Simulating value creation opportunities at inspection processes using digital twins

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The ante-mortem and post-mortem inspection protocols for quality and safety assurance of meat production in UK abattoirs is set out in the operational guidelines of the Food Standard Agency's (FSA) manual for official controls. These official guidelines outline the processes, resources, and reporting protocols used by Official Veterinarians (OVs) and Meat Health Inspectors (MHI) to carry out and file both Ante-Mortem (AM) and Post-Mortem (PM) inspection reports. However, it has emerged from the "Review of 21st Century Abattoirs" by a team of researchers that due to variations in production throughputs, species processed, and kill-speeds across abattoirs in the UK, it is somewhat challenging for the FSA and Food Business Organisations (FBOs) to empirically determine the key resource constraints and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) of efficient and effective AM and PM inspections routines. In order to enable inspectors from the FSA and FBOs to discharge their duties more efficiently and accurately, it is imperative to develop deeper insight into the process functionalities and relevant metrics that have direct implications for inspection efficiency, quality and safety scrutiny within abattoirs, which itself is another challenge. However, a thorough analysis is possible to obtain detailed process information through the following:(1) A detailed map of the process layout/configuration requirements of AM/PM critical control points.(2) A detailed map of the manpower requirements and standardised operating protocols for AM/PM inspections and reporting by OVs.(3) A detailed outline of in-process KPIs and constraints of AM/PM inspection processes and reporting (4) Relative and absolute benchmarking of available technology interventions that can be incorporated to improve the accuracy and efficiency of specific AM/PM inspections beyond what is obtainable from visual checks, palpations and offal incisions.(5) Evaluation of process capabilities to incorporate recommended technology interventions within a specific process.While there is scope to augment existing inspection processes, routines and data streams with technologies such as imaging technologies, line-mounted and hand-held sensor technologies, Artificial Intelligence-based fault detection and diagnostic technologies and track-and-trace applications, it is important to carry out a detailed map of the current or AS-IS operating inspection model along the four streams outlined above in order to:(a) standardise AM and PM inspections(b) match the right inspection process, resource and technology requirements to abattoirs by throughput, species and kill-speed, and(c) inform investment in the right layout, process or technology along with right combination of human and technology interventions to usher in an era of 21st century abattoir inspections by the FSA and FBOs.Practically, it is challenging to determine the effect of technology or process interventions on existing operations. Simulations have been used as a supporting digital technology to trial possible innovations in a risk-free virtual environment before introducing either a new technology or a process. Determination of the future-state requires the digital twin developed in this project to be validated and its viability to be determined. This will be achieved through a series of use-cases where the current state will be modelled and the future case simulated, providing an excellent starting point for the development of a digital twin.