be fairly simple for a similar application to be configured for use by the veterinarians.

 

 

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Emydex launch new Mobile Device Applications

Emydex have launched a new mobile device application (MDA) that sits between the smart device application (SDA) and PC application (PCA). The application was developed for users that required a portable device with a larger screen and more functionality than currently available with hand held scanning terminals.

The MDA application will run on any Windows XP / Windows 7 based device such as notebooks, tough books and tablet PC’s. It is intended for applications that need to be operable in offline mode when connection to the main Emydex database is not possible.

The MDA application utilises a local database which synchronises with the Emydex SQL server database when connected to the host network via either it’s built in Wi-Fi connectivity, internet access or modem.

Emydex have deployed the MDA application in Tough Book devices that are equipped with integrated camera, bar code scanner, RFID reader, memory card reader and fingerprint scanner.

These devices have touch screen displays and are sealed to IP65 specification.

So far the MDA application has been configured for use as a fieldsman data input station, an ante-mortem station in the lairage at abattoirs and a mobile QC device for use anywhere in a factory.

The fieldsman application enables the user to view the plant kill plans when visiting producers and arranging appointments to deliver suitable livestock to the plant.

The ante mortem application enables lairage staff to enter QC data including take photographs of livestock that do not arrive in the best of condition. This picture can be tied to the animal’s ear tag to ensure a full record is maintained in the kill line system.

As a QC device the MDA application enables QC forms to be ran on the device. All of the scanning and camera devices built into the device can be used together with any external device connected to the USB / serial interface ports, such as temperature or PH probes.

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Emydex Animal Payment System showcased at MeatUp UK

Over two days in June Emydex showcased a number of their new software products to the Meat processing trade at the UK’s new MeatUp Expo, which took place at Stoneleigh Park, Warwickshire over the 21st & 22nd June 2011.

Animal Payment

On display was Emydex’s latest release of their new multi-species Animal Settlement and Payments system, a fully integrated add-on to the Emydex Beef, lamb and Pork Kill line systems. The latest version of Beef Animal payments went live earlier in June at Emydex’s new customer Euro Farm Foods based in Duleek, Ireland.

Euro Farm foods replaced their existing beef kill line system with the Emydex beef kill line system incorporating Beef Lairage bookings, real-time links to the Department of Agriculture’s AIMs system for tracking cattle movements, real-time links to Bord Bia’s Beef Quality Assurance scheme via web services for tracking Supplier’s quality assurance status, Beef Ear-tag station, Grading & Weighing station, Offal packing, Carcass dispatch and Beef payment.

Emydex at MeatUp Uk 2011
Emydex at MeatUp Uk 2011
Emydex at MeatUp Uk 2011

The Animal payment module is capable of producing remittance advice notes, printing supplier cheques and managing associated costs involved with the abattoir. It allows for different payment schemas to be associated with individual suppliers or supplier groups. In addition to supplier payment the system also supports payment to clippers, hauliers and agents on an aggregated basis over time. Ad-hoc and supplementary payments are also supported. In addition to providing Multi-currency functionality, the system tracks historical pricing and exchange rates, and has a facility to define future pricing based on valid from dates. Beef payments in Ireland are automatically generated based on the 15 point Quality Payment grid.

The plan is to now roll-out a Lamb Animal Payment system in partnership with another new Emydex customer based in Scotland with whom Emydex will work with to configure their new multi-species payment system specifically for Lamb payments. “There are obviously differences between beef and lamb payments but these can be all handled by the configuration capabilities within the system, rather than requiring any new development effort” said Pete Kettell, Emydex’s UK Sales manager.

“We are also are also planning to roll-out our animal payment system for Pork payments either in conjunction with some of our existing pork processing customers operating a pork kill line or a new pork processing customer”, said David McMahon, CEO of Emydex.

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New eTransfers simplifies data exchange between 3rd party sites

eTransfers, a new feature within Emydex’s Warehouse Management module is a new development that gives food processing plants total control over stock transfers between sites, whether inter-company or 3rd party sites such as Cold Storage facilities.

The business benefits of eTransfers include near real-time communications, guaranteed delivery, and box level traceability of stocks once put-away in 3rd party locations, a feature most legacy WMS systems are incapable of delivering.

eTransfers uses email as its transport mechanism. Once received, emails are logged into the recipient Emydex system automatically for processing. “We chose to use email for three reasons” said James Grennan, Technical Director with Emydex “first, email is freely available to everyone – everyone has email. Second, email guarantees delivery in that if the recipient is offline, the email exchange will buffer the message and keep trying to resend until the message is finally delivered. Third, email offers single to multiple-point communications capabilities. One email message can be sent once to multiple locations or parties simultaneously” he added. This all means there is a lesser chance of failure to deliver electronic messages than when using other transport mechanisms.

All messages to be exported and imported between Emydex systems are in the form of structured XML using standard messaging protocols. The types of electronic messages transferred between sites includes Advanced Shipping Notices (ASNs), Shipment Receipt Notices, Shipment Dispatch Requests/Notices, Inventory Level Requests/Notices, Shipment Status Requests/Notices and Inventory Update Notices. A shipment Dispatch Notice for example contains details such as shipment date, time, no pallets, no boxes etc.

This is Emydex’s version of EDI, only better, using which customers can exchange data with 3rd party systems in a standard secure and reliable way. Messages can be encrypted and compressed if required.

The new eTransfers system was successfully in the lead up to Christmas with Moy Park Poultry in Ballymena, and the Interfrigo Cold Storage facility in Antrim, both Emydex customers. In the few weeks before Christmas an enormous volume of Turkeys were shipped out by Moy Park many of which were bound for Interfrigo. Using the eTransfers feature Moy Park are able to dispatch and trace shipments into and out of Interfrigo seamlessly. On the Interfrigo side, once received, goods were verified, put-away picked and dispatched all via Emydex, with the ability to break-down and rebuild pallets to fulfil sales orders as required. The Interfrigo Emydex system also includes a web-portal to allow customers real-time access to their stocks within Interfrigo.
For more information on the Emydex Technology systems click here or contact Emydex on +353 1 8855990

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