Pilotchain on management tools
Based on Quality Management principles starts its activities
By Maren Bruns
One of the horizontal modules in QPorkChains (module A) aims at incorporating new knowledge from the research modules into pilot and demonstration chains. The pilot chains hence make the switch from research to business by testing and implementing innovative concepts from Q-PorkChains R&D activities in specific European pork chains or networks.
The team of the first pilot chain (out of nine) consists of the following partners:
Business Partners
Research Partner
Coordination:
- GIQS (Trans Border Integrated Quality Assurance; www.giqs.org)
The team members in the first pilot chain will address issues related to animal health on piglet production level. Salmonella and PRRS1 are in the first place the important parameters to focus on.
The main business partner EGO offers for the R&D activities a fully integrated regional production chain from piglet production over to slaughter facilities through to a meat processing unit.
The already existing combined animal health service system that provides preventive veterinary services should be improved fundamentally. This will be done by software based systems developed in close collaboration with two software providers and the University of Bonn. The scientific input on the part of University of Bonn is important related to the analysis of weak points in the existing animal health system and to the conceptual development of supportive software based management tools.
The partners of this pilot chain are now in the process of developing a detailed implementation plan for their activities in the next two years. This is the first task of each pilot chain.
Preparations for integrating additional companies into Q-PorkChains consortium start off
The thematically focus and partner structure of three more pilot chains is already defined:
- Pilot chain 2: Improvement of the exchange and use of quality relevant information in a pork production chain.
- Pilot chain 3: Use of rapid methods (e.g. dipstick test for positive Acute Phase proteins) for animal health, animal welfare and food safety.
- Pilot chain 4: Evaluation of newly developed logistic concepts for a match of production systems and market segments.
Additional pilot chains will be selected by a competitive call in the beginning of 2009. The project coordination committee will come to a decision on the R&D objective for additional pilot chains in the end of 2008. |
Signe Rosendal Rasmussen, - last update:5 July 2010