Who’s your best picker? Who’s thinned the most trees?

Who’s your worst picker? Who’s thinned the most trees?

Did you know you have visibility to your team’s productivity on the ABCgrower App? Always up-to-date, see the quantities being achieved and who your best and poorest performers are.  Use this information to make on-the-spot decisions.  

Available for any piece rate activity where Intra-Day times are collected – harvest, thinning, pruning and more!  

How to see Live Productivity on the ABCgrower App

  1. Tap Live Productivity on the main menu.
  2. Tap Activity Type and choose from the list. You will be able to select any piece rate activity for which records have been entered today.
  3. You can filter by Site and Block/Variety if you wish.
  4. Tap Search to view by Worker.  You will see the workers, their quantity and quantity per hour.
  5. Rotate into landscape mode to also see start time, last record time and total activity time.
  6. You can tap any column header to sort by that column. Tap again to reverse the sort order.
  7. You can also see the results by Work Crew. Turn on Show by Work Crew toggle before tapping Search.
  8. With the device in portrait mode the results show the work crew, number of workers, and quantity per hour.  Rotate into landscape mode to also see total activity time.
  • The results show the information recorded on your device. To see information from other devices as well, go to Live Productivity on ABCgrower Web.

Live Productivity on ABCgrower Web

You can also view Live Productivity on ABCgrower Web.  The search filters and reporting is the same as for ABCgrower App, however the results are a combination of information uploaded from all devices as well as information entered directly into ABCgrower Web.  Live Productivity is found under the Reports menu.

The existing Productivity report remains available.  Use this report to search a particular date range and for additional options.

Mistakes in Intra-Day Records?

Missing records?

I explained a while back about how information collected on the ABCgrower mobile App is passed through staging tables when it is uploaded to the website.  The records are checked for errors before they are passed to the relevant data tables.  If any records are in error the uploaded batch is held in the staging table.  Examples include double scanning of a unique bin number and scanning a worker who has been marked inactive. 

What’s new?


We’ve moved the staging tables out of the various menus into their own Mobile App menu.  The staging tables you can see depends on the modules your organisation uses and your user permissions.

The red notification icon shows when there are records being held in error, with the number on the notification telling you how many records there are.

What do I do with them?

Records are automatically processed every few minutes.  It’s possible for records to be in the staging tables but not in error if they’ve just been uploaded but not yet processed.  In this case you can click [Re-process] to push them through if you like.

If there are records in error there will be a message to tell you what’s wrong.  You can delete a record by clicking the adjacent rubbish bin icon.  Then you can click [Re-process] to push any remaining records through (or wait for them to auto-process).  Remember to re-enter the corrected record via the the appropriate page (e.g. Activity > Worker Activity) if necessary.

24-hour Time

3pm or 1500 hours?

You can now choose a 12-hour or 24-hour time format on the ABCgrower App.

App Setting

The 12-hour format is set by default.  Enable the 24-hour format in the App Settings – this is a one-off step.

Tap the cog icon on the right of the blue main Menu banner. 

Turn on the Enter 24 hour time toggle.

Entering worker time on an Android device

The 24-clock shows two dials for setting the hours.  Tap the desired time on the clock face, or drag the hand around the inner or outer dial to the desired time.  

Alternatively, tap the keyboard icon and enter a time using the keyboard.

The images show the 24-hour format with hours selection on the left and minutes selection on the right.

Entering worker time on an Apple device

Use the dial picker.  The 12-hour format has hours one  to 12 and an am and pm option, the 24-hour format has hours one to 24.

Intra-Day App Toggles

Do you record intra-day times? Do your piece workers move between blocks one by one, rather than as a crew?

Then this maybe a tool for you… Introducing the Finish Intra-Day and Start Intra-Day toggles.  Use these to auto-create intra-day times when entering a picking record on the ABCgrower App.

Start of Day

Record an Intra-Day Start Time for your worker’s first Activity for the day via Worker Time in the usual way.

Finish Intra-Day

When a worker has done their final pick in a block, enter this via Enter Pick Data in the usual way, and turn on the Finish Intra-Day toggle. This will use the timestamp of the picking record to set the end time for that worker.

The fine print:  The Activity Type and Block/Variety of the Picking record and original Intra-Day Start time must match, or the toggle will be disabled.

Next Block

The worker moves into the next block and starts picking.  When their first pick in entered via Enter Pick Data in the usual way, turn on the Start Intra-Day toggle.

This uses the end time of the previous block as the start time of the new block for that worker.

Tips

It is not essential the toggle is engaged on the first picking record of the new block as it will remain available for a subsequent picking record, and still record the correct time.  This is because it uses the end time of the previous intra-day record to set the new intra-day start time.

Once the toggle is engaged it will become unavailable while the worker remains in that block.  This is a handy check if you’re unsure whether you’ve engaged the toggle for a Worker already.

The image below shows the information entered in the example above when uploaded to ABCgrower Web.  This is a partial record for a day and the timesheet will auto-update as further records are uploaded.

App Settings

Enable this functionality in the App Settings – this is a one-off step.

Tap the cog icon on the right of the blue main Menu banner. 

Tap Picking Settings and turn on the Finish Work Time toggle and/or Start Work Time toggle.

Part Bins

Got part filled bins at the end of the day?

It is particularly important with the recent changes to the Australian Horticulture Award that quantities are accurately recorded and there maybe times where you need to record a partially filled container. This enables you to pay your piece workers accurately – for their sake, and yours.

For example, a worker has picked a quarter of a bin and it’s knock off time. The bin is left in the field and will be filled up tomorrow. If you don’t record this you risk an unnecessary minimum wage top up as the worker’s productivity is falsely lowered. And they need to be paid for the work done.

The problem is having to know tomorrow what was recorded today – was it a quarter, 0.2, a third? We have a solution….

App setting

Enable this functionality in the App Settings – this is a one-off step.

Tap the cog icon on the right of the blue main Menu banner.

Tap Picking Settings and turn on the

 toggle.

Today

Enter Pick Data and enter the Qty of the part filled container as a number between zero and one.

Upload Data as usual.

Tomorrow

Download Settings at the start of the day. This will load any part containers that were recorded up to three days ago on any device and have been previously uploaded to the website.

Scan the same container and the Qty will be auto-populated with the remaining amount. This way you do not need to know accurately what volume was recorded in the first instance. The worker(s) can be the same or different.

Huge growth for miniature apple producer Rockit Apples with help from ABCpacker

Rockit Apples

Rockit Global has enjoyed phenomenal growth over its nine years of operation, and ABC has played a significant role in helping achieve this.

Scott Griffin, Rockit Global’s General Manager of Operations, says the ABCpacker programme that records and reports on the traceability of apples from orchard to finished goods “has worked well for us. It’s played a big part in getting Rockit to the stage that it is.”

Picking Rockit apples

Rockit Global grows, packs and sells miniature apples packed in unique tubes.  Its apples are grown under license agreements in New Zealand, Australia, USA, UK, France, Italy, Germany, Spain and Belgium, and are now available year-round in more than 30 countries.  Turnover is up over 25 percent year on year.

Formed in 2012, ABC came on board in 2015 to help with packing inventory and traceability through its ABCpacker program.  Over the intervening years, the ABC team has worked closely with Rockit Global staff to tailor the software to match the growing business’ needs.

Meeting the regulatory requirements of market access to the ever-expanding number of export countries is “extremely important”, says Sarah Duncan, Quality & Compliance Manager.  

“Regulators have a lot of confidence in the system, which makes our lives easier – we know that all our systems are compliant because of the software.”

Kay Lorimer, Logistics Manager, agrees.  “Market access is the key for us. The software certainly manages the key requirements we have for market access, which is huge.”  She notes that the integration of ABC with NZ Apples and Pears means that shared information “closely flows through into our system”.  “Our phenomenal growth has meant our software has had to grow with us,” says Sarah.  “ABC is very supportive and proactive in developing the software to meet our needs as we grow.”

The ability to customise ABCpacker is fundamental to its success.

“Everything can be customised, it’s not something that’s a flat package where you can’t make any changes. We can dive in and make it exactly how we want it for all our users, which is a benefit of being able to work closely with them.” Supply Chain Manager, Dennis Paxie, agrees.  “The flexibility of the software and the support of the ABC team has made a big difference in helping us grow.  An off the shelf solution wouldn’t have enabled this due to the nuances that we need in our sort of operation.”

The “wealth of knowledge” ABC has of the horticulture industry is another plus for the company, Kay says.  “They’ve been doing this for a long time, and we are a relatively new company. We know what the problem is, and they know how to solve it. They’ve been there before, seen it before, and know what needs to be done. They offer solutions that we can customise to suit us.”  The responsiveness of the ABC team is seen as another strength.  “We just pick up the phone and they’re there. We get answers really quickly, and if they need to come back to us, we’re not left hanging for days on end,” says Kay.

Rockit Global’s off-season provides a short window for enhancements to be made to the software, and 2021 has been a big one ahead of its state-of-the-art packhouse, coolstore and office facility in Irongate, Hastings getting into full swing.  Having not managed its own fruit storage before meant pallet scanning and other systems needed to be trialled and tested to ensure everything is located where it should be. A full despatch module has integrated the sales and logistics teams to provide better visibility and allocation of fruit into specific markets. The tracking of all packaging elements for the vastly increased packhouse throughput has also been strengthened.

In a separate project, Production Manager, Michael Kelly worked with ABC Software to ensure the company could provide full traceability on fruit for the Japanese market.  As fumigation is required, a remote team under his supervision must unpack and then repack the fruit to meet that country’s regulations.  “It works exactly as I need it to, and frankly makes my job a lot easier.”  During the previous season, tracking had been done manually on spreadsheets, which Michael says, “was extremely difficult”.  “We contracted this need to ABC to automate and now it runs seamlessly.”

All agree that working with ABC Software is a pleasant experience, citing good clear communication, responsiveness, and the willingness to “nut things out together”.

"They deliver on what’s needed and are good people to work with”
Scott Griffin, General Manager Operations
Rockit Apple

Berry Farms NZ find going digital helps keep their finger on the pulse

Berry Farms
“Using ABCgrower for us has benefitted the business in the sense that we can see where our costs are.”
Johnny Milmine, General Manager
Berry Farms NZ

Thriving partnership helps Mr Apple grow great apples

Mr Apple

When this country’s largest apple grower, packer and exporter wanted to streamline its operations it approached ABC.

Today Mr Apple New Zealand Limited owns 14 orchards across Hawke’s Bay, totalling 900ha and producing more than two million cartons of apples each year.  The company also sources a further million cartons from more than 50 growers around Hawke’s Bay.

The apples are primarily destined for the export market.  However, five years ago it was struggling with inefficient pack house and logistics computer software that was ultimately constraining the company’s growth. Mr Apple CEO Andrew van Workum, says right from the start they could see the team at ABC was highly experienced, skilled business analysts and software developers.  Since then ABC has delivered systems to allow Mr Apple to effectively manage their fruit from the orchard to the pack houses and cool stores, onto the markets and through to customer invoicing and grower payments.

The systems were designed to ensure data was entered only once.  All parts of the system are fully integrated, giving Mr Apple a holistic and complete view of their business in real time.  The documents and reports published from the system are professional, timely and accurate and this is reflected in the very positive feedback from both growers and customers.

ABC Software continues to help Mr Apple improve productivity.  A recent cool store acquisition meant Mr Apple required a software solution specifically designed to manage the logistics of the cool store operation.

“This project started late in the year and put tremendous pressure on those involved, the implementation and operational results have exceeded expectations and budgeted throughput volumes” says Andrew.

The current season required a new system to help manage Mr Apple’s six hundred overseas returning seasonal workers (RSE).  This system manages the employee’s reimbursement of expenses to Mr Apple plus compliance reporting.  Again. ABC was able to successfully respond to Mr Apple’s needs in the ever-changing marketplace.  “They work with us to find a solution, rather than trying to tell us what we need.” says Andrew.

“The relationship Mr Apple has with ABC is the type of business relationship a company is always looking for"
Andrew van Workum, CEO
Mr Apple

Keeping tabs on production as simple as ABC for CAJ van der Voort

Apples

Central Otago packhouse, CAJ van der Voort reckons that using ABCpacker is pretty straightforward and having it tweaked to exactly what they need is even easier.

The top of line packhouse in Ettrick pushes through over 800,000 tray carton equivalents in a season and boasts some of the latest in New Zealand and Dutch pipfruit sorting and packing technology to achieve best efficiencies and productivity.

Two seasons ago, Jackie van der Voort, Packhouse Post-harvest Manager, called on ABC to provide an integration solution for its Dutch 14-lane Greefa Geosort system, which can produce about 2500 cartons an hour.

ABCpacker now captures all aspects of the packhouse operation and links into the same system at the T&G Ettrick coolstore.  Jackie says this unique integration works brilliantly.  “CAJ has integrated the ABC software with our packhouse and the T&G coolstore, which allows the operators a real time view of inventory at both sites.  This allows the packhouse to streamline its packing plan.  Having two businesses working together with one piece of software is efficient and creates real synergies,” says Jackie.

“We can choose how we pull the fruit from the coolstore. It is easy to identify the product and group by grower, by block and by harvest date.”

Rodger Brown, T&G Ettrick Site Manager – Pipfruit says it makes the whole process completely visible with clear traceability on dispatch.  The integration with his charging system is another bonus.  Rodger believes productivity is improved due to connectivity.  “It’s easy for the operators, they can do everything from their seat anywhere in the coolstore.  There’s no delays like in the past. We can locate what’s needed straight away. I’d say things have improved 10-fold.”

A third aspect of this connectivity is with the orchards sending into T&G. Remarkables Orchard is a case in point. Manager Mark Sim utilises ABCgrower, which integrates seamlessly into ABCpacker.  He uses the software on his 70ha mixed orchard to check on picker and thinner performance, identifying those that need training or supervision to lift their output. It also allows him to check daily reports to see the financial implications of each day’s activities and adjust as needed.

Produce leaving his property is scanned into the system and then scanned by T&G into the store.  All easily recorded and traceable.  All three parties are enthusiastic about the flexibility and willingness the team at ABC Software has to adapt, amend and enhance their software to meet specific individual needs.

Leandro Massariolo, Dispatch Coordinator at the CAJ packhouse is responsible for ensuring the software performs as required.  He says the system worked well in the first season, but ABC Software was keen to make it better. The second season was even more efficient, he says.

“They came here and listened and were pretty much onboard with anything we wanted to do, and they made it happen.”

Jackie van der Voort agrees.  “Whether it’s a tweak or a design enhancement, they’re ready and able to create something different.  If we want to look at something differently or report in a different format, those opportunities are there.  We’re not stuck with a product that’s come off the shelf that’s inflexible, it is absolutely fit for purpose.”  As an example, Jackie is very pleased with a new program that ABC worked with her team on for this past season.  Communicating with staff on the packing line had been run through Greefa but is now via ABC.  Packhouse managers can put up graphics and messages on screens showing what product is being packed, variety, fruit orientation, and other details.

It’s also used to communicate birthday messages, which is always well received, Jackie says.  “It’s a small thing but it’s really a big thing as far as operations in the packing shed goes, how we communicate.  I’m delighted at how smoothly it’s integrated with this pretty big beast we run.”

Coming up to speed with the ABC’s software was also not an issue.  Jackie says the training was thorough for all the personnel that needed it, with really good back up support, particularly through that first season as staff got used to the new system.

For Rodger, the simplicity of point and click made it easy for his team to learn “And the ABC support crew was always only a phone call away.”

"The sheer ease of the software is fantastic"
Rodger Brown, T&G Pipfruit Site Manager
CAJ van der Voort

Integrity of data and accurate information critical for Koala Cherries growth

Koala Cherries

Koala cherries, arguably Australia’s largest cherry operation, has grown “monumentally” in the past five years, doubling its crop size.

Chris Nealon, Chief Operations Officer, attributes the ability to have grown so successfully in no small part to the role ABC plays in the business.

Five seasons ago Koala Cherries introduced ABC Software’s packhouse data control system ABCpacker.  It has since added ABCgrower into its field operations and is about to start trialing the spray diary module.  Efficiencies through improved and integrated data control, data integrity and data flow, have hugely helped the business grow, Chris says.

“ABC’s software gives us good database architecture with the ability to easily manipulate and use information right from tree to customer.”

Koala Cherries has 220ha of fruit across its various farms in Victoria, with two more substantial farms under development.  This year, 3000 tonnes of cherries were processed through its Yarck packhouse, with 100 tonne each day.  Chris says that ABCpacker “happily ticks along” dealing with the myriad of packhouse data elements – handling units including packaging, pallets, cartons, stock control – plus admin and sales all happening at the same time.

“It doesn’t ever struggle to keep up. We can be confident that ABC will keep powering along in the background.”

It’s this confidence in data integrity that Koala gains huge benefits from.  Using ABC as a primary, secure, central database across all facets of the business means Chris and his team can pull out information and use it however it’s needed.  Reporting is easy, integration to our payroll is straightforward, pickers and contractors have confidence they are paid accurately, stock is tracked efficiently, and the ability to effectively meet the differing requirements of customers including Australia’s four largest supermarkets and their respective ordering systems, is a given.

“To have accurate data flow crossing through all our platforms is critical, as is speed.  Time is very critical in a cherry harvest.  With the ABC integration we have data at our fingertips. Our marketing team, our production team, in fact everyone can all see the information they need quickly and easily. It’s made us hugely more efficient.”

Working with the ABC Software team in New Zealand has proved no barrier for Koala.  Chris says suggestions for improvements are met with an open mind and can-do attitude.  He appreciates that he can access any of the ABC team and is not limited to just one point of contact.  “The whole team steps up to do what’s needed.  They might have their own specialisation, but everyone has a broad understanding of the software and is there to help.”

“It certainly makes everyone’s day easier”
Chris Nealon
Koala Cherries