T&SG: PRODUCTION EFFICIENCIES
Tree & Shrub Growers:
Technologies to improve efficiencies in nursery production By Matt Ross On Tuesday 29 September, the Tree & Shrub Growers held an online meeting to discuss how using technology can improve efficiencies in nursery production. The guest speaker was Merijn Kuiper, Automation and Labour Saving Division Manager at Powerplants Australia. The session as ever was expertly hosted by Heath McKenzie of Australian Growing Solutions. Merijn grew up in Holland and indeed horticulture. His dad was a tomato grower and Merijn spent many a day watching him at work in the greenhouse. He has also worked in the horticulture industry in Brazil and Canada, before arriving on these shores. Merijn took us on a journey through the various stages of mechanising industry; from mechanisation to mass production to automation and finally machine learning. He believes that no matter what the business and its specialisation, for almost every task in horticulture there is a mechanised solution. The labour needed to create a product (plant) represents a significant percentage of the overall cost. Australia has among the highest labour costs globally, reduce the amount of labour required to create a product results in increased profit. The first level of introducing machinery to drive production efficiency is mechanisation; the replacement of a human task with a machine. In our industry some examples include potting
machines, pruning machines, tractors or water systems. The outcomes are immediate and tangible, from the installation of the very first machine there are significant efficiency gains, labour savings and the consistency delivered by machinery can result in a better quality product, meaning growers can charge more for a plant and less will die. The second level of mechanisation is mass production; the manufacturing of large quantities of standardised products often using assembly lines or automation tech. It facilitates the efficient production of a large number of similar products. A method first employed by Henry Ford and increasingly used in horticulture. Merijn points out that a conveyor system is not about speed, it’s about consistency and quality. Merijn shared a video case study of a nursery in Brazil to highlight the efficiencies of a conveyor system. Prior to the introduction of mechanised conveyors, the task of stacking pots required 6-9 employees, after the conveyors it required just two, processing 130% more plants in the same time frame, putting less physical strain on the employees and ultimately increasing profit.
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