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Estate Canepro
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Modules All agronomic records are consolidated into a central database. Base information such as soil and leaf test data and pest and disease sample results are recorded and reported on. This base data is used to generate resource requirements e.g. fertilizer recommendations from soil test values. Actual applications of fertilizer, pesticides and herbicides can be recorded and compared with planned quantities and planned application dates. Field Records, Deliveries and Estimates CanePro maintains a consolidated database of all field information. This includes historical, current and future field history records. By viewing field performance graphically or spatially as thematics in the GIS module, management can quickly identify trends and problems, thereby improving agronomic decision making. CanePro's dynamic demand/supply driven algorithm schedules harvest operations within the constraints of a mill throughput curve. Yield estimates are calculated using one of CanePro's three estimate models. As the season progresses, the algorithm reschedules remaining fields, accounting for actual progress to date. The Harvest Planner is central to CanePro's resource planning and budget modules affording a dynamic process in which the phasing of operations and resources automatically adjusts to changes in harvest sequence and mill throughput. This module records meteorological data from multiple weather stations, either manual or automatic. CanePro's graphical reporting tools allow for comparisons between sites and detailed trend analysis. This module is the source of data for other weather-driven modules such as the Irrigation Scheduling and Yield Forecasting modules. Using a daily water balance model based on the well validated sugarcane-specific version of the Penman-Monteith equation, CanePro schedules irrigation events within the constraints of soil and system design parameters. Irrigation events can be scheduled for individual fields, as well as aggregated into an estate-wide water order to satisfy water demand. Enables the user to benchmark actual performance against potential and attainable yields calculated using a robust crop simulation model based on the CANEGRO model developed by SASRI. This model forms the basis of one of the three estimate models used in the Harvest Planner to estimate yield. CanePro's HR and Payroll is specifically designed to meet the requirements of large sugar estates. Employee activities are recorded daily, providing immediate access to labour productivity and attendance data. There are a number of benefits to having the payroll completely integrated with the fields system. CanePro can monitor recorded productivity versus 'possible' productivity (e.g. actual meters cut versus meters available for cutting). The daily attendance data is also used to accurately generate manpower productivity reports and for comparing budgeted man days with actual man days. CanePro accurately monitors your stock level in any number of stores. All agronomic information associated with a material (e.g. a fertilizer's nutrient composition or the number of weeks control that a particular herbicide provides) can be captured directly in the materials master. This agronomic information is used by CanePro's operational planners to calculate the quantity and timing of materials required during a season. CanePro's Fleet Management module includes tools to schedule, track and report on virtually any aspect of your fleet's maintenance and performance. The vehicle module is linked to the stores module reconciling dip stick readings with fuel usage captured at bowsers. Job cards utilizing employee information from the HR module and spare parts from the Stores & Materials module provide source data for vehicle running costs.
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Activity Costing All employee, vehicle and material transactions are captured against an activity and location. Activities and locations can both be grouped into multi-level hierarchies which are used as aggregation levels when using business intelligence tools for reporting. CanePro's Resource Planner generates a complete manpower, machinery, material and contractor resource budget for a season. A number of expert planners (fertilizer, weed control, ripening, irrigation scheduling) together with field activity templates, generate all the tasks to be performed on each field. Each task includes the date when the task is to be performed, the resource quantities required to perform the task, the field on which the task is to be performed and an activity against which the task is to be booked. Using production standards for calculating the resources required to perform each task, CanePro generates a complete bottom-up resource budget for a season, allowing for accurate forward planning. The resources generated by the Resource Planner are multiplied by cost standards to create a direct cost budget. Overhead costs can also be added to give a complete budget for an estate's agricultural operations. CanePro's GIS module provides not only an excellent visualization tool for viewing data spatially, but also provides full GIS functionality. By having the GIS integrated into the Agricultural Management System, many of the data synchronization problems associated with a standalone GIS system are eliminated. Develop a complete operational plan for agronomically-intensive operations e.g. fertilizer application and weed control operations. View dates and resource requirements of planned activities using CanePro's operational Gantt charts. Evaluate the execution of the plan by comparing actual activities and resource utilization with the planned events. Auditing and Data Security CanePro provides excellent data security. The administrator can control the access rights of each user preventing unauthorized access to sensitive data. Auditing reports display the changes made by a particular user and the date on which the changes were made. Reports The sheer volume of data within an organization can be overwhelming. CanePro presents this data in meaningful and easy to understand reports that visually display an estate's performance. Using the latest business intelligence tools developed by Microsoft , CanePro allows management to analyze data quickly and effectively, identifying trends/problems for further action. Implementation Process CanePro is modular in nature, allowing a phased approach to implementation. SQR Software would conduct an initial Business Requirements Assessment during which we would identify and prioritize the modules required. During this phase we would also investigate integration issues with existing systems. CanePro has been successfully integrated with a range of ERP solutions, and other proprietary software (Weighbridge, HR, Fleet Management). CanePro’s data analysis provides easy access to the organisation’s information for management purposes. This information can be downloaded into Excel where pivot tables can be used to quickly produce flexible reports. The data is summarised into different dimensions which allow the user to view the information at a high level and then drill down to get more detail. Graphs can also be produced to enable quick analysis of the information. |