Being Compliant with Laws and Regulations

Many countries have strict regulations regarding food safety, labeling, and traceability. 2^nd Sight has several software options available that help farmers maintain accurate records and easily provide the necessary information to meet regulatory requirements, reducing the risk of fines or legal issues. Using barcodes, you now can track a product from its starting location to its destination. Being able to track a crop from packing house to distribution is crucial. Whether you are palletizing, building clamshells, or moving products from one place to another, we got you covered.

An addition to helping farmers comply with traceability regulations, 2^nd Sight’s various automated systems also make record keeping a breeze. Manual record keeping can be time-consuming and prone to errors. 2^nd Sight’s traceability software automates record keeping, reducing administrative burden, and ensuring accuracy. Having your data, which might include years of notes, details, and product information, allows you to easily filter through prior data to get to the bottom of things quickly.

Quality Assurance and Risk Management

Traceability software allows you to track and document every stage of the production process, from planting to harvesting, storage, and distribution. This level of documentation ensures that quality standards are consistently met, leading to better product quality and increased customer satisfaction. Having the ability to track the entire history of a product allows you to track down potential issues at the source.

Additionally, traceability software allows you to more effectively manage risks related to crop diseases, pest infestations, and adverse weather conditions. By tracking the origin of products and inputs, you can quickly respond to potential threats and take preventive measures to avoid future threats. Our system also has a feature where you can take notes quickly and efficiently on crops that could be potentially at risk.

Enhanced Transparency and Increased Market Access

Accurate labor data obtained from one of 2^nd Sight’s tracking systems also allows for better planning and decision-making. You can use historical labor information to forecast labor requirements for future seasons, estimate costs, and determine staffing needs. This helps you optimize your workforce, ensure sufficient labor availability during peak seasons, and avoid unnecessary labor expenses during slower periods.

Our pricing model is such that you pay most when you use the system most, and, during off months, you only pay a small database maintenance fee. We use a model that charges you only when you have employees using the system. During the rest of the year, our system will not only help you avoid unnecessary labor expenses, but also not charge you unnecessary fees.

Conclusion

Our company slogan is, ““Engineering Better Solutions for the Ag Industry," and we are constantly looking for ways to make our current products better and to provide new solutions for ag. StockTrak, our traceability software, is a perfect example of how we roll. Based on customer input and experience, we have been finetuning this software to best fit our current and future customers’ needs. If you are interested in seeing what we have come up with, feel free to contact us today for additional information or a Zoom demo at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Increase your Time Management and Data Accuracy

As we all know, using paper timecards to record employee hours and piece rates is a process that is both tedious and error prone. Manual timecard management is time-consuming for both employees and HR staff. Counting punches, calculating hours, verifying data, and correcting errors takes up valuable time that could be better spent on other tasks.

Additionally, manual data entry is prone to human error: incorrect clock-in/out times, incorrect calculation of work hours, and data misplacement. These inaccuracies can lead to payroll discrepancies and compliance issues. Having a labor tracking system such as FairPick or FairTrak allows employees and staff to electronically keep time with a simple scan of a badge. At the end of the workday with the push of a button, that data is uploaded and organized for HR and administrative staff. FairPick and FairTrak do this hard work for you!

Accessibility and Security Concerns

Paper timecards must be stored in physical locations, making them less accessible for HR personnel who may need to access the data for administrative or legal purposes. We have even seen people store paper punch cards in plastic garbage bags! When timecards are stored in a physical location, it is easy for them to be lost, damaged, or tampered with, which makes it difficult for an employer to dispute claims employees have about hours worked or pounds picked. 

If the timecard is lost, the employer may be forced to overpay the employee for lack of evidence that the employee did not do the work claimed. In the worst-case scenario, lack of evidence can lead to potential legal issues. The good news is that the 2nd Sight Customer Portal maintains employer data records for as long as you own the system, allowing your staff to pull up your data quickly and efficiently.

Workforce Management and Payroll Integration

Traditional timecards require manual updates and processing, resulting in a lack of real-time visibility into employees' work hours, which can hinder effective workforce management. Also, traditional paper timecards may not easily integrate with other HR or payroll systems, leading to more manual work and potential data integration problems. 

2nd Sight offers customized reports for importation and integration with various payroll systems and processes, including TSheets, PayNW, Sage, Datatech, and Agstar. Despite the cost of purchasing the equipment and ongoing software fees, switching to digital time tracking can lead to cost savings over time by streamlining processes, reducing administrative workload, and preventing payroll errors.

Conclusion

Consequently, ditching paper timecards is a logical step towards embracing modern technology and improving efficiency, accuracy, and convenience in workforce management. Digital time tracking solutions offer real-time data, enhanced accessibility, data records, and additional benefits. 
The 2nd Sight team can help make the transition to digital timekeeping as seamless as possible. 2nd Sight offers 24/7 support, Zoom demonstrations/trainings, and even in person support when needed. 

There are a few different ways to pay harvest workers, and the best way will depend on several factors, such as the type of crop being harvested, the location of the farm, and the size of the farm. There are three options that seem to work the best. Paying by piece, paying by hour, or a combination of both.

Is it Paying Piece Wage?

First, we’ll dive into paying by piece, which is the driving force for some of our labor tracking solutions such as FairPick and FairTrak. This can be a good way to motivate workers to work harder, but it can also lead to workers feeling exploited if they are not paid enough for their work, which is why it is crucial to set appropriate rates for each respective task that they are getting paid by piece.

Luckily, with 2nd Sight’s online portal capabilities administration can specifically set up piece rates for every single task that an employee may be doing on the farm. Additionally, it also allows administrators to retroactively adjust those rates at any given time if the employees are struggling with productivity or you would like to increase their pay for that given item or time frame. When paying by piece our system ensures that those employees will always be making at least minimum wage even if they do not make over minimum wage via piece rate.

What About Paying Hourly Wage?

Next, let’s talk a little about straight up hourly pay. Hourly pay allows the employer to set given rates for each respective task. The hourly rate is effective because you can pay workers different hourly rates by the task, but one thing that it does not track well compared to piece rate is you cannot track productivity well. You can have an employee doing half the work as another employee while getting paid the same amount, which can be extremely discouraging for the hard-working employee. The hourly rate does not provide the incentive to work harder when compared to piece wages.

Can We Combine the Two?

Does piece wage sound like a good idea, but you don’t want to deter from hourly? How about just paying your employees a combination of the two. For example, workers might be paid a piece rate for the first few hours of work, and then an hourly wage for the remaining hours. Another combination option would be paying your workers hourly, with a piece rate bonus. This can be a good way to motivate workers to work hard and produce more, while also ensuring that they are paid a fair wage.

Resolution

Ultimately, the best way to pay harvest workers is the way that best meets the needs of the farm and the workers, while ensuring that they are paid fairly and accurately, that all legal requirements are met, and that clear instructions are provided to avoid any misunderstandings. There is no one-size-fits-all answer, and the best approach will vary depending on the specific circumstances.