Frequently Asked Questions
Milk Utilization Verification (MUV) - Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
This section features a list of some of
the most frequently asked questions about the MUV system.
For processors or general information, we hope this
makes it easy to find the answers you need. To help us with suggestions
for additions to this feature, please contact the MUV administrator at muvadmin@milkutil.org
General
- What is the purpose of this system?
- To allow the entry of declaration information into a web-based application that will:
- provide utilization data (by class) and invoice information (by agreement) to DFO for the purpose of creating the plant invoices
- retain the declaration data so that adjustments may be easily made by the processor or milk verifier
- How is the MUV system administered?
- Jointly owned by the Dairy Farmers of Ontario and the Ontario Dairy Council
- Overseen by the Plant Audit Committee with DFO and ODC staff representatives along with plant verifiers
- Funded equally between dairy farmers and dairy processors
- What are the expected benefits?
- Improve business relationships and collaboration between DFO, ODC, processing plants, P5 partners and milk “verifiers” in Ontario;
- Improve operational efficiencies in the milk utilization verification process and increase accuracy and timeliness of submission of utilization data by processors;
- Streamline milk utilization verification and plant billing procedures through electronic transfer of utilization declaration into the Dairy Board's billing system;
- Manage pricing agreements and promotions for new and niche markets as part of the invoicing process;
- Enable a risk-based verification approach that includes usage of analytical and statistical data;
- Protect the confidentiality of processor data that are managed by the application;
- Empower plant personnel to manage and control accurate and complete milk utilization data within the application and to submit the declaration summary to the DFO plant billing system;
- Provide standardized reporting of milk usage data by plants;
- Enable improved use of business intelligence or reports (such as shrinkage and yield reports);
- Provide a basis for a harmonized national model;
- Improved cost effeciencies of verification made possible by the complete and accurate capture of utilization data.
- What is the MUV declaration process?
- New web-based software is available to enable plants to enter their utilization data into the application in order to generate their monthly DFO utilization declaration
- Data must be entered accurately in order to obtain an accurate DFO invoice
- Data corrections can be made after the fact without waiting for a verifier to arrive
- IBM verifiers will review analytical reports for assigned plants to determine if further review/plant visit is required
- Verifiers MAY schedule visit to plant for the purpose of reviewing documentation supporting the utilization data as entered
- Verifiers prepare verification adjustments, review with plant management who then signs the adjustments for eventual processing by DFO; electronic signatures will be accepted
- Is there a cost for our use of this system?
- Processors, collectively, are responsible for 50% of the costs of the Plant Audit Program, including the MUV project and it is expected that the system of financing the program will be the same as is currently the case
- As is currently the situation, each plant/company will be responsible for 50% of the actual costs of conducting the verifications at their plant/company (charged on the monthly milk invoice from DFO)
- All plants are presently accessed a fee based on volume to cover additional costs such as travel (charged on the monthly milk invoice)
- Is my data confidential?
- Yes, considerable time and effort has gone into the design and operating controls for the system to maintain processor confidentiality. This is accomplished as follows:
- Restricted and secure access to the application
- Defined users and specific system roles are assigned that determine which plant you can access and at what level of information (screens)
- The solution is hosted and maintained by an outside Tier 1 service provider
Service Levels
- Who Supports this System?
- The Council and DFO use an independent IT consultant, HamerData to develop and manage the MUV application. HamerData will also be providing the MUV support.
- What hours is the application available?
- In general, the application is planned to be available 24 hours per day 7 days per week
- Are there any times when the application is not available?
- Yes there will be periodic maintenance windows outside of regular business hours, these will be communicated to the users in advance to allow proper planning.
- What are the hours someone is available to help me?
- Regular business hours Monday — Friday, 9am — 5pm not including statutory holidays
- Extended hours, 8am — 6pm, 3 days per month (approximately the 6th — 9th depending upon month-end billing close)
- Response time is within two hours of a request by Client
- What is the process to get support?
- Contact MUV Support by Phone #: (647) 524–3298 or Email: muvadmin@milkutil.org
- Follow-up will then be conducted by email or phone
- The website will have an option for 24 hour critical support. This should be used in the event that the MUV server is not responsive and it requires a reboot outside of business hours.
- Contact by email is preferred to voice as it leaves a paper trail
- Is there specific information I need to provide when contacting the support centre?
- Yes, you must provide the following information:
- Name, position, and company
- Phone and email address
- Detailed description of the issue or concern
- What type of support is available?
- New/change to User Login Account
- Forget/Reset Password
- Web Site not accessible or not responding
- Application not performing or providing results as expected
- What if I forget my password?
Application
- Who do I call if I have a question about a specific function?
- Your regular plant verifier will be the first point of contact
- What is the process to request changes or enhancements to the application?
- From time-to-time the User may wish to suggest an application improvement or new feature.
Please contact the Ontario Dairy Council,
who will bring the request to the attention of the Plant Audit Committee
- What do I do if I want a different report than what is provided?
- The system will have a number of reports for your use (with the appropriate security).
In the event that there is something else you would like to see contact the Ontario Dairy Council
who will bring the request to the attention of the Plant Audit Committee.
- Why does my session timeout and what I should do to prevent lost work?
- After 15 minutes of inactivity the system will drop your session. This is a standard
security measure and it releases system resources used by your session to make them available to other users.
You stay active in the session by clicking on the menu items or buttons. Please note that merely entering data into a web page
is not seen as activity by the system. After making changes to the data on a web page you must save the data.
Clicking the Save or Save & Return button or pressing Enter will cause the application to save your changes.
This will prevent those changes from being lost should a period of inactivity follow.
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