Product category:
Weighing and counting equipment
News Release from: Stevens Group | Subject: Vantage System
Edited by the Manufacturingtalk Editorial
Team on 20 November 2006
Meat Producer Benefits From Precision
Weighing
Croesllan Catering, a family business, is seeing the benefits of the Stevens Meat Traceability system after it was installed at its site in Llandysl, Wales.
Croesllan Catering, a family business, is seeing the benefits of the Stevens Meat Traceability system after it was installed at its site in Llandysl, Wales Croesllan Catering began trading over 60 years ago as a farming and retail butchers establishment and continues in to its third generation supplying to local hotels and restaurants
This article was originally published on Manufacturingtalk on 24 Jul 2002 at 8.00am (UK)
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Due to the stringent labelling and traceability requirements now in place across Europe, Sean Willis, managing director of Croesllan Catering, felt it a necessity to install a system that could comply with the new regulations and provide an improvement in yields too.
The Vantage System, installed by Stevens Weighing Group, provides precision weighing at the same time as ensuring products are accurately traced from entering the factory to dispatch, along with the advantage of being able to draw from real time data and improve operative cutting yields, said Stevens.
Croesllan has a wide customer base, each with their own specific requirements, which in itself can pose difficulties in stock control, as well as the traceability of the product.
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For example, an order may require a quantity of chicken breasts.
To achieve that, the Vantage System calls up the required quantity of whole chickens but the process will create other components, such as leg and wing portions, which may need to go back in to stock.
The system keeps track of the different components ensuring continuity throughout the traceability chain, added the company.
The Vantage system can be used as stand-alone self-contained modules, or networked as part of a fully integrated system allowing optimum use of the weight data.
The system also has a fully sealed and waterproof operator console, which can withstand regular wash-down routines, making the system suitable for the working environments found in modern food manufacturing establishments.
Stuart Hunt, UK sales manager of Stevens, explained more about the benefits of the Vantage system: "This application is interesting as Stevens has worked closely with Datos in Ireland and its Comit Accounting System to provide an accurate shop floor data, stock rotation, improved yields and rapid despatch of the customers orders.
All this is achieved and the operatives are bearly aware that they're providing full traceability in-line with new legislation.
The improvements in yields and stock control make the project self-justifying." The traceability chain starts as soon as each consignment of meat is booked in and checked against the relevant order on the system.
At this stage, consignments are issued with a lot number and barcode label, which contains data including information on the 'use-by' date, store location and product-specific quality information, as well as delivery vehicle and supplier details.
When management detail the product requirements for the daily production schedules, the requirements appear on the operative workstations and log the events as the operative weighs-out the products.
Labels are automatically generated to show the product movements and provide a visual indication of the products status.
Meanwhile, the raw stock levels are adjusted accordingly, making an addition to the finished stock and a subtraction to the raw stock, said Stevens.
The allocation of the stock to customer orders appears on the despatch system (also a Vantage terminal and scanner) to enable the goods to be picked and collated prior to the deliver driver collecting the goods.
The PC-based Vantage touchscreen is said to give clear instructions to operators, guiding them through the order from start to finish, whilst at the same time populating the Comit database and providing management information to keep the managers informed.
Sean Willis commented: "Stevens wasn't the obvious choice of company to help me with my project but its ability to interface with my existing Comit software meant that I didn't need to maintain two separate IT systems like the other companies had to offer.
Stevens maintains an open mind about how its system should perform and at the same time it provides extremely robust hardware, which shows the company's pedigree in shopfloor data capture in harsh environments.
I'd recommend them to anybody - apart from my competitors of course.".
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