• Entrepreneurs
• Business information
• Certification
• CAFIA laboratories
• CAFIA opinions
• More information
• Consumers
• How to know the food market
• Results of CAFIA inspections
• Consumer rights
• List of risky sites
• Hoaxes
• Other visitors
• Press Releases
• Internships at CAFIA
• Public contracts

6. INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS

The information system of the CAFIA includes several sub-systems (e.g. HR information system, economic information system, specialized information system for Inspections and Laboratory Activities, intranet, website, electronic attendance system etc.). These sub-systems represent an important source of information to support the management in their managerial, decision-making and planning processes and increase the flexibility of inspectors while working in the field. This, in its final consequence, makes the whole activity of the CAFIA in ensuring food safety more effective and helps increase consumer protection.

Year 2003 was a fundamental turning point for two of the basic subsystems of the CAFIA’s information system influencing the work of most of the staff. As of January 1, 2003, operation was launched of a specialised information system Inspections and Laboratory Activities (hereinafter referred to as the IS ILA) and of the Odysea 2001 HR information system, which was a very demanding process that required enormous effort of the users, information technology experts and management as well.

The IS ILA was developed and tested in 2002, certified by an authorised certification centre without reservation as regards its compliance with the Standard of Information Systems for Public Administration and the appropriateness of the information system lifecycle. The IS ILA is run as a central intranet application with data administration and an application at the central inspectorate, with access of the CAFIA users to the data and application server via web interface. The data is transferred by the GSM technology from the field (on-line) or from individual inspectorates within the CAFIA’s virtual private network. From the beginning of 2004, it will also be possible to enter data off-line on the spot at the place of inspection to a notebook to be additionally sent to the central server. In 2003, a number of related modifications to the IS ILA were implemented, leading to an improvement of its operation (operative increase of transfer line capacity, transferred file compression, revision of output reports, data separation for reports to a data server separate from the central data server etc.). In the course of the year, a series of training also took place for users and administrators, and based on the experience and comments of the users, the IS ILA user manuals were updated.

The Odysea 2001 human resources information system is a modern modular system, of which the following modules were implemented in 2003 at the central inspectorate of the CAFIA: Human Resources and Wages, Education, Travel Cost Reimbursement and Systemization. For 2004, this sub-system is planned to be extended for selected users at regional inspectorates and more modules will be implemented.

Investment continued also into the technical equipment of the CAFIA’s information system. Among other things, more notebooks for inspectors were purchased, PCs and LCD panels for staff at the inspectorates, a new data server with reports from IS ILA; and reconstruction of data and telecommunication cabling in a part of the CAFIA’s building in Brno, Běhounská Street, took place.

In 2003, big attention was paid to the security of the CAFIA’s information system. An internal regulation was drawn up, which stipulates the goals of the CAFIA’s IS security policy as well as the methods and principles of its realization.