Real-time monitoring for pig production barn report
IT systems for pig production management from farmex – turning data into information into knowledge into profit!
Barn Report is a production site data capture, distribution, viewing and analysis tool for pig production professionals.
Production site networks of control and monitor or monitor-only devices are regularly checked using the cellular telephone network. The retrieved data is uploaded to a secure website which acts as a warehouse and distribution facility.
Authorised end users receive a copy of Barn Report PC software which has been configured for the production site(s) in question. Barn Report operates on Microsoft Windows platforms and uses the internet connection of the host PC to download data for all sites for which access is authorised. This means end users can keep in close contact with the production facility at all times regardless of location.
Barn Report typically collects temperature, feed flow, water flow, electricity use, ventilation system component status, light level, humidity and other related data. This is made available to view in chart format . The data can also be accessed directly and exported into other analysis tools such as spread sheets and databases.
A variety of views are available and a demonstration copy of Barn Report with data can be obtained from www.dicam.co.uk. Barn Report workshops are regularly run to help end users familiarise themselves with the use of the tool and to compare their own sites with others. There are currently over 500 sites on line with the earliest US production sites having been on line for over 15 years.
This means that Farmex has a huge database of commercial pig production data which has enabled them to build their knowledge base and gain a unique insight into commercial pig production around the world. Today, production sites are continuously feeding data into real time analysis tools using broadband internet access which will mean that end users will know exactly what is going on all the time and can be notified of anomalies immediately. Latest developments have moved Barn Report to an online tool along with BetterScore, SiteMap and automated notifications using voicemail, email or SMS.
BetterScore is a data analysis system which applies a set of rules to temperature, feed flow and water flow data captured in Barn Report and turns a week’s worth of data into a single figure score 0-100 for each measured parameter. This huge reduction in data means that operatives at the facility can see at a glance how well the three basic service systems of their production process are performing.
A 100% score does not represent perfection but indicates the monitored system is working as well as can be reasonably expected. BetterScore can therefore be used to help set not only system performance targets but also operative intervention and fault remedy targets.
Work in Scotland has demonstrated that improving BetterScore results on the production site is reflected in improved Health Scores at the abattoir. The use of production IT in this way is revolutionary and has the potential to radically improve the health and welfare of the housed pigs whilst increasing profits.
GuardianAction is the new overall real-time data capture and processing system from Farmex. View your production site in real time accessing it through a browser on your office PC, your laptop or your smart phone. Integrate other data from your production system e.g. wet feed information, herd records, marketing information, slaughterhouse data.
Comprehensive and flexible alarms are easily set up in GuardianAction allowing you to manage who gets what and when. Production notifications like a water leak or a health alert can be directed at individuals so action can be taken immediately.