Released on: October 29, 2008, 12:20 pm

Press Release Author: Thomas R. Cutler

Industry: Software

Press Release Summary: Labor Benefits Achieved Through Traceability Profiled in
Automation.com

Press Release Body: The labor benefits from traceability are significant according
to manufacturing journalist Thomas R. Cutler in the current issue of Automation.com.
Many food companies use piece rate systems to pay employees. Most of the systems
are manual - both for collecting information and calculating the payroll. Often
these manual systems require that the employees self-report the number of cartons
packed via a form they provide to a supervisor. The supervisor visually reviews the
form and then files it with the payroll department, which has a clerk enter the data
into a computer system.
The key disadvantage of this type of system the self-reported production is often
more than the enterprise's total production, meaning that some employees are being
overpaid for their true production and there is no precise way to know who is not
telling the truth. This inefficient process also requires the employee to take time
keeping track of his or her production, for the supervisor to review the reported
piece rate, and for the payroll clerk to key-in the report. Transcription data-entry
errors are common.
Traceability provides production and plant managers a new toolset for realizing
value and boosting profits as well as addressing labor issues - cost, productivity,
and labor-related quality. Nowhere is the impact of traceability more apparent than
in the food industry; hiring and keeping trained labor remains an ongoing management
challenge. According to William R. Pape, Founder and Executive Vice President of
SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) traceability technology TraceGains, "Managers want to
know how they can effectively reward the best employees, improve labor productivity,
and provide focused training for employees who need it. Well-designed traceability
systems can generate both the raw information and the visualized on-line reporting
tools that can help any management team get the most out of its labor pool."
An effective traceability system preserves identity across product transformations,
building the pedigree of a finished product shipped to the customer. By identifying
the employees who worked on each piece and part, we know who had some part in
producing a single item.

TraceGains, Inc. (www.TraceGains.com) was founded in 1998 with a 100% focus on
Positively Assured Traceability(tm). The company has a patented delivery system-14
patents granted and growing-and also is an authorized Issuer of United States
Department of Agriculture Process Verification Program (PVP) Label.
By providing real-time, bi-directional Positively Assured Traceability for food,
beverage, and CPG supply chains, TraceGains reduces risks to the corporation and its
executives, who may become personally liable in case of a recall, if unable to
comply with the FDA's 24-hour traceability requirement.
Positively Assured Traceability provides protection to subscribing companies by
delivering:
# Continuous attribute visibility for each incoming ingredient receipt.
# Identity preservation of each received material across commingling, batching,
blending, transformation, co-pack, and re-work.
# Creation of a secure Private TraceStream Data Repository which can be used for
continuous compliance monitoring, constantly comparing on-floor activities with
business rules and compliancy requirements.
TraceGains is not just about reducing risk; these unique technology solutions help
companies turn disparate data into actionable business and value chain intelligence;
it turns traceability from a cost center into a profit center. TraceGains customers
typically experience a better than 300% return on investment (ROI), and an average
profitability increase between 3-5%. Independent, peer-reviewed university studies
confirm these findings.
Only TraceGains provides bi-directional unit-level (item, carton, pallet) Positively
Assured Traceability to consolidate multiple legacy data sources and reduce
corporate recall risk, while simultaneously providing the tools to boost
profitability and cost-effectively improve operational excellence.

TraceGains Inc.
www.tracegains.com
Marc Simony, Director of Marketing
traceability@tracegains.com
(303)682-9898


Web Site: http://www.tracegains.com

Contact Details: TraceGains Inc.
1860 Lefthand Circle, Suite G
Longmont, CO 80501
(303)682-9898