How Can Tech Boost Agri-Chem Efficiency and Compliance?
The world population is more than three times greater today than in the mid-19th century.
Feeding a rapidly growing global population is one of the most pressing challenges of our time. The agricultural-chemical (agri-chem) industry plays a crucial role in this endeavor by enhancing crop productivity and protection.
Yet, the industry faces operational hurdles—from stringent regulations to logistical inefficiencies like contract labor management. Innovative technology solutions are emerging as key enablers, helping producers optimize their operations, ensure compliance, and maintain sustainability.
Technologies like myTrack can help manage regulatory compliance, streamline operations, and improve efficiency. Specifically, myTrack is used by the industry to replace manual paper billing by automatically determining net billable hours and costs based on supplier badge events and pay formulas.
Agri-Chem Industry Faces Regulatory Challenges
The agri-chem industry is in a tough position. The production and distribution of chemical products enhance crop efficiency, protect crops from pests and diseases, and improve overall agricultural productivity—plus improve food taste.
Even though they protect plants from pests, weeds, and diseases, they are harmful when overused or misused. For example, farm runoff can contaminate water sources and harm non-target organisms, affecting biodiversity.
- Residue in food: There is growing concern about the potential health risks associated with consuming food products containing chemical residues.
- Sustainability: Overusing chemical fertilizers and pesticides can deplete soil nutrients, leading to long-term sustainability issues.
However, the agri-chem industry is an overall net positive as they increase food production. They are essential to meeting the growing food needs of the population. To ensure agricultural chemicals remain a net positive, governments worldwide have developed stringent regulations related to their storage, transport, and usage (as well as development).
The agri-chem industry needs to be vigilant in how it conducts business. Innovative solutions like myTrack help with regulatory and logistical challenges, among other things.
Benefits of myTrack for the Agri-Chem Industry
The agricultural chemical industry relies heavily on contract labor for manufacturing and production, field trials and testing, data collection, and analysis. myTrack provides real-time data visibility and automatically enforces contract terms, ensuring contractors are paid based on the terms and conditions.
For instance, the myTrack Mobile Authorization App enhances safety and productivity by providing real-time data visibility. This ensures a safer and more productive work environment.
Precision agriculture technologies, as highlighted by the World Economic Forum, significantly boost efficiency and reduce costs in agricultural operations. For example, precision spraying can cut herbicide costs by up to 80% through targeted application, and robotics and AI enhance labor efficiency by reducing physical demands and enabling precise input applications.
These advancements improve operational efficiency and compliance and promote sustainability by minimizing chemical usage and reducing environmental impact. By leveraging such innovative technologies, the agri-chem industry can overcome operational challenges, meet regulatory requirements, and achieve greater productivity and cost savings.
Regulatory Compliance
The government is famous for wanting everything in triplicate. Failure to meet regulations can lead to significant fines and reputational damage. Therefore, meeting regulations is essential.
Fulfilling regulations and proving an agri-chem company is compliant are different animals. Proving that a business is acting according to rules is often time-consuming and stressful.
myTrack helps simplify how you adhere to regulations. It acts as a data repository, maintaining comprehensive and accurate records required for regulatory compliance. This makes it easy to retrieve data when needed. With this time-consuming headache eased, agri-chem producers can direct more attention to their business.
The fact that myTrack acts as a centralized data storage has other benefits. Easily accessible and managed data means management can practice more informed decision-making and heightened operational efficiency.
Automated Scheduling and Dispatch
Some agrochemicals and the raw materials used to develop them are potentially sensitive. They may need to be handled with care, and it may be sensible to limit exposure to them. Communication is one of the keys to ensuring workers properly interact with the agri-chemicals.
Ensuring the proper precautions are followed is challenging when working with contract labor. If staff only pass through the building on a short-term assignment, they may lack deep familiarity with the rules.
Digital solutions like myTrack provide proof of presence so management can know precisely who is in the facility and when. It replaces manual inputs with real-time data, confirming gates, schedules, and contractual terms, and automatically calculates schedules.
myTrack can also confirm that labor is only on the premises as scheduled and that the right staff is handling the task as per the contract. myTrack helps ensure the agreed-upon contract is applied. Thus, it also results in precise net billable hours and costs.
Real-time monitoring and reporting
Agri-chemical producers should maintain real-time monitoring to provide accurate reporting for compliance, safety, and cost maintenance purposes. They can’t afford to have a lack of visibility--especially when it comes to having real-time visibility into hours worked.
With myTrack, agri-chemical producers can track staff hours worked, fatigue reporting, and exposure hours in real time. This information may also be necessary proof of regulatory compliance, increasing the safety of individual employees and the entire workforce.
myTrack also helps keep worksites safe by providing real-time visibility for each contractor and ensuring they have the appropriate safety certifications and training before being allowed on the worksite.
Emergencies happen that require facilities to evacuate rapidly. With myTrack’s real-time visibility into the on-site workforce, companies can easily account for every worker during a chaotic incident. In emergency events, myTrack makes it easier to quickly account for contractors and employees at muster stations and rally points.
The ability to monitor employees in real time also ensures contractors are operating according to the contract. Contract compliance eliminates budget surprises and provides greater cost certainty.
Material usage and equipment tracking
Some agri-chem raw materials are sensitive. Having individuals or equipment handle and store them properly is essential. Improper handling of materials may also be dangerous. This could cause companies to run afoul of regulations and incur extra costs.
Technology solutions like myTrack can help agri-chemical producers safeguard against mishandling of materials and equipment. Built-in intelligence applies contract rules, including those related to equipment. Following the rules relevant to equipment and materials that the procurement team developed based on best practices will likely result in a safer and more compliant workplace.
With real-time tracking solutions, agri-chemical companies can know what equipment is on-site and if it complies with the contract. It also certifies that equipment charges are congruent with contract terms, enforces price agreements, and standardizes equipment terminology.
myTrack also helps track materials. The software gives companies certainty that material usage charges align with your contract terms. Receipts and backup documentation are easily attached, creating a transparent record-keeping system and accountability with every step.
Ensuring Efficiency and Compliance with myTrack
Agricultural chemicals are essential to meet the population’s food needs. But the production of these needed ingredients must be done carefully. myTrack can help agri-chem producers overcome operational challenges and meet regulations by providing real-time data. You’ll also manage your contract workforce more effectively and reduce contract overspend.
Learn more about myTrack today!
