Compusense® five Case Study
Multinational Personal Care Products Manufacturer Streamlines Descriptive Sensory Program
Situation:
A large developer and manufacturer of personal care products engages Compusense to improve the efficiency of their panel training. Operating a sensory department, which runs between four and six panels each week, the client currently invests roughly 13 weeks of training time familiarizing a panel with a new product.
Recently, the client acquired some smaller regional manufacturers which increased pressure on the sensory department to generate additional samples and descriptive profiles. In addition, panel turnover has meant that panel leaders are putting in overtime to train new panelists. Plus, occasional network interruptions and brownouts have resulted in the loss of valuable data, necessitating further sensory testing backups.
Solution:
After reviewing their options, the client installs Compusense five in their lab. Not only does this solution allow the panel leaders to customize their questionnaires, but its training reports makes it easy to effectively monitor panel performance.
The client also implements the Compusense FCM® (Feedback Calibration Method). This invaluable tool provides immediate visual feedback to individual panelists as they score sensory attributes. Now, panelists can instantly assess if their score falls within the acceptable range for an attribute of a product. Plus, by generating FCM reports and graphs, panel leaders can easily evaluate panel proficiency.
Results:
After implementing Compusense five, the client’s new panel training times were cut in half; existing panel calibration times were reduced by 40% and the speed at which a new panelist could be integrated into an existing panel increased three-fold. Thanks to Compusense five’s data back-up, organizational network interruptions and brownouts no longer result in lost data. The client’s sensory department has streamlined their services, significantly increasing productivity and dramatically improving their ability to handle increased demand for their services.
