An orchard management app that allows pickers to easily record their own progress and helps drivers find full bins via GPS technology is in the final stages of implementation at a Riverland citrus operation.

AgPick Technology’s AgPick Orchard app was inspired by a need from major producer and exporter, Ingy’s Citrus to empower pickers working with little or no supervision to report on their own progress and reduce admin workload, while uploading data to comply with piece-rate legislation.

AgPick chief executive officer Henrietta Child said the app’s two key functions simplified reporting for pickers and tractor drivers. It suited operations such as citrus, avocado and apple production where teams of pickers could be spread out over different blocks on different properties.

AgPick Orchard’s driver’s screen shows exactly where bins are located in the orchard. 

Pickers used their own (or farm-supplied) Android phones to record their start, finish and break times – data which was then used to calculate piece rates and uploaded directly to payroll for accurate payment, she said.

“The app works with any Android phone. It doesn’t rely on pickers having data contracts or sophisticated phones. It uses SMS technology. For a picker, it’s as simple as pressing ‘start’, ‘break’ or ‘finish’ to record their activity,” she said.

“It’s very clearly displayed in bright colours and lettering which is easy to understand by anyone. To prevent errors, the functionality is set so that data cannot be processed if the picker is not on the property.

It also records activity for full or partial bins, including the bin location.

“Our web portal’s editing function allows times to be booked, added or adjusted. All this information goes through to the piece-rate calculator where daily wages are calculated with top-ups, saved and uploaded to the payroll reports. Currently, AgPick Orchard uploads direct to Xero and we are progressing through a list of other payroll systems to configure it with.”

Ms Child said the second key function, prompted by Ingy’s need to save drivers time, allowed tractor drivers to pinpoint the exact location of bins ready for collection and remain seated while counting a bin.

“When a bin is ready for collection, pickers select that option on their phone’s screen. The information – the unique bin number and its location – then appears on the driver’s tablet screen via a bin list and map. This saves time and messaging between pickers and drivers and is clear, accurate information.

“Drivers can use the map and bin list to plan their route in the orchard to pick up bins. This saves driving around orchards looking for bins or misunderstanding messages about where they are.

“Drivers also don’t have to get in and out of the tractor to scan a bin – they click ‘collected’ on the bin’s number and that accounts for the bin. Until the bin is collected, it is marked as ‘unverified.’”

Ms Child said to set up the system to work seamlessly, AgPick loaded farm maps of blocks and allocated pre-set teams to blocks for pickers working in teams.

“Pickers work in jobs and locations they’ve been assigned to, and the farmer knows where people are at all times. This system works particularly well for operations that rely on seasonal workers and employees. However, if producers are using casual labour hire, the system can be set up for that too and supplier payments can be calculated.

“Likewise, if a grower wants to record work times only, we can turn the bin counting function off.” Ms Child said AgPick Orchard provided traceability information about who picked a bin and where they picked it.

“AgPick Orchard is highly flexible and customisable and suited to harvest environments where pickers have less supervision. It can also be implemented seamlessly as an additional function to our current AgPick Blue app, which provides a more managed function.”