Prior to using EveryPig, S&C Pork faced several logistical challenges related to the management of their pigs. In particular, efficiency issues arose through several different mechanisms, and proposed strategies had not provided long-term fixes.
Once S&C Pork implemented EveryPig, they significantly enhanced efficiencies, streamlining communication, documenting and tracking pig information digitally, and monitoring pigs remotely. The resulting change in the day-to-day workflow benefited workers ranging from the CEO to managers to veterinarians and growers and improved the operational side of the business. Here we will describe a case study for S&C Pork implementation of EveryPig.
SEVERAL CHALLENGES LED S&C TO SEEK OUT EVERYPIG
S&C Pork faced time consuming fixes to human errors
Before S&C Pork had access to EveryPig, tracking information related to inventory, sales, and packing was done manually. Because of the manual nature of the tracking, there were several opportunities for human error to occur. Data could be calculated incorrectly, and it could be documented incorrectly. Missing just one placement could mean the entire team is operating under the assumption that a barn will be empty on a date that it will not in fact be empty, which leads to logistical headaches.
According to the Operations Manager at S&C Pork, who helps keep track of the pigs from the time they leave the sow unit to the time they go to market, these errors often required fixes that could take weeks because of the amount of communication required. By the time the errors were sorted out, there were often relevant changes that further complicated the calculations and tracking of information.
Veterinarians struggled to keep close tabs on what was going on with all the pigs
With so many pigs to monitor and all the details tracked manually, keeping up with the condition of each of the pigs was extremely laborious for the veterinarians before S&C Pork used EveryPig. They had to visit the pigs regularly and come out to where the pigs were located to see them in-person whenever a potential issue arose. The time-consuming nature of these processes made it difficult for the veterinarians to feel as though they had a good handle on the health of all the pigs.
Determining factors contributing to nursery groups’ relative success was difficult
Before using EveryPig, it was difficult to track details of what was going on in each nursery group, such as the details on the health and mortality of the pigs and the types and amounts of treatments the pigs were receiving. Without this information, those at S&C Pork could not analyze differences between nursery groups and why those differences may exist, preventing them from optimizing their care of the pigs.
Communicating information was a hassle
Whenever people at S&C Pork had information that they needed to share with other team members or needed to get information from other team members, they had to largely rely on phone communication. This type of communication inevitably led to missed calls, phone tag, and long waiting periods before relevant information was adequately transferred.
HOW EVERYPIG HELPED S&C OVERCOME ITS CHALLENGES
Given the challenges S&C Pork was facing, the management team decided to try EveryPig. They now use nearly all the functionalities of the application and are observing several benefits.
EveryPig has reduced the opportunity for human error and reduced the time for fixes when errors occur
With EveryPig in place, growers now enter their own inventory, and the application automatically does the calculations, eliminating human computational errors. In addition, EveryPig streamlines the communication between the growers and the office, which cuts out a significant amount of middleman communications that had previously occurred during the process of fixing errors.
Remote monitoring through EveryPig saves time and promotes pig health
EveryPig has improved workflow for the veterinarians at S&C Pork by enabling them to monitor the pigs remotely. Not only does this save them the time from going to visit the pigs when no interventions are needed, but it allows them to monitor them more closely. Each day, growers share pictures or videos of the pigs, which helps the veterinarians keep apprise of how the pigs are doing. According to an S&C Pork grower, Amanda, from a biosecurity standpoint, the reduction in foot traffic this remote monitoring affords is also
beneficial.
Ryan, another grower at S&C Pork says: “Being able to do things digitally is so much faster than using paper or texting information like photos or videos of pigs. It really helps with keeping track of things and making sure we have accurate accounts of what is going on with the pigs.”
EveryPig has provided cost savings by making treatment traceable
With EveryPig, treatment information is entered digitally, which has allowed for traceability, so when medications are delivered, the amount that is delivered is recorded, as is the amount that is used. It is therefore a simple process to track how much of a medication should be left over and to ensure all medications get used.
The hope is that by keeping better track of medications, medical expenses will go down. In addition, the information provides accountability to help ensure that growers are not overtreating or undertreating the pigs.
The analytics that EveryPig affords improves pig management and operations
EveryPig has improved administrative aspects of managing by providing hard data to inform activities. The tracking and data analytics provided by these tools, has improved understanding of what affects groups and facilitate conversations between managers and growers.
One example of the power of these analytics is the identification of health patterns. For instance, the S&C Pork group is using EveryPig to help them determine why pigs in a specific barn may get sick after a certain amount of time and what they need to do to intervene. By using the application and tracking relevant information, it is easier to determine whether the problem may be related to food, medication, or temperature so that S&C Pork can optimize conditions for the pigs.
Communications are now streamlined
EveryPig has streamlined communications between the office, field managers, and growers. With the application, there is much less of a need for one-on-one communication through calls to provide notifications or responses. Instead, everyone on the team can track information in real-time using the application, which means less steps are required to get the final result. “I am happy with the choice to go to digital formatting for data tracking,” says Amanda. “The ability for office staff to answer questions and respond in a timely manner using EveryPig has been top notch.”
According to S&C Pork CEO, Chris, knowing that everyone is on the same page provides a great deal of peace of mind. It also prevents him from having to check in with people throughout each day to get information on what is going on with the pigs. Instead, he can simply look at the application and see the information directly and monitor communications going on between, growers, field advisers, and veterinarians.
ADDITIONAL BENEFITS EVERYPIG HAS AFFORDED
The growers adapted quickly to the EveryPig application
As with all technologies, there was some hesitation to adopt EveryPig as well as a learning curve. However, the application is seamless enough that the growers rapidly learned to use it. Since then, they have relied on it for their day-to-day work and support its use in the company.
Everyone has access to more information
While not all the information on the EveryPig application is relevant to everyone who can access it at all times, situations arise that make it highly convenient for people to be able to look up information. Knowing the information is at their fingertips makes troubleshooting a new situation at S&C Pork easy, as it prevents a lot of back and forth that would otherwise occur. At the same time, multiple sets of eyes monitoring the information makes it easier to catch an inconsistency or inaccuracy when one occurs.
CONCLUSION
EveryPig has helped S&C Pork directly address some of the challenges it wanted to overcome in its operations and has also provided additional unforeseen benefits. While it has helped with several aspects of the day-to day work at S&C Pork, the overall positive impact is the enhanced efficiency it provides, which ultimately leads to cost savings.
