Mechanize
October 10th, 2019
⏰1 minute read
⏰1 minute read
Mechanize
We got quite a lot of positive feedback from the last edition about one of our renewed focuses, quality oil & low FFA. We even ended up in an article which you can read here. Thanks for that. One question though is how do you achieve the kind of quality which customers want? The answer is speed. Get the oil to the customers as fast as possible. So how do you get speed? Mechanize.
Traditional
What is mechanization? It’s using machines to help the people move faster & increase their productivity. Like using a motorbike instead of a bicycle or before that walking. Traditional plantations are quite labor intensive & use simple equipment like a wheelbarrow to move the fruit & people to lift it.
Possible
So what is possible to mechanize in a palm oil plantation? Almost anything. We can mechanize weeding which is by micro sprayer instead of hand pump. Fertilizing by tractor instead of hand. Collecting by scissor lift trailer with grabber instead of tiny wheelbarrow & bin & pickup to move fruit to the mill faster instead of lifting by hand onto a truck. There’s plenty more too..
Benefits
What are the benefits? Less manual labor makes work easier which makes the work less tiring so it’s more productive & more can be achieved. Mechanization also reduces losses. Weeding spray use is less, fertilizer use is less & with easier work, more fruit is collected & not left behind. Above all, financially the higher productivity means less costs, while also allowing for far higher salaries, more sales & more profit.
Why?
We already have some mechanization but as a very young company it’s harder to grow the mechanization because it doesn’t work in young areas. For example the leaves are too low to the ground for mechanized weeding, fertilizing & collecting. Now we are getting to the right maturity it’s time to refocus on the mechanization again & with our expertise already in place, that’s what we’re doing now!
Sebastian
We got quite a lot of positive feedback from the last edition about one of our renewed focuses, quality oil & low FFA. We even ended up in an article which you can read here. Thanks for that. One question though is how do you achieve the kind of quality which customers want? The answer is speed. Get the oil to the customers as fast as possible. So how do you get speed? Mechanize.
Traditional
What is mechanization? It’s using machines to help the people move faster & increase their productivity. Like using a motorbike instead of a bicycle or before that walking. Traditional plantations are quite labor intensive & use simple equipment like a wheelbarrow to move the fruit & people to lift it.
Possible
So what is possible to mechanize in a palm oil plantation? Almost anything. We can mechanize weeding which is by micro sprayer instead of hand pump. Fertilizing by tractor instead of hand. Collecting by scissor lift trailer with grabber instead of tiny wheelbarrow & bin & pickup to move fruit to the mill faster instead of lifting by hand onto a truck. There’s plenty more too..
Benefits
What are the benefits? Less manual labor makes work easier which makes the work less tiring so it’s more productive & more can be achieved. Mechanization also reduces losses. Weeding spray use is less, fertilizer use is less & with easier work, more fruit is collected & not left behind. Above all, financially the higher productivity means less costs, while also allowing for far higher salaries, more sales & more profit.
Why?
We already have some mechanization but as a very young company it’s harder to grow the mechanization because it doesn’t work in young areas. For example the leaves are too low to the ground for mechanized weeding, fertilizing & collecting. Now we are getting to the right maturity it’s time to refocus on the mechanization again & with our expertise already in place, that’s what we’re doing now!
Sebastian