TWO organisations based at York Science Park have collaborated to develop a ground-breaking software tool for the UK's food and drink manufacturers.

The National Skills Academy for Food & Drink and Merisis Technology Ltd are set to help the sector improve staff performance.

Called ‘Blueprint for Excellence’, the new software is currently being piloted by the Academy with five manufacturers across the UK, in preparation for a full roll out and launch later in the summer.

The software has been developed with co-investment from the UK Commission for Employment and Skills, through the Employer Investment Fund.

The Academy team began work on the project in 2012, when it worked with an industry steering group to examine what ‘excellent staff performance’ looked like across a range of 30 job roles, from manual operatives to operations directors.

The group identified what made staff ‘competent’ and ‘excellent’, and what could be done to improve performance levels. It decided to develop a software programme for companies to use as a management tool, a brief was created and put out to competitive tender and, after a rigorous selection process, the software development project was awarded to science park neighbours Merisis.

Justine Fosh, of the academy, said that as well as submitting a very competitive tender, Merisis had been able to demonstrate a solid track record of developing successful software tools for clients across a range of sectors.

"They have been fantastic to work with, have shown a very thorough understanding of our needs and have made it very easy for us to communicate our requirements to them. They have delivered the ‘Blueprint for Excellence’ software on time and on budget, and being based close to us on York Science Park has been an added bonus. We will certainly work with them again and have already asked them to look at another project for us.”

Darren Magson, of Merisis, said it had been a great experience to work with the academy, and feedback so far from the pilots had been very positive.

He also thanked the business development team at the science park, who initially informed Merisis of the tender opportunity.

Science park managing director Tracey Smith said the collaboration highlighted the wide range of opportunities residents had for working together to combine their individual skills and expertise.