Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
M-Tech Systems
eliminates human error and increases ef-
ficiency and profitability.
A company based in Atlanta, Georgia, USA
(
www.mtech-systems.com
)
that has offered
software solutions, industry knowledge,
experience and consulting for over
20
years.
It has poultry company customers on every
continent. M-Tech Systems offers com-
pletely integrated systems for every aspect
of production from planning, management,
detailed live costing, key performance index
analysis, remote data collection and full
traceability. Through each stage of the live
process, whether it is the initial genetic/
breeder stages through hatchery or rearing
or from grow out to harvest, M-Tech Sys-
tems transfers information and cost through
each stage, providing the ability to perform
critical cost analysis as well as the planning
tools to provide optimized supply chain
and logistical planning. On the food safety
sector, M-Tech Systems' information inte-
grations provide one of the most compre-
hensive information traceability systems
available. Any information captured at any
stage can be immediately linked to the final
product. Remote data capture devices allow
for ease of information scanning and upload-
ing directly from farms, hatcheries and feed
mills, for immediate analysis, eliminating
human error when transferring data. The fol-
lowing are some of their specific applica-
tions for the poultry industry:
UniSoma
A company founded in 1984 and based in
Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil
(www.unisoma.
provider of supply chain planning and ad-
vanced planning and scheduling solutions
for the Brazilian poultry market. In 1989,
UniSoma started a partnership with SADIA,
at the time the largest poultry and swine co-
operative producer. The main result of this
joint effort was
PIPA, Integrated Poultry Pro-
duction Planning System
. PIPA consists of a
set of modules used in poultry production
planning, from strategic and tactical, to oper-
ational. This tool provides support for inte-
grating the several areas that make up the
supply chain for poultry production: vertical
agricultural integration, slaughterhouses, lo-
gistics and sales. SADIA calculated a US$50
million benefit during 1992 to 1994 due to
PIPA implementation (Taube-Netto, 1996).
Unisoma has a history of successful pro-
jects applying mathematical modelling tech-
niques for optimization, production control
and scheduling of integrated animal produc-
tion systems in Brazil. These projects are de-
scribed in detail on their website (
www.
is important to highlight the Optimized Pro-
duction Control and Scheduling at Sadia, the
Integrated Animal Planning at Aurora Ali-
mentos, the Optimal Chicken Project at Per-
digão S.A. and the PLAMES/F at Avicola
Paulista Ltda. All these projects have shown
benefits, such as discovery of the best pro-
duction mix, detection of shadow prices of
sales constraints, generation of the necessary
forecasts for optimized planning and better
estimation of slaughter weights, and reduc-
tion of FCR despite BW variations. The in-
tegrated planning of processes has helped to
quickly synchronize egg incubation, chick
placement and flock slaughter activities.
These plans can be easily visualized and im-
proved over time. All these benefits have led
to decreased use of supplies, less final prod-
uct stock, and improved delivery dates, maxi-
mizing companies' net marginal profitability.
•
Live Haul Scheduling Assistant (LHS).
This is an optimization module that im-
ports the planned harvest schedule and
rates all factors within the process such
as distance to farm, catch crew num-
bers and production times, down times
and many more to determine the most
efficient solution to provide the most
cost-effective plan.
•
The Broiler Planning Assistant Poultry
(BRPA) generates the most effective har-
vest and replacement schedules for both
poultry processing and live production.
•
Feed Mill Automation
. Automatically
transfers feed load and ingredient receiving
information. The system automatically
captures scale weights, transfers infor-
mation back to management systems,
