New UHT plant construction starts
Construction is underway at Fonterra’s new UHT cream plant at Edendale, Southland following a groundbreaking ceremony recently.
Fonterra and Beca have partnered to develop virtual reality health and safety training technology.
The technology lets employees navigate the co-op’s manufacturing and distribution sites without setting foot on site. Fonterra says this will help substantially reduce onboarding times.
Following a successful pilot, the new VR technology will replace a significant portion of the hands-on health and safety training at Fonterra that is often costlier and less effective. Training can be tailored to each of Fonterra’s sites and tested through the completion of modules.
Fonterra says the project is part of a business wide commitment to become a world leader in risk mitigation.
Fonterra director of health and safety, resilience and risk Greg Lazzaro says VR has the potential to be a game changer at the co-op.
“The opportunities for VR are significant. With this solution, we can replicate the physical environment of our sites, so staff can undertake virtual health and safety training in an extremely immersive and realistic way. That means our people can learn about and identify potential hazards more quickly than ever, encouraging more engaged employees and better workplace safety.”
Andrew Cowie, Project Manager for Beca, says the technology is the future of health and safety training and can be easily replicated in other workplaces and training areas.
“Walmart now trains using VR, American footballers are using it and so is the military. Our clients are increasingly interested in the application of VR technologies and the value it can add to their businesses.
“In this case, using VR for training is ideal as it is effective whilst being both cost and time efficient. The reality capture for these training tours is done easily with a handheld camera and the VR simulation works via a smart phone using a simple cardboard headset,” says Cowie.
Later this month, Ardgour Valley Orchards apricots will burst onto the world stage and domestic supermarket shelves under the Temptation Valley brand.
Animal rights protest group PETA is calling for Agriculture Minister Todd McClay to introduce legislation which would make it mandatory to have live-streaming web cameras in all New Zealand shearing shed.
ACT MP and farmer Mark Cameron is calling on Parliament to thank farmers by reinstating provisions within the Resource Management Act that prevent regional councils from factoring climate change into their planning.
Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ) has declared restricted fire seasons for the Waikato, Northland and Canterbury.
The first Global Dairy Trade (GDT) auction drew mixed results, with drop in powder prices and lift in butter and cheeses.
ACT Party conservation spokesperson Cameron Luxton is calling for legislation that would ensure hunters and fishers have representation on the Conservation Authority.
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