HarvestTECH News Issue 10

Welcome to the latest issues of HarvestTECH.News.

A lot can change in a month. While the reopening of New Zealand and most of Australia has been successful, COVID-19 is still a real threat. Victoria is currently facing a second wave that has resulted in a number of Melbourne suburbs in lockdown and the temporary closing of the Victoria/NSW border. It’s not clear exactly how this will impact the forestry sector on the border. A potential travel bubble between the two countries is still on the table. When this occurs and what states will be included are yet to be decided.

For this month’s issue, key stories include WorkSafe NZ’s new video that can be integrated into your own workplace inductions, an update on changes occurring with NZ log export fumigation regulations and news of the first woodchip shipment out of Port Eden since the bushfires earlier this year.

We also cover an interesting study out of Australia on the benefits of automated cab driver monitoring. The study, led by Seeing Machines, also detected where the driver was looking as part of the distraction monitoring test. This an important breakthrough for fatigue management systems and we look forward to future updates that improve driver safety.

A kiwi robotics and automation company, Robotics Plus, has just been named on the international list of the 50 most innovative robotics companies. Last year they launched the world’s first robotic log scaling machine, which automatics the accurate measurement of logs on trucks and trailers. Robotics Plus also presented at last month’s Forest Safety Industry Virtual Summit that ran for wood harvesting and transport companies across Australasia.

That’s it for this month. Remember to send through any contributions, stories or links that we can pass onto the wider wood harvesting and transport community.

Check out all the articles below and enjoy this month’s issue.