Beef Processor Increases Spec Accuracy by 30%

The challenge

Backstraps measured by eye, overtrimmed by a dozen millimeters.

A leading beef plant processes 300 head per day against a range of customer specifications for every feature and cut. On their most profitable cut — striploin primals — the backstrap is a strip of gristle removed from the fat side for quality.

Backstrap removal was specced at 25mm for most customers, with one customer requiring just 10mm. Butchers measured by eye, and — under the perception that 10mm was too small next to the other specs — consistently trimmed more than necessary.

Supervisors rarely screened for accuracy, and deviations from the 10mm spec weren't immediately visible. The result: the 10mm spec was overtrimmed by 12mm on average, while the 25mm backstraps landed within 2mm of target.

The solution

Laser guides, feature measurement, and a manager dashboard.

The processor implemented the FloVision Pro: laser trimming guides for butchers, sensors that measure primal features, and a manager dashboard with data and trend analytics.

Butchers used the laser guides to measure and trim the backstrap spec accurately on every primal. Floor supervisors could confirm the guides were in use, eliminating the perceived need to overtrim. Management reviewed the data with a focus on trends in the 10mm backstraps — patterns that had gone unnoticed without systematic measurement.

The results

$0.91 per primal became $68,400 a year.

The FloVision Pro recovered significant yield and profit. Overtrimming past the 10mm customer spec cost $0.91 in yield per primal. At 300 primals per day processed to that spec, correcting the error recovered $273.60 per day — and $68,400 per year — for striploin backstraps on this one customer alone.