Rugged handheld computers wirelessly monitor harvesting, production and shipping of lemons to ensure quality standards
It’s often said that when life gives you lemons, make lemonade. But for Argenti Lemon S.A., one of Argentina’s largest lemon exporters, high-quality lemons are exactly what they want. To help ensure the effective production of lemons from their 24 plantations and to keep track of the 2,000 contract employees who harvest the fruit, Argenti Lemon recently deployed a radio frequency identification (RFID) solution from Psion Teklogix, Inc., (LSE: PON.L), a global provider of wireless computing solutions. Using the company’s rugged handheld WORKABOUT PRO computer and high frequency (HF) 13.56 MHz RFID tags, Argenti Lemon can track its lemons from harvest, through the production process and from the production facility to their shipping port. The Psion Teklogix solution also allows the company to wirelessly document the amount of fruit each employee, wearing an RFID-enabled wristband, harvests each day.
Starting at the point of harvesting, as employees enter the fruit plantations their HF RFID-enabled wristbands are read using Psion Teklogix’ WORKABOUT PRO, which grants them access to the plantation without the previous complex system that involved printed forms. Harvesters are then given RFID-enabled packs for collecting the lemons, which allows Argenti Lemon to track the amount of lemons each person collects and, using the WORKABOUT PRO, wirelessly transmit this data to a computerized record.
The rugged, easy-to-use and ergonomic nature of the WORKABOUT PRO allows Argenti Lemon to use the devices from the field to the production plants where 3,500 bins of lemons are processed daily. The RFID-tagged bins of lemons are monitored throughout the unloading, selection, de-greening and packing process, and are then loaded on to pallets for dispatch to shipping ports. The pallets of lemons are then tracked to the shipping ports to ensure the correct product is sent to each destination. “The durability and flexibility of the Psion Teklogix WORKABOUT PRO have helped us to speed up the harvesting process, as well as the dispatch of pallets, using one device for both indoor and outdoor work,” said Florencia Bulacio, Argenti Lemon S.A.
“Argenti Lemon has a reputation for producing high-quality fruit, and our rugged, reliable system that can monitor the entire production process in virtually any environment is helping them continue to deliver the right product, to the right place, at the right time,” said Ron Caines, president of worldwide sales, Psion Teklogix.
In addition to using the WORKABOUT PRO for its lemon production, Argenti Lemon also uses the Psion Teklogix’ product to help streamline its cattle breeding operation. The WORKABOUT PRO keeps track of Argenti Lemon’s stock of 15,000 cattle from the moment of birth until they are sold. To accomplish this, an RFID-enabled ear tag is attached to each calf’s ear to uniquely identify the animals. Using Psion Teklogix’ rugged handheld computer, Argenti reads the RFID tags and records all care given to each animal, such as food, vaccines, medicines, etc. The information is then stored in a centralized management system, making it possible to keep up-to-date records on 15,000 cattle scattered across more than 50,000 hectares.
Psion Teklogix’ WORKABOUT PRO is designed to endure the harsh conditions of outdoor and industrial indoor environments with their IP65 rating for water and dust resistance and the ability to withstand multiple 5-foot drops to concrete. It is the first rugged mobile computer to offer simultaneous voice and data capabilities on AT&T’s 3G broadband network. The WORKABOUT PRO supports WWAN, WiFi, Bluetooth® and GPS connectivity, and comes with a choice of Microsoft® Windows operating systems. With more than 200,000 devices deployed worldwide, the WORKABOUT PRO provides maximum flexibility for a range of unique and innovative customer solutions.
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