After fielding numerous complaints from the fieldman about the state of the milk house temperature wheel charts, Marge Pavlat from Casco, Wisconsin, decided it was time to find a solution.
“The fieldman was always complaining that the wheel is wet, it’s not where it should be, or that all six months were not kept together,” Pavlat says.
So she headed to the milk house with a tape measure in hand to find the diameter of the wheel. At Walmart, she found a cupcake carrier (also referred to as an egg carrier) that was round in shape and was wide enough to fit the charts. Plus, it was only $5.76.
“It was way too cheap of a solution not to do,” she says.
Before, the paper charts would be put in a drawer or sometimes left out in the open. They were susceptible to water damage, sitting in an environment where someone is always spraying or switching piping.
This container can now be kept anywhere, on a flat surface or on a cabinet. “The higher the better,” she says.
It does have a lid that snaps on to help keep the moisture out, but it probably shouldn’t be placed in a direct line of spraying water.
In January, Pavlat accepted a position of office manager at another dairy – and found they had the same problem. She purchased three of these containers: one for new unused wheel charts, one for 24-hour charts and one for 48-hour charts.
She says the containers easily hold a full six-month supply, as the sheets are very thin. Plus, the fieldman can easily find it. He discards the outdated sheets upon review, which helps prevent additional inventory from building up.
It seems to be just the right, inexpensive solution to clear up the wheel chart complaints. 
PHOTO: These plastic cupcake or egg carriers have a lid that keeps moisture from ruining temperature wheel charts in the wet milk house environment. Photo provided by Marge Pavlat.
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Karen Lee
- Editor
- Progressive Dairyman
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