IGPC Ethanol Inc. contributes significantly to the Renewable Fuels Industry and Ontario's agricultural sector. By producing 380 million litres of denatured fuel grade ethanol and 340,000 tonnes of distillers' grains, IGPC Ethanol Inc., has become a leader in Southwestern Ontario's business community by creating environmentally sustainable economic growth. IGPC Ethanol Inc. is a division of Integrated Grain Processors Co-operative Inc., established in 2002 by a group of agribusiness individuals. IGPC is a full service provider to local farmers offering a distribution solution for their corn crops while producing high protein feed supplement for their livestock.

IGPC's systems required a large amount of numeric data to be collected and tracked periodically to maintain standards and regulations. A web based application was designed improve workflow and make data collection and tracking easier.

The following factors were prioritized:

A series of several interviews and written communication revealed existing practices and pain points. Care was given to avoid disruption of existing approach so that users would not require extensive training when switching to the digital platform.

It was critical to organize form structure to create a smooth work flow. All efforts were made to avoid cognitive overload to make sure users are not overwhelmed by the amount of data fields they are required to fill. Attention was paid to spacing content appropriately to separate un-related fields and group related ones. Screens were further compartmentalized to tabs were possible to further improve efficiency of screen space utilization.

When handling a lot on data, human error is common, especially when it comes to numbers. But in a scenario like this, small errors can have big consequences. Validating the inputs was an value addition that digitizing would bring to this process. After several hours of discussions and emails and several iterations a detailed list of validation criteria were made for all relevant fields. This has improved reduced errors up to 30%, but most importantly it has reduced verification efforts by adding an extra layer of automated verification step.