Field report: Sierra Meats streamlines portion control

Field Report Sierra Meats Streamlines Portion Control Dean Matthews, a butcher for Sierra Meats, Reno, NV, uses an NCI Model 3250 Silverline over/under scale here for portion control of New York steaks. Sierra Meat Company, the largest and oldest meat processing business in Reno, NV, recently increased productivity in portion control operations with the pur¬ chase of two electronic scales. Sierra started business in 1944, the first meat company in the Reno area. During the last 36 years, while Reno boomed, Sierra’s growth has boomed along with it. But even though Sierra’s plant has expanded to 32,000 square feet, it’s still located at 1700 E. Second Street. Today, Sierra processes, packages and ships as much as 80,000 pounds of beef, veal, pork, poultry and lamb daily. The company has more than 572 different codes for its product line of meats. It services more than 1 ,500 customers with¬ in a 500-mile radius of the Reno area, in¬ cluding casinos, restaurant chains, ho¬ tels and supermarkets. At Sierra, portion control is one of the largest parts of the operation. The vari¬ ety of cuts of meat weighed on the new scales, both Model 3250 Silverlines from National Controls Inc., include New York, top sirloin, cube steaks and ribeye steaks, produced in a variety of different sizes for the various types of cuts. “Our clients all order different sizes of cuts,” reports Ed Perry, Sierra’s plant manager. “For example, some ho¬ tels and dinner houses order thicker cuts of New York steak than others, creating a need for flexibility in our portion con¬ trol department.” USDA permits a variable of only half an ounce on the specified size of steaks ordered and actual weight of the deliv¬ ered cut. “We needed scales that would not only be extremely accurate,” ex¬ plains Perry, “but one that would be fast. Some of our customers turn in some pretty big orders, such as the Pep- permill Restaurant, which has 11 units.” In the past, Sierra relied on mechani¬ cal balance scales to handle portion con¬ trol. “The balance scales simply became outdated for our operation,” states Per¬ ry. “They were slow to level off and their accuracy wasn’t always dependa¬ ble. We weren’t always sure if we were giving our customers too much or too little.” The Silverline Model 3250 gives Sierra 30 or more precise weighings of steaks per minute. If a steak’s weight is accep¬ table, a green panel indicator will illumi¬ nate; if weight is over or under, a plus or minus sign will light up and digital dis¬ play will indicate the amount. “We estimate that we’ve increased productivity in our portion control pro¬ cedures by as much as 15 Vo,” states Steve Rucker, Sierra’s general manager. The old balance scales required Sierra to utilize four men in the portion control area. With the new scales, only three men are needed. The 3250s meet USDA and UL ap¬ proval and are completely washdown- proof. Electronic components are com¬ pletely protected in both the scale base and column. “With the electronic scales,” explains Rucker, “we know that when one of our clients orders a hundred 12-ounce New York steaks, they get exactly a hundred 12-ounce New York steaks and they also get them on-the-double.” MEAT PROCESSING, June 1980