CAAIN
CAAIN
Cameron Bergen, the CEO and co-founder of Steinbach, Manitoba’s mode40, and project lead of the CAAIN-funded Commercialization of IoT and AI for Carcass Cooling to Improve Meat Profitability, Quality and Food Safety, is a born-and-bred Manitoban who learned everything he applies to his company and work in his home province. He has spent his entire life in the agri-food sector, going all the way back to high school, where he worked first on a dairy farm and then chasing chickens. Upon graduation, he took a frontline job in a pork operation. His first day on the job, he was handed a shovel and told to go muck the barns. Three months later he applied to, and was hired by, a feed mill. First day on the job? He was handed a broom and told to sweep. He never complained, and ended up working there for 17 years, rising to senior management status at what became one of Canada’s largest food companies. The business expanded quickly, and his skills grew with it, including competence in Lean Manufacturing. Despite his lack of formal training, he became the guy they sent in to make things work better, specialising in system design and improvement, and the improvements he implemented were used for decades. He has that mix so common among Canadian farmers: a love of learning coupled with a desire to tinker and make things work. “I know many farmers who can engineer on the fly with the best of them,” he notes with a smile. “I learn by doing. Any project I’ve ever worked on, I identified subject matter experts and made it a point to absorb their knowledge.”
Cameron’s extensive experience and deep involvement in systems design have instilled in him a fundamental belief: process improvement is all about extracting incremental profit or value from every stage of operations. He’s learned through hands-on experience that perfect systems are an illusion; every improvement carries the risk of unintended consequences, akin to the “butterfly effect” where a small tweak can cause significant downstream effects. In navigating this reality, Cameron recognizes two prevalent approaches to process design. The first involves diving into necessary changes in specific areas and dealing with any resulting issues later—an approach that prioritizes immediate action but can lead to long-term challenges. On the other hand, there’s the comprehensive planning method, where careful consideration is given to potential outcomes from the outset to mitigate negative impacts. While this approach ensures a thorough understanding of the system and its potential ramifications, it often comes with the downside of time-consuming planning and potential delays in implementation. Cameron, however, advocates for a hybrid approach that combines the best of both worlds. He seeks to strike a balance between swift action and careful planning, aiming to create practical solutions that enhance efficiency without sacrificing quality. It’s a philosophy he summarises as “good-plan-today vs. perfect-plan-tomorrow,” emphasising the importance of pragmatism and adaptability in the face of complex systems. In his view, the key to effective decision-making lies in assessing the trade-offs between immediate gains and long-term benefits. “If a system’s productivity is currently at a modest level of 4 out of 10,” he explains. “I would advise the client to opt for a six-month solution that can elevate it to an 8 rather than waiting for a two-year process to achieve a slightly higher score of 9.” The strategy is grounded in practicality and a keen understanding of the dynamics of process improvement—a testament to his years of experience and commitment to delivering tangible results in the agri-food sector.
This way of thinking allowed Cameron to lead the development of one of the most technologically advanced food processing plants in Canada, a $150 million project that boasted the lowest cost per pound in the industry. That project proved to Cameron that the right application of technology can yield improvements in a variety of areas. The company in question was sold, and Cameron looked for an opportunity that allowed him to stay with a project from initial data creation all the way through to value generation. Finding nothing, he struck out on his own, co-founding mode40 from his basement in 2020, a gamble that is paying dividends. He and his partner now run a thriving firm with a 40-person cross-functional engineering team that is anticipated to add 20 hires over the next few months. They have two business units, both of which focus on projects with high potential ROI: the products division is where mode40 creates and deploys technology, such as the $1.4M project CAAIN is funding. The service team supports clients by designing a digital transformation journey and staying with it from start to finish, embedding mode40 professionals, thereby allowing them to work directly with the client’s workforce.
The CAAIN-supported mode40 product team’s Meat Quality Management (MQM) system is a global first. Leveraging AI, mobile technology, and smart sensors for real-time adjustment of the carcass-cooling process, it provides primary processors access to data that enables rapid decision-making on individual carcasses, improving meat quality and food safety, and lowering costs. The MQM will optimise the conditioning (temperature) of animal carcasses in meat production to prevent non-optimal outcomes. mode40 developed the prototype in response to an Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada Innovative Solutions Canada Challenge, and will use CAAIN funding to take the concept from a inhouse lab development to pre-commercialisation. Once mode40 has a minimal viable product (MVP), the team will move the MVP from their own small lab to Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s much larger Lacombe Research and Development Centre. Then they will spend a year validating the technology in 10 commercial meat processing plants, establishing just how much the technology impacts the bottom line. Cameron expects that following the real-world evaluation, the team will need three months to fine tune the MQM, after which they will go to market.
This is about far more than creating cool technology–though it certainly is doing that. mode40 is showcasing how modern process improvements and application of the right technology can usher in new opportunities in the agri-food space, enabling improved competitiveness, better products, and, ultimately, enhanced sustainability by improving management of finite resources into the final product. It is through funding that CAAIN provides that this type of showcase is possible, highlighting how well organized 3P development can position Canadian agriculture for long-term success.
CAAIN Contribution
$465,311
Total Project Value
$1,376,750
Project Contact
Cameron Bergen
Co-Founder and CEO
mode40
cameron@mode40.com