Meat + Poultry - January 2006 - 60

Don't be a dummy
Some companies might consider
using dummy cameras, also known
as placebo cameras, to trick would-be
bad guys into thinking they are
being monitored when actually a
camera-looking box is all that is used.
Bad idea, says Gary Venable, CEO of
All Systems Designed Solutions Inc.,
based in Kansas City, Kan. As a
matter of liability, his company won't
install a camera that is not hooked
to a system.
"If you mount a camera and it
turns out that there's no security
there and people have functioned
under the assumption that there
was," he says, "you've created implied liability," evidenced by scores of
lawsuits that have been won
by plaintiffs who courts say
were misled. "If you are not
going to follow through
with the security that's
implied with the camera,
then don't do it in the
first place," Venable says.

the food system, using a similar methodology. To prevent bioterrorism threats, RVA,
coupled with monitored Hot Zones, is integrated with a plant's employee background
checks to control access using biometric
readers and Web-based monitoring.
Plumrose is currently implementing
ADT's bioterrorism system in its operations.
"We created a food-safety initiative a year
ago as a way to help us become the safest
food company in the country," Rozzano
says. "We needed another way to add another layer of food safety to our program."
Adam Aronson, CEO of Arrowsight,
says the technology has gotten the attention of major players in the processing
industry. ADT is currently negotiating with
one of the world's largest poultry companies to use the Hot Zones system to monitor
its corporately owned poultry farms.
"The chicken house is a tremendously
dangerous place as it relates to biosecurity
protection," he says. By controlling access
to the chicken houses with doors linked to
biometric palm readers, management can
control who is allowed into areas where
thousands of birds are housed. Additionally,
systems can detect conditions inside the
housing facilities, including temperature,
lighting levels and air movement. The
company's on-farm systems apply to other
species and are based on similar approaches.
Dakota Turkey Growers' Rutledge says
conducting video-based audits is something
his firm plans to use as a workplace safety
tool and expects bottom-line benefits. "We
expect to see an improvement in yield,"
he says. "We will also see employees being
much more careful in terms of plant safety.
This will equate overall to a safer and more
efficient operation.
"The investment was justified by offering benefits on several levels," Rutledge
adds. "We will now have the opportunity
to visually scan and review activities in our
plant on a real-time basis and also have our
processes remotely audited. We believe
that others in the business will be looking
to do the same thing." ■

Multi-task
monitoring
When properly
managed,
meat-processing
operations can be
streamlined
throughout their
facilities, from busy
line areas to
lab environments.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF PLUMROSE USA

being followed. "The audit reports enable
us to make improvements to specific areas
in the processing chain. We are able to use
those reports to improve corporate morale," he says, while also using the data to
verify food-safety standards are being met
or exceeded.
By establishing triggers that initiate
notification if a process isn't followed, plant
operators are able to bypass hours of
footage that doesn't warrant attention.
"The tapes run for eight hours at a time,"
Rozzano says. "Unless an issue is brought to
our attention, it is hard to set aside eight
hours to view one tape."
This past year, ADT introduced a similar solution for farm-to-fork protection of
the food supply from bioterrorism. Critical
control points are first identified throughout the supply chain, which ADT calls "Hot
Zones." The system is applicable throughout

By Joel Crews
MEAT&POULTRY

JANUARY 2006 FOOD SYSTEMS ınsıder FSI

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Meat + Poultry - January 2006

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