I have to say, that was one of @Brisel's more incendiary remarks.
Indeed. It certainly provoked a reaction in a couple of people!
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I have to say, that was one of @Brisel's more incendiary remarks.
Indeed. It certainly provoked a reaction in a couple of people!
Do you think running two shifts with less machinery would actually help the business much?
One other important point is what view one takes on the relationship between machinery hours and rates of depreciation. Operating costs of machinery depend on whether they are owned or leased, in warranty or not. If something is on hire with a high hourly limit then the marginal cost of operating that machine for longer is much lower than an owned tractor that is out of warranty.
Quite. Perhaps we should aim to produce more with day work than worry about flogging the gear and people to get the last few pence out of the costs. Less work, more output, same margin???
Exactly. Plenty of marginal gains to focus on first before being a heroic all nighter!
Was it a normal thing out there to have two shifts? If so, why do you think the same isn't normal over here?
It depends on whether that ends up meaning a hyper-stressed day period or not with every last minute being micro-managed. Think that could be counter-productive if pursued too doggedly.
Quite. Perhaps we should aim to produce more with day work than worry about flogging the gear and people to get the last few pence out of the costs. Less work, more output, same margin???
Fair point, everything in balance.
Hypothetical argument following that logic: To get the most of the night shift you'd need a manager on night shift. So 2 managers. But theres only enough land to pay for one manager. Do you pay each manager half? Or can the night shift situation only be activated when theres enough to pay for 2 managers?
Hasn't been mentioned yet but one situation that does work very well 24/7 on 2 shifts is pea vining. Main manager around during day and has night shift manger. But that is a very different setup to normal harvest/cultivation/application. Factory demand, one job, specialised machines etc
Wouldn't do it with a manager overnight and I don't think you'd need one either. I would be available on the phone until later at night. Main foreman available earlier in the morning.
So you and your foreman are still "working" long days. I know 9 days out of 10 there wouldn't be a problem but when your operator rings at 11pm with a problem you've got to go and sort it so you're still working a long day?
The thing works for the operators, its management input that is the difficult thing. Because fundamentally if someone is on the farm, they need someone to be aware of what they're doing, if nothing else for safety reasons
Just to be clear, I'd like it to work, but yes I admit not having actually seen it work in person. I'm probably just too used to working with a team who are very used to working very rigid hours and take a lot of input from me to make decisions or change plans etc
No, because I wouldn't expect to be troubled early in the morning, and our foreman wouldn't expect to be troubled late in the day. Would only consider doing this if we had someone pretty exceptional with a very high level of independence who was keen to do it.
I don't think we would ever look to do anything like this suddenly. It would be something that would be planned for 5-10 years out which would allow the business to evolve into it.