Tarras Cherry orchard and project manager Ross Kirk says the company is the first cherry development to implement radio-frequency identification technology developed by Auckland based software company Dataphyll.
"At a time when pickers are in short supply investing in smart technologies is a way to attract and retain talented workers," Kirk explains.
"The software ensures pickers are paid for the exact kilograms of cherries they harvest. It provides an absolute volumes of harvested fruit through scanning and weighing and links the volume to the picker."
Dataphyll chief executive officer Christoph Kistler says the technology has been developed to pay pickers for performance, not attendance.
"A smart picker can earn more - the more they pick the more they get paid," he explains.
"The software pinpoints top performers who pick above the minimum and may be eligible for bonuses. It tracks workers and buckets via ID tags which interface with mobile devices and weigh stations in the orchard."
A 'runner' collects picked buckets, which are placed on the weigh station. The weight is captured automatically via a unique identifier on the bucket. Orchardists can review performance and production in real-time, highlight best performing workers, row-level yields and understand reject rates. Pickers know in real time how much they have picked and how much they will earn," Kirk adds. "Traceability will be the immediate benefit this season and over time long term data collection will allow orchard mapping to determine harvested volumes and ease control of fruit flow to the packhouse.
The software has been integrated with Tarras Cherry Corp's existing orchard and people management solution internally known as Horthub.
Produced by Christchurch's Prolorus Solutions Horthub captures hours worked, combines the productivity data captured by Dataphyll and calculates transactions required for payroll.
"This includes ordinary hours, performance bonuses, along with any other deductions such as accommodation," Prolorus chief executive officer Simon Lind says.
"Our platform provides workflows for recruiting and onboardig employees, then manages wage calculations."
