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Errors are rampant. A research study of biosecurity errors made on entering and exiting poultry barns found that of 552 visits, 79% made mistakes related to handwashing alone. Via video surveillance, it was observed that people made an average of four biosecurity errors per farm visit. When people were observed over several visits, the average increased to six errors per visit.2
It’s no different for swine diseases. A study of Italy’s 2015 outbreak of porcine epidemic diarrhea found that vehicle cleaning and disinfecting procedures were effective in only 54% of trucks tested.3
So, what’s to be done? The solution, or at least part of it, is digitizing biosecurity so that farm owners/managers can see what’s really happening on their farm. A recent study revealed that digitizing biosecurity resulted in improved compliance by personnel.4
A company with 45 sites (farms, a slaughterhouse, a feed mill, and a truck wash) used an external biosecurity software system to digitally record people and vehicle visits. Visits were automatically recorded by a mobile app (people) or vehicle GPS. Each time a visit was recorded, the system determined whether it complied with company's biosecurity protocols. A notification of the visit was sent to the farmer or farm manager.
Visits or movements were classified into 3 categories depending on whether they followed the company's biosecurity protocols:
- Authorized visits - biosecurity protocols were met and visit was allowed
- Denied visits - protocols were not followed and farm entry was denied
- At-risk visits - protocols were not followed but entry to the farm was allowed
During the first 49 days of implementation, there were a high number of visits to farms that did not follow the rules. After 49 days, the number of unauthorized visits noticeably decreased and then stabilized. The authors attribute the drastic decrease in authorized visits to the digitization of biosecurity.
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