New technology reduces costs and increases efficiency

Sales of agricultural machinery and implements in Brazil are expected to grow by 10.9% in 2019, an indicator of agribusiness optimism. This sector represents almost 25% of the Brazilian GDP, according to research by the Brazilian Association of Machinery and Equipment Industry (Abimaq).

For Bernardo de Castro, president of Hexagon's Agriculture division, which provides digital solutions for the agricultural and forestry sectors, investments in the fleet must be associated with the acquisition of monitoring technologies. "The best tractor is the one capable of creating the intelligent farm, where all the processes are integrated, synchronised and under control," says de Castro.

The main advantage is that this absolute control of the fleet makes it possible to correct deficiencies in agricultural processes in real time. Inadequate tractor speed during crop spraying, for example, leads to waste of inputs and, worse, compromises the outcome of the work, potentially reducing productivity and profitability of the business. With efficient fleet monitoring technologies and machines, the supervisors of each process can correct flaws at the moment they are occurring. In addition, professionals have accurate data to improve routines to check which machine operators need training.

The Remote Machine Support solution developed by Hexagon demonstrates how technological systems can ensure maximum efficiency and cost reduction for the agricultural fleet. . According to de Castro, results obtained with remote technical assistance have drawn the attention of manufacturers of tractors and agricultural implements.

"We have cases of farms that report cost reduction and increased productivity. This result for companies that market commodities, whose prices are defined exclusively by the market, increases their competitiveness", he emphasises.

The economics are justified by the reduction of technician displacements, a routine that can take several days considering the long distances of the farms. While the technician does not arrive, the machine stands still and its operator too, compromising efficiency of the processes. Therefore, both remote technical assistance and machine monitoring are technologies that have added great value to the tractor industry. "This is the difference that many manufacturers seek to influence the decision to buy the farms," says de Castro.