The power of digital systems during crisis
Digital systems will come into their own with COVID-19 restrictions, says James Watson of TracMap.
While traditional GPS guidance systems ensure machinery stays straight in the paddock, follow up after any job is completed leaves operators and their customers reliant on separate applications or systems to monitor the whole operation.
To bridge this gap, Tabula (formerly Trac- Map) has released its new agricultural contractor service offering designed to support endto- end operations.
The platform is focused on connecting field operations seamlessly to the back office, so moving beyond GPS guidance to integrate entire operations, from the office to the cab and the team on foot, into one unified system.
This single source of data is said to remove the friction of administrative double-handling and app-switching, giving contractors the operational clarity needed to drive efficiency, protect their teams, and secure their profitability.
Tabula’s latest release introduces new innovations that map directly to a contractor’s daily schedule, including an operational checklist for every job to ensure safety, risk assessment, and asset checks directly to the Field Support App, while capturing operator responses on the go.
Tabula Navigate, said to be an industry first, gets operators from job to job by providing routes including custom hazard data, automatically re-routing where necessary to keep teams moving. A new Field Support App extends the tools beyond the cab and allows workers on foot to keep in touch with job progress and the wider team, greatly increasing connectivity, while Task Management enables users to track tasks beyond the vehicle via Tabula Online or the Field Support App.
Other new features include Tabula Messaging that allows workers to communicate, share images and updates directly referencing the work, keeping teams aligned without switching apps.
Meanwhile, Timesheets connect fields to offices, with employees logging work hours and breaks in the Field Support App, allowing managers to review, approve and export for payroll. In addition, Field Data Capture keeps records up to date, creating data collection points for fuel tanks, materials and locations for live management of inventories without logbooks, in one place.
By capturing data endto- end as it happens in the field, the system is said to ensure reporting of accurate job and timesheet records to flow seamlessly into trusted partner ecosystems like Xero.
