Production Excellence

Farmers and food processors can learn from other industries and use proven techniques that help to reduce cost and improve quality.  Many such approaches are available but our work has focussed on two – Masterclasses and PROBE.

Masterclasses were developed in the motor industry and are delivered by specialists working for the SMMT Industry Forum.  All Masterclasses involve ‘learning by doing’ and are conducted on the shop floor or in the field over a period of 3 months.  They aim to maximise the potential of available resources by reducing waste and through better organisation.

The Food Chain Centre is piloting Masterclasses in Fresh Produce.  See this section of our web-site for the results from our work.  Similar programmes are being run by the Cereals Industry Forum, Dairy UK and by the RMIF.
 
PROBE challenges a small team drawn from within a business to give a score for a series of questions about the business and the way it operates.  These scores are validated and moderated by a trained facilitator and then used to benchmark the business against its peers.  A report is then produced that shows the business'''' strengths and weaknesses.

The Food Chain Centre has applied PROBE to the Fresh Produce sector.  See this section of our web-site for the results from our work.  PROBE is also being applied by the Cereals Industry Forum and by Dairy UK.

Results from our research into two other techniques, Statistical Process Control and Six Sigma, are available below.

information & case studies

Case Studies

.: Technical report on the application of Statistical Process Control and Six Sigma to agriculture

These Techniques are explained with information on how they can be applied within farming.

Business areas:	Production Excellence	Sector:	Fresh Produce Dairy	Region:	n/a