This month we talk with Amanda Carter.

What did you do before AMPC?
Once I completed university my first job was as a Quality Assurance officer for an export beef plant and from there my love of the industry saw my career path move into HR, safety and training.

Prior to joining AMPC my previous roles were as a HR advisor for a sheep processing plant. Throughout my career all my roles have been in the field of safety, training and HR for sheep or beef processing plants.

What do you love most about your role at AMPC?
I am blessed in that I have a dual role. I am both a program manager working on industry wide people and culture projects. I also work as a co-innovation manager partnering with specific processing plants in my region. This role helps me remain focused and in touch with industry relevant information and opportunities and in turn assist plants with their specific R&D needs.

I love having the ability to do deep, meaningful research in the people and culture space to continue to drive the industry forward.

Who is your favourite sports team?
Brumbies. I love rugby and play an active role in our local senior and junior rugby teams.

Tell us something about yourself we wouldn’t know?
So many people know so much about me, so I find this a difficult question.

I enjoy doing mass catering for events. I love the planning of the event and then seeing people sit down together for a meal. At our national bull sale, I cater breakfasts for more than 100 people over three days. I also cater for our junior heifer show which is a three-day event with up to 120 participants.

I also love having cooking competitions with my family – we enjoy using the smoker.

Where do you see red meat processing in 10 years?
I see meat processing advancing especially in the automation space. I see this working hand-in-hand with processing employees. I see automation taking away the safety risks for our people.

It’s an exciting space over the next 10 years and I truly believe we are at a turning point. Especially on the training front and how it is delivered and how people are onboarded.

With the help of automation, we may be able to have operators sitting outside of the processing plant performing tasks inside the plant. This opens up a whole new demographic for the workforce.

Pineapple on pizza?
Absolutely.

As the world attempts to decarbonise, the cost and reliability of fossil fuels will come under increasing pressure.

AMPC has created a suite of videos to help meat processing plants communicate to their employees. The videos cover key aspects of infectious diseases, COVID-19, how to stay safe at work, how to use face masks, and what to do if you’re not feeling well.

This is a new section where we will be introducing our program managers to you.

This month we talk with Stuart Shaw.

There are many reasons why on-site vets may not attend meat processing plants including sickness or carer responsibilities. This unplanned leave can cause significant problems. The availability of replacement vets in rural and regional areas can sometimes be difficult, often requiring many hours of travel which cases unnecessary delays.

Manual marking services for missing or ruined shipping marks in the USA will cease to be provided from 30 November 2021.

The 2020 Environmental Performance Review for red meat processing confirmed that natural gas, coal and LPG contribute to the single largest energy purpose, being process heat, at 51.4%. With the commitment of the red meat industry to achieving carbon neutrality by 2030 AMPC is assisting its members with how they may be even more efficient and productive. in areas that use on-site fossil fuels to generate thermal energy for process heat.
AMPC will engage 6 of its members to participate in a stage 1 pilot thermal balance mapping and pinch analysis study. These two methods work in combination. The thermal balance mapping identifies the thermal loads throughout a site, and any losses, and the pinch analysis will use that data to identify optimal design potential for thermal energy use by identifying heat recovery points, heat upgrade opportunities using heat pumps, and points where absorption chillers may be integrated.

To register your interest, please complete the EOI application form and email to eoi@ampc.com.au by COB Friday 9 July, 2021 or reach out to your regional AMPC co-innovation manager, who can assist you with the EOI process.

MINTRAC, at the request of AMIC and funded by AMPC, has developed a new course which explores the documentation chain that enables Australian exporters to send meat and meat products to China. The course is aimed at new starters in documentation and is also available for anyone that would like to refine their documentation knowledge.

This is a new section where we will be introducing our innovation managers to you.

This month we talk with Dave Dwyer.

Empowering red meat processors to be capable of dealing with significant events, such as an infectious disease outbreak, is essential for the long-term viability of the industry. Recent events in Australia have shown that sudden COVID-19 outbreaks across States have led to swift shutdowns and enforced isolations. Businesses need to act now to protect themselves.

The Australian Meat Industry Council has developed a free online course to assist domestic meat processors to better understand meat exports.

AMPC’s annual operating plan for the 2021/2022 period has been released.