Software provides means of tracking food safety procedures

Two companies have teamed up to develop software for tracking food safety procedures in plants, giving processors another option on the market.

Siemens and Entegreat says the software they developed under a joint agreement is designed to comply with the US food safety rules and Hazard Analysis and Critical Point (HACCP) procedures.

"By implementing this new electronic-based HACCP solution, companies will dramatically reduce compliance costs," said Maryanne Steidinger, Siemens US MES marketing manager. "Theywill also substantially increase reporting accuracy with the tool's electronic work instructions and automated compliance reporting."

The system is based on Siemens Simatic ITR Mes software platform. The new tool gives food, beverage, and consumer packaged goods manufacturers a fully integrated and complete commercialoff-the-shelf enterprise information technology for HACCP compliance, Siemens stated in a press release.

The standard software components include a means of keeping track of the work flow. Tasks are ordered according to priority, with escalation based on urgency and time frame priorities.

An enterprise module streamlines the managing of master data. Time, event and production flows are based on scheduling that provides flexibility while covering all conditions.

The software comes with a means of ensuring different levels of management get access to information pertinent to their secton. The software keeps the records necessary to support the HACCP programand can be expanded to meet new requirements or plant sizes.

It also has task-based work instructions for implementing detailed corrective action plans and monitoring status. Electronic signature support nsuring only authorized personnel are performingthe relevant tasks.

An automatic system of rule-based notifications allows the device to send out alerts when tasks have exceeded permissible time limits, or when other conditions have been met that should initiatethe escalation of safety procedures.

It can produce comprehensive compliance-driven reports demonstrating HACCP compliance for government regulators. A Web-based reporting system delivers cost advantages of thin-client deployment andmaintenance.

-Role based views allowing the system to fit the organization and adapt as roles and responsibilities change -Enterprise based views supporting corporate-wide deployment and visibility.