Handset Software

Using the Handset

Once you have logged onto Crop-Picker on the handset the Main menu screen appears, from here you create your job, which consists of choosing the field where you are working and the task you are doing and the price you want assigned to the task. The Price can be a piece rate, an hourly rate that you enter or you can use the individual workers rate of pay assigned on the PC. You also choose which mode, eg Normal, Gang, Team etc, that you want to use.

Below you can see the Main menu screen and the Record Work Screen which keeps a running total of how many containers have been picked and the cost of picking those containers.

Work Modes

Using Normal mode you can enter work by typing or choosing the workers ID number or by scanning a barcode.

Multi-worker Mode is ideal for situations where several workers are picking into one container for example, picking apples into bins. Each bin could potentially have a different number of workers picking into it and this could change from bin to bin.

Gang Mode is useful where you have a gang of workers picking and you want to share the money earned across the whole gang for example when rig picking. Could also be used when erecting tunnels.

Team Mode is designed for small teams, where you have a number of small teams picking together and you want to share the money earned between the workers in the team. This is a method that we have been asked to include in the software as some farms have found this a good way to increase production and even out the money earned. As the faster pickers may encourage the slower pickers to speed up as overall they will all benefit from higher earnings. Teams are set up on the PC but workers can be added to or removed from the team on the handset at any time throughout the day.

The software will allow you to run several jobs concurrently, each using a different mode if you wish.

The Reports button on the Main menu will give you another menu where you can choose to display various reports, for instance the Pay Report will show you the workers and how much they have earned so far, if you are using Piece Rate you can easily check to see what their hourly rate would be. By sorting earnings per hour into order you can see all the workers that are not meeting the Minimum wage. The Picking Rate report will show you how much they are picking an hour and you can easily see your slowest and fastest pickers. Also you can see the Percentage of Class 1 each picker has achieved.

The Minimum Wage Report will allow you to see who has not met the minimum wage and you can choose to make up their money if you wish or if for instance you had forgotten that they had left early you can adjust the times worked. You do not have to do this on the handset as it can also be done on the PC.

The Statistics report allows you to see an instant overview of the job you are doing at any time. For calculations if the job is still running, the current time is used to calculate Hourly rates etc.

Payslips can also be shown on the handset, these include an itemised list of containers picked, when the workers clocked in and out and shows any breaks taken.

If you choose to have a Bluetooth printer with your handset you can print any of the reports out when you wish.

The Tools menu will allow you to do various things such as:

Back-date Price Change. This will let you change the Piece Rate you have set retrospectively.
After Job Record Work. You can record work to jobs that have been stopped, ideal for finishing recording containers left on the field after the workers have finished work on that job.
Find Container. When using Barcodes find out when, where and who picked it.
Clear Production Record. Remove a container that was recorded in error or change the Quantity for example to 0.5 Container if you only want to record ½ the container.

You can also record deductions on the handset if you wish, for example if you charge workers for gloves, wellingtons, etc.

The Handset software is very easy to use and at the end of the day the user simply synchronises with the PC which Uploads the data to the PC, clears the data from the Handset and downloads any new data from the PC, such as new workers and tasks. This process is all achieved with a couple of clicks on the handset and it is then ready for the next day.