A Christchurch-based agritech company, Onside, has developed a pioneering map-based tool designed to enhance worker safety in agricultural settings. The “industry-first” PCBU Enterprise platform uses advanced software technology to identify and alert workers to potential hazards via a mobile app, marking a significant step forward in risk management for large agri-businesses.
The platform, developed in partnership with meat processor Anzco Foods, displays potential hazards on a map, providing real-time alerts to drivers, contractors, and other workers entering a farm. This innovation is tailored to organizations legally required to manage workplace risks, extending beyond farms to include depots, machinery yards, and processing facilities. After a year of development and testing, the tool has been rolled out in recent weeks, with trials also underway in other countries.
Onside was established in 2015 by chief executive Ryan Higgs, Michael Falconer, and Juliet Maclean, initially focusing on a large dairy farming venture in Canterbury. The company’s online platform integrates a mobile app that has already mapped over 21,000 rural properties across Australasia and logged millions of check-ins, machinery movements, and plant operations. This data helps users manage health and safety, compliance, and biosecurity risks more effectively.
Higgs described the PCBU Enterprise solution as the company’s most ambitious project to date, aimed at simplifying complex data flows into user-friendly software for operators. The challenge was driven by Anzco’s need to ensure that everyone within their large-scale operations—spanning thousands of farms and hundreds of truck drivers—understood and could manage risks effectively. High-profile accidents and significant fines for breaching worker safety laws have underscored the necessity for coordinated safety management in the agricultural sector.
The idea for Onside originated from the founders’ efforts to track the movements of workers, contractors, and visitors across 13 dairy farms. The initial version of the platform was designed to manage on-property personnel and ensure their safety. Nearly two years ago, Onside began collaborating with Anzco to address the complexities of managing safety duties within a supply chain, a solution now being extended to other companies and organizations.
The platform marks risk areas such as loading yards, accessways, trucks, plants, paddocks, runways, and irrigation trenches on farm maps. Higgs noted that potential users include any organization providing services to farms, orchards, and vineyards, particularly those with legal obligations to manage risk. This could encompass meat and dairy processors, freight companies, lines companies, insurers, and banks.
The platform adheres to WorkSafe’s consult, co-operate, and co-ordinate safety rules, ensuring that everyone in a shared workplace understands who is managing a risk, thereby creating a safer and more efficient supply chain. Anzco’s proactive approach in developing this solution has resulted in what is believed to be a world-first agri-enterprise tool aimed at improving safety outcomes across the sector.
During testing, the National Livestock and Transport Safety Council (NLTSC) was involved, with NLTSC president Derek Foley praising the tool as a significant advancement for drivers’ on-site safety. Offshore trials are also underway, with large poultry firms in the United States using the software to map feed manufacturing sites, processing facilities, and farms. Onside’s operations span Australia and have recently expanded to North America, with trials running in Mexico and the US.
This development represents a substantial leap in agricultural workplace safety, offering a scalable solution to manage risks effectively across large and complex operations.