A quality check has been completed. The result is on a clipboard somewhere in the factory. The person who needs to act on it has yet to see it.
At Murray’s Chicken in New York, USA, that was a familiar problem. Finding the paperwork and reviewing the results took time, while production continued. Within six weeks of starting with Emydex, the first tablets had replaced paper clipboards in the evisceration area.
At Forresters in Cheshire, UK, paper-based quality records and disconnected systems had made it difficult to get a clear picture of production, stocks and traceability.
Getting quality information to the people who need it
For the team at Murray’s Chicken, moving quality checks into Emydex meant the plant manager could see results as checks were completed, without going onto the factory floor to find the paperwork.
Plant Manager Phil Wise described how alerts brought deviations to his attention and digital records helped the team review quality data. Previously, an excess of broken wings might only become apparent when paper records were reviewed at the end of the day.
The more you can have that information in real time, the better off you are to decide how to handle the issue. You don’t have to go hunting for the information.”
Phil Wise, Plant Manager, Murray’s Chicken
Removing duplicated checks also saved the team time, allowing greater focus on compliance and process improvement.
Connecting the stages of production
At Forresters, which processes more than 1.4 million packs of chicken every week for all major UK retailers, the business needed production information that its existing systems could not readily provide, alongside integration with its back-office ERP.
Before Emydex, all of our quality control processes were paper-based. Everything was pen and paper, reams and reams of paper, and traceability was a nightmare.”
Angus Dilliway-Parry, Owner / R&D Director, Forresters
The implementation began with packing and processing, including weigh-price labelling terminals. It then expanded to connect raw material intake, cooking, packing, stock management and dispatch, with integration to Sage 200 for invoicing.
One practical change was automatic label printing when the correct number and type of packs were in a box. Alongside less manual input, managers and supervisors gained access to production, stock and traceability reports.
Using the data throughout the working day
Today, planners, factory teams and managers at Forresters use Emydex throughout the day, with screens displaying the information they need.
Operations Director Nick Cooper describes its role in improving performance:
We use it as a tool to improve what we’re doing, efficiencies, line rates and giveaways.”
Nick Cooper, Operations Director, Forresters
Start with the process you want to improve
If your team spends time chasing records or piecing together what happened on the factory floor, we would be happy to discuss the process with you.
Talk to our team about your poultry processing operation and arrange a demonstration focused on the information your people need during the working day.
