increase font size
Nagle Contracting from Methven, Canterbury is among the contractors using the app.
According to numbers published by ACC, more than 60 farm-related injuries are reported every day, leaving much room for improvement.
With the Health and Safety Act placing the onus on employers, people in positions of power and employees to carry out rural operations safely, a routine safety check of machinery offers the benefits of keeping staff safe from hazards, while also offering the potential to extend the working life of plant.
Two years ago, Danish startup company FarmBackup Task introduced a job-tracking system to rural contractors in New Zealand. More recently, they have introduced a new feature to replace paper-based pre-start safety checks, with the aim to eliminate preventable accidents and breakdowns.
When introduced, Task offered a digital way to keep track of job sheets and ease accounting, with the app helping to digitise and optimise workflows for contractors. Feedback from users has highlighted potential in digitising the safety check sheets which many contractors rely on for their employees to go through prior to using a tractor or machine.
Co-founder Anders Knudsen says since launching FarmBackup Task a couple of years ago, New Zealand has become its home away from home.
“After Denmark, it is our biggest market, so we work closely with rural contractors to help them digitise their workflows, so the addition of safety check sheets made a great deal of sense.”
Contractors can customise the pre-startchecks to suit every machine, with the number of items needing to be checked down to the individual operator. Besides reducing injuries, the daily checks should also prove to be beneficial in the early identification of potential failures, with unplanned breakdowns always having the habit of occurring in the middle of a good harvesting day or just before the last paddock of baling needs to be finished before a storm arrives.
Nagle Contracting from Methven, Canterbury is among the contractors using Farm- Backup Task.
Catherine Leonard from Nagle contracting explains: “Incorporating the Safety Check into the existing app will enable us to identify possible hazards faster and ensure that procedures are followed to help our staff and our machinery run efficiently and safely, so we’re looking forward to implementing the new feature.”
Knudsen says, “when one in four injuries is caused by being stressed out, the checklist will be a friendly reminder to pay attention even when you are busy and on the run”.
While Nokia is more likely recognised for mobile devices, a major investment of €70m (NZ$126m) by global farm machinery brand AGCO at its facility in Linnavuori, in Nokia, will see the plant establish a new laboratory for testing combustion engines running on alternative fuels, alongside a range of electric solutions, including hybrids, fuel cells and high-voltage battery technology.
Evan Paxton and his family at Riverview Farms, Dargaville, are one of New Zealand’s leading suppliers of kumara.
There can't be many heavy metal fans who haven’t heard of Basildon, situated about 40km east of London and originally created in 1948 to deal with the population boom after the Second World War.
Think of a RAM 1500 or a Chevrolet Silverado and compare them to a Ranger or a Hilux: One is obviously a truck, and the other is a ute.
With effluent management never far from the thoughts of legislators and farmers becoming increasingly aware of the nutrient values of dairy effluent, innovate ideas for the convenient storage and subsequent discharge are always of interest.
The country’s 4200 commercial fruit and vegetable growers will vote from May 14 on a new HortNZ levy.
Meat processor Alliance Group is asking farmer shareholders to inject more capital in order to remain a 100% co-operative.
A vet is calling for all animals to be vaccinated against a new strain of leptospirosis (lepto) discovered on New Zealand dairy farms in recent years.
Dairy
Rural banker Rabobank is partnering with Food Rescue Kitchen on a new TV series which airs this weekend that aims to shine a light on the real and growing issues of food waste, food poverty and social isolation in New Zealand.
Telco infrastructure provider Chorus says that it believes all Kiwis – particularly those in the rural areas – need access to high-speed, reliable broadband.
OPINION: Talking about plant-based food: “Chicken-free chicken” start-up Sunfed has had its valuation slashed to zero by major investor Blackbird…
OPINION: Synlait's financial woes won’t be going away anytime soon.
