Automating harvester and haulout forward progression during harvest utilizing DGPS : SRA Grower Group Innovation Project final report

Abstract

Issue: The issue that this project sought to address was to increase the performance of the harvester and haul-out during forward progression. This issue has ramifications through the entire sugar value chain as losses at this point are unrecoverable and the financial losses are spread across the industry and community. It is increasingly difficult to secure experienced operators with the financial incentive to move to the resources sector, therefore we in the sugar industry face a skill shortage. This project investigated the use of cutting edge technology to automate critical operations to reduce the risk of operator error, to minimise fatigue due to long hours and to maximise the efficiency of the entire harvesting hauling operation whilst in the paddock.