P.PSH.1611 - Enhance business process management solution to support objective measurement of quality, yield and animal health disease status

Summary

This project was undertaken to develop the Meat Logic Decision Support System and Carcass Optimisation platform, designed to enable red meat processors to better utilise production, yield, Objective Carcass Measurement (OCM), animal health and operational data - including carcass hook tracking, for improved business decision-making. The project further developed the outcomes of the Advanced Livestock Technologies Measurement project (ALMTech 1 & 2), namely the Lamb Value Calculator, Carcass Optimisation Tool, and a proof-of-concept version of Meat Logic, to integrate them into a single, commercially ready decision-making tool for the red meat processing sector.

The development of Meat Logic addressed a fundamental weakness in red meat processing, where the use of spreadsheets has limited the capacity of processors to make carcass selection, sortation and fabrication decisions that are informed by individual carcass attributes, such as weight, yield, eating quality, and carcass defects. An integrated digital decision-support tool, Meat Logic has developed the capability to improve production planning, profitability, traceability and operational efficiency within meat processing businesses.

The project results will be used to support commercial deployment of Meat Logic, improve processor decision-making, facilitate value-based marketing, enhance supply chain efficiency and provide a foundation for wider industry adoption.

Objectives

The project aimed to:

• Develop a scalable and supportable Meat Logic Decision Support System and Carcass Optimisation platform.
• Integrate processor information, OCM data, animal health and defect information into a unified decision-support environment.
• Demonstrate improvements in business decision-making, operational performance and management of key business drivers.
• Demonstrate how integrated information systems can improve supply chain efficiency and profitability.

Key findings

The project successfully delivered a fully operational Meat Logic platform capable of integrating production, labour, costing, yield, traceability and profitability data into a single business intelligence system. Implementation within the pilot processing plant reduced administrative effort associated with production planning, reporting and reconciliation by more than 90%, while improving reporting accuracy, operational transparency and commercial decision-making. The platform also established a robust foundation for future predictive analytics, machine learning and production optimisation applications.

Benefits to industry

The project demonstrated that integrated decision-support systems can significantly improve processor productivity, profitability and business resilience. Benefits include improved production planning, enhanced yield and margin visibility, more accurate labour and cost management, improved carcass traceability, stronger product assurance and better-informed commercial decisions. The platform also supports future value-based marketing systems and more efficient supply chain coordination.

MLA action

Communicate findings to broader industry to encourage further adoption of this system to create more value for supply chains.

Future research

Future development should focus on expanding predictive analytics, machine learning, production forecasting, yield forecasting and scenario modelling capabilities within Meat Logic. Additional work is recommended to further integrate OCM technologies, animal health information and livestock traceability systems across supply chains, enabling more advanced optimisation, value-based marketing and processor-producer feedback systems. Broader commercial deployment and evaluation across multiple processing businesses is also recommended to accelerate industry adoption and quantify industry-wide benefits.