The Gamechanger – Why so long?
Many people ask why has it taken so long to develop the Gamechanger? This is a very valid question and deserves an answer. Many companies have previously spent millions on trying to develop something for the mushroom industry and have failed miserably and more will certainly follow down the failure path. There are several main reasons why it has taken so long;
Many believed it couldn’t be done.
The average individual doesn’t welcome change and initially cannot see how harvesting could be improved or how it would benefit them. Many could only see the problems but couldn’t see the gains or the advances made and some find it easier to obstruct progress than to facilitate it. If they believe that it won’t work, why try? Only now are they beginning to see the dramatic improvements that have been made in all areas of harvesting.
Development work does take time.
It takes time to see what works and what doesn’t work. It then takes time to adjust to the new reality and then go back into testing to see what works and doesn’t work and then adjust accordingly. Sometimes things worked for a while and then didn’t. Sometimes the improvement conflicted with another improvement. All of these things take time.
The variables involved.
The Gamechanger is about 12 machines in 1 and there are so many factors. These involve; container sizes, different mushroom sizes, different mushroom weights, dirt cleaning, reliability, speed, usability, users, languages, software, lift systems, to name but a few. All of these must work as one single integrated unit to be successful.
Testing.
It takes time to do the testing even before you start doing any adapting. You cannot do a month’s testing in 3 days. It is not possible. While we consistently test at the workshop the real testing is done on the farm. We have spent the time to watch, listen, learn and adapt to all the variables but this often has involved weeks of work then further time to make adaptions and then basically start again. Thankfully this is basically now done.
Training.
We prioritise the training of pickers and the support staff. We know that the Gamechanger is a combination of machine and picker, so we need to make that combination efficient. However, it has taken us time to assess and develop the correct training methods and material. We have learned to be more assertive in what is needed from management right down to the picker to ensure success.
Speed.
When the machine is working consistently, we then endeavour to speed things up. This not only takes time but can produce some side effects which need to be accommodated. Reducing seconds or even milliseconds in various parts of the processes can dramatically improve speed and we want our machines to cater for maximum picking speeds of around 120-160kgs per hour depending on crop.
Producer expectations.
Most producers expect their machine to be 99.5% right or they don’t want to know. That’s why we have been relatively quiet for so long. We now know we are so close to 100% and we want to tell you.
We now have the Only Viable Solution ready to go. The question is, what are you going to do now? Wait or Act.
If you want to act now, contact us or email.
