Poka > Case Studies > How Riviera Ensures Food Quality and Safety Through Digital Work Instructions and Continuous Learning

How Riviera Ensures Food Quality and Safety Through Digital Work Instructions and Continuous Learning

Company Size

1,000+

Region

America

Country

Canada

Product

Poka’s worker performance support app

Tech Stack

Digital Work Instructions
Skills Management

Implementation Scale

Enterprise-wide Deployment

Impact Metrics

Customer Satisfaction
Productivity Improvements

Technology Category

Functional Applications - Enterprise Resource Planning Systems (ERP)

Applicable Industries

Food & Beverage

Applicable Functions

Quality Assurance

Services

Software Design & Engineering Services

About The Customer

Riviera is a trendsetter in the dairy industry in Quebec, Canada. Since its founding in 1920, the manufacturer has maintained a high attention to detail and connection to the land, and continuously modernized its facilities to stay one step ahead of market demand. This strategy has served Riviera well, earning the manufacturer 10 awards for product innovation and design in recent years. As Riviera continues to expand its collection of dairy products, including organic, vegan and other dairy alternatives, the need to adhere to food health and quality standards remain critically important. Riviera has built its food safety procedures based on the Safe Quality Food Institute’s standards. This not only helps the company to meet the discerning requirements of consumers but also is a commercial requirement for many of its supply chain partners and customers.

The Challenge

Riviera, a trendsetter in the dairy industry in Quebec, Canada, was facing challenges in maintaining high-quality standards as it expanded its collection of dairy products. The company lacked visibility into key areas of production that were impacting product quality. This included understanding why non-conformity issues remained unresolved weeks and even months after they had been reported. Riviera was relying on paper and word-of-mouth communications with its employees, which made it difficult to track how and when quality-related issues were being resolved. Another problem was the lack of visibility into workers’ skills and records of training events. Some workers who had been with the company for several years had no record of having completed their mandatory training. This was a concern as it was the company's responsibility to ensure that employees are properly trained and follow standard procedures, including promptly reporting, resolving and documenting all issues.

The Solution

Riviera implemented Poka’s worker performance support app in 2017. Each worker has access to a tablet and the Poka app, giving them instant access to all the content and people they need to do their jobs and keep production lines running, while capturing a digital record of what’s happening on the factory floor. The app made it easier for workers to access and follow proper procedures, leading to a 9% reduction in fruit waste on a yogurt production line. The app also served as a permanent record of all quality-related issues and can be easily searched for specific issues. This was especially helpful during Riviera’s yearly audits when they were asked to produce records of all equipment breakdowns and repairs that took place during the year. The app also enabled Riviera to track the training progress and qualifications of its entire workforce in real-time. A skills matrix provided a factory-wide view of what skills each worker has completed and who has endorsed them.

Operational Impact

Riviera’s workers regularly monitor the CCPs to ensure production is running within acceptable critical limits. When they come across a value that is out of range, they create a post in Poka’s factory feed and then complete a Non-Conformity Report (NCR).
Workers now access these important video work instructions, directly at their workstations as they are updated or whenever they need a refresher.
Workers use Poka to access their assigned training and track their personal skills development.
Management uses Poka to track the training progress and qualifications of its entire workforce in real-time.

Quantitative Benefit