Does a resilient business have a greater chance of delivering positive and consistent food safety outcomes? Dairysafe is exploring the link with a new business tool for dairy processors.
Dairysafe has created a Business Continuity Model (BCM) to evaluate and reduce a dairy business’ exposure to business continuity breakdown, as a result of a South Australian Government funded project.
The BCM is a self-assessment tool to assist a business to identify opportunities that will enhance resilience. Based on responses to a set of 13 questions, the BCM results in a matrix that is split into nine sectors that cover:
- Inherent product risk, assessed as low, medium or high; and
- Business maturity, assessed as opportunistic, managed or optimised.
After completing the self-assessment, the business is positioned on the matrix and a list of opportunities for improvement is provided.
The information generated by the BCM is presented in a professional report, which can be shared with owners and management, allowing the prioritising of resources to address actions that will reduce exposure to continuity breakdown.
Dairysafe is currently looking at an online web option for providing free access to the model for all South Australian dairy manufacturers.
“Business resilience planning can have a positive financial impact on a business, as it decreases the potential negative productivity and financial impact that a disruptive event can have,” said Dairysafe CEO Geoff Raven.
“The value proposition is that resilient businesses have a better chance of delivering positive food safety outcomes and managing crises. This in turn can lead to potential business growth and increased demand for production across the sector.”
“We think the BCM has broader application across food manufacture generally and we’re excited to see where industry can take it.”
The Model has been tested with a number of dairy manufacturers with positive results. The feedback included:
“Easy and quick to use and at the end we received some good recommendations that we can take on board to improve the business.”
“The real benefit of this Business Continuity Model is the ability to track performance and improvements over time.”
“If every manufacturer completed the model and implemented the feedback, it would substantially enhance the resilience of the South Australian dairy industry.”