National Livestock Identification System Alpaca and Llama ...

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NLIS ALPACA AND LLAMA DATABASE OPTIONS REVIEW • Recording replacement tags • Correcting errors • Downloading data from the database • Running reports • Reconciliation of property records with the database account • Defining user problems with new code releases • Recommending database enhancements While basic helpdesk operators can be trained within a few weeks, most operators will require many months to become fully proficient. While there are obvious advantages in having the helpdesk in close contact with the database development team, there is no reason why they have to be situated in the same physical location or even work for the same organization. One option to consider would be for the industry organizations to provide help desk services rather than relying on the database provider. The provision of detailed and well constructed user guides will reduce the dependence on the help desk. These guides should be sent to every new account holder when new accounts are opened. While these guides are relatively expensive to develop and print, they will be a more economical option than increased help desk staff. The NLIS database has a well established helpdesk of about 10 operators. These operators have developed considerable skills over the years and there are a number of specialist operators who deal with specific areas such as account creation, saleyards, abattoirs, tag manufacturers etc. The help desk offers a service from 7am to 6pm (AEST) weekdays. Emergency support is available after hours for larger operations such as abattoirs. There would be very little retraining of the current helpdesk required as the system would operate in almost exactly the same way for other species as it does for cattle. NLIS have developed very good user manuals and other user documentation. While this has been specific to the cattle industry, it will be relatively easy to modify this material for other species. At this stage, LTAT does not have a dedicated helpdesk with account creation and user queries being supported by the database development team. Any establishment of a dedicated helpdesk will depend on decisions regarding the long term future of the system. Any marked increase in usage would result in the need to employ specialist help desk staff. LTAT also does not have any user documentation developed. Any user manuals would have to be developed from scratch and this would take considerable time and resources. Page 28
NLIS ALPACA AND LLAMA DATABASE OPTIONS REVIEW It would be possible to separate the development of user manuals and the helpdesk from the database. While this is not the preferred option, it may be worth exploring in some circumstances. DATABASE IMPLEMENTATION COSTS A major consideration will be the cost of implementing a regulatory database to satisfy the needs of the alpaca and llama industries. The costs should be looked at in three areas: 1. Upfront costs. These costs will include any “once only” costs associated with the development or modification of the system to accommodate the requirements of the new industry participants 2. Hosting costs. This will include the ongoing costs to store the data and provide the ongoing system requirements 3. Help desk and user documentation. The costs of providing user support both in user documentation and support helpdesk for phone and email support An estimation of costs was provided by the two database service providers based on the following base assumptions: • There will be no need to add any additional functionality to the system to accommodate the alpaca and llama industries. There may be changes needed to add another species but the functionality required will be the basic requirements of device issue, transfer, statuses and death (and ultimately slaughter) • Statuses will be different to those applied to cattle but will use the same functionality as is currently available (device based and PIC based) • While actual numbers are difficult to predict, the best estimate is: o Alpacas 100,000 head on just over 6,000 PIC’s o Llamas 10,000 head on around 1,000 PIC’s • It is estimated that 70% of PIC’s will also run cattle or sheep • At this stage there is no official slaughter at abattoirs but this may develop over the next few years • There are not a lot of movements between PIC’s in terms of total numbers but the average transfer number will be very small. • Helpdesk will require proportionally less callers than cattle if user documentation is well prepared and easy to follow, and computer literacy is higher. Some or all of these assumptions may be shown to be wrong as the system develops but they will allow a basis for comparison between the two systems. Page 29
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