EFC purchases Paragon routing software

Paragon Software Systems Inc announced that Egg Farmers of Canada (EFC) has purchased its routing and scheduling software. EFC will use the software to improve the efficiency of its team of home-based field inspectors who audit and deliver biosecurity and animal welfare programs for 1,100 Canadian egg farms.

By using Paragon to centralize weekly schedules and optimize routes, the organization is aiming to get a clear view of the calls its inspectors need to make each year, identify spare resource capacity, and reduce journey and travel time.

Michel Smith, field operations manager at EFC, reports that the software is a significant upgrade to scheduling inspectors’ calls manually.

“Previously, the inspectors would do their own planning,” he said. “With Paragon we are able to centralize this function giving a detailed view of the farms, the workload, and resource capacity. With our inspection team covering the whole of Canada, we need to optimize the resource, which is why we’ve opted for Paragon. I know that we are going to see savings from a journey perspective because the software will optimize the routes and it will also help us gain efficiencies. However, if I need to add more visits because of additional work it will allow me to see our existing capacity and resource availability for growing the business. Before we brought in Paragon, it would have been virtually impossible to do that.”

EFC inspectors can travel on average 600 kilometers (370 miles) a week, with some members of the team covering up to 75,000 km (46,600 miles) a year. Their home bases are classed as “depots” within the software, and en route hotels are also programmed to allow for overnight stops when necessary. The software will be used to produce weekly schedules with the routes planned from the depots. The weekly schedules are produced four weeks in advance, so inspectors are pre-advised of their workloads.

Inspectors report to EFC each week, and schedules are reoptimized to cover any open jobs so calls can be rescheduled. Because biosecurity is essential for preventing cross-contamination and ensuring disease control, the system manages the order of visits. For example, younger flocks will be visited first, with follow-up calls planned for older flocks later in the day or week, whichever is most convenient and time-efficient.

For more information, visit www.paragonrouting.com/us.