Minutes of the

Field Service Advisory Committee Meeting

July 24, 2002

 

The fourth meeting of the Field Service Advisory Committee was held at the DoubleTree Hotel in Bloomington, MN.

 

Scott Taylor chaired the meeting and 51 persons registered as participants or observers.  An attendance list is included with these Minutes.

 

Michael Rector, QCS President, reviewed the purpose of the FSAC meeting and explained the current process for revising the CDCB manuals.

 

Paul Miller, National DHIA CEO, reviewed the latest revision to the National DHIA Code of Ethics and Uniform Data Collection Procedures documents.

 

Michael Rector reviewed the changes to the auditing manuals that were approved during the March meeting of the CDCB.

 

John Kennedy, Colorado DHIA General Manager, reviewed the challenges faced by the Electronic Meter Committee for establishing the test day procedures and data accuracy requirements for herds using electronic meters.

 

Scott Taylor and Michael Rector presented proposals for revisions to the field service and meter center manuals.  The Committee was given the opportunity to discuss each proposal and approved the following recommendations for revision:

 

1. CDCB Auditing Procedures for Field Services – To reword the Calibration Check Documentation section of the Auditing of Portable Meter Calibration Checks to require the data to be presented in an electronic format and to clarify the data required for the auditor.

 

2. CDCB Auditing Procedures for Field Services – To reword the Calibration Check Documentation section of the Auditing of Scale Calibration Checks to require the data to be presented in an electronic format and to clarify the data required for the auditor.

 

3. CDCB Auditing Procedures for Field Services – To delete the Auditing of Weigh Jar Usage from the CDCB requirements.

 

4. CDCB Auditing Procedures for Field Services – To reword the Documentation section of the Auditing of the Bulk Tank or Milk Sold Comparisons to require the program to be run at least quarterly.

 

5. CDCB General Auditing Guidelines – To delete the sections entitled Preliminary Audit Reports, Draft Audit Reports, and Final Audit Reports and replace them with sections entitled Audit Reports for Field Services, Audit Reports for Laboratories, Audit Reports for Meter Centers, Audit Reports for Meter Technicians, and Audit Reports for Processing Centers that better described the review and delivery of audit reports to the various service providers.

 

6. CDCB General Auditing Guidelines – To recommend a change in the Timetable for Handling Advisory Committee Recommendations section of the Advisory Committees to allow the Advisory Committee meetings to be held no later than July instead of restricted to July.

 

The Committee also discussed proposals submitted for revisions to the Auditing of Electronic Meter Calibration Checks, Auditing of Electronic Identification Compliance, and Description of the Statistical Test Method sections but deferred any decisions until the Electronic Meter Committee had the opportunity to submit their recommendations.

 

Michael Rector proposed that the auditor be able to pull data directly from processing centers for on-site field service audits.  The Committee voiced no objection to this procedure.

 

Scott Taylor presented an Audit Review Committee report regarding outlier data and proposed that data falling outside of five standard deviations for the cow situation be estimated unless substantiated by the following test.  The Committee agreed that outlier data was a concern but should not be included in the CDCB guidelines and endorsed a recommendation that National DHIA consider addressing this issue in the Uniform Data Collection Procedures by having these records flagged.

 

Jim Pharoah and Scott Taylor presented a manufacturer’s report from Waikato.  The report stated that Waikato had established specifications for the use of a calibration check procedure resembling the Fast-Flow Water Test Method and that a SpeedSampler had been developed for release later in the year.

 

Matt Crawford and Goeff Nathan presented a manufacturer’s report from Tru-Test, Inc.  The report consisted of a video demonstration showing the operation of the electronic meter.  It also stated that Tru-Test planned to submit the meter to ICAR for testing in August of this year.

 

Scott Taylor led a discussion regarding the flow rates for portable meters.  Matt Crawford confirmed that Tru-Test had approved a narrow range of specifications for the Fast-Flow Water Test Method and Jim Pharoh confirmed that Waikato had determined a set of similar ranges.

 

Michael Rector led a discussion regarding the annual on-site audit requirement and suggested that biannual on-site audits might be worth considering if provisions were made for more frequent audits of problematic field service providers.  The Committee agreed to have QCS consider the feasibility and financial implications of the change and report their findings at a later date.

 

Scott Taylor asked for nominations for FSAC chairman and Dan Webb was elected as the next Chairman.

 

 

                                                                                                Respectfully Submitted,

                                                                                                Michael Rector

                                                                                                QCS

 

 

 

AgriTech Analytics.......................... Kathy Hagin

 

AgSource Cooperative / CRI.......... Diana Wickham

 

California DHIA.............................. Gary Dias, Harry Thompson, Rick Bealer, Scott Taylor

 

Central Valley Dairy Lab................. Brian Smith

 

Colorado DHIA.............................. Greg Marrs, John Kennedy

 

Dairy Lab Services.......................... Dawn Funk, Jackie Nauman

 

Dairy One....................................... Jamie Zimmerman

 

DHI-Provo..................................... Cathy Dei, Ken Crandall

 

Great Lakes Dairy Records............. Sue Mikel

 

Heart of America DHIA.................. Dave Sukup

 

Holstein USA.................................. Dan Meihak

 

Indiana SDA................................... Bob Albrecht

 

Lancaster DHIA............................. Jere High

 

Mid-South Dairy Records............... Mark Witherspoon

 

Minnesota DHIA............................ Bruce Dokkebakken, Val Schumann

 

NorthStar Cooperative.................... Mark Adam

 

National DHIA............................... Diane Ross, Paul Miller

 

Quality Certification Services........... David Youngman, Michael Rector

 

Rocky Mountain DHIA................... Brent Clark, Dalice Nilson

 

Southeast DHIA............................. Dan Webb, Jeff Mitchell, Ron McCuddy

 

Tru-Test, Inc................................... Geoff Nathan, Matt Crawford

 

Tulare DHIA................................... Dave Brown, Skip Pringle, Tony Nunes

 

Washington DHIA.......................... Linda Marsh, Tim Thomas

 
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