It comes down to research, planning and communication. Setting up a plan for success in the beginning will increase the odds for a win at the end.
What the new technology does for the operation always seems to be the most exciting. However, does it make sense? How will the return be determined? Does it speed a current process up or slow it down? Does it eliminate a task or reduce labor? Does it produce valuable information that can be used to make future decisions? Is the information accurate? Sometimes a new technology can lead to more work and/or inaccurate information. It’s always best to dig into these factors and make sure the flaws have been removed.
The best way to learn more about a new technology is to see it in action. It’s important to visit operations that have had both success and failure. I sometimes tend to think about all the good things a new technology does and forget to question the bad. Just because something failed at one operation, doesn’t mean that it will fail at another. However, understanding the reason why is very important as one operations failure could lead to reasons why a new technology may or may not work well at another.
It’s critical to understand where the bottlenecks on the farm are. What are some of the things that can be done to relieve those bottlenecks? Sometimes a new technology is needed, while other times more training is needed. Are there certain jobs/tasks that could be done more efficiently with better training? A new technology can potentially make inefficiencies worse. Getting the basics mastered first is essential.
COMMUNICATION PLAN
It’s necessary to understand all the offerings that come from a new technology. Will it be a good fit for the employees/managers? How will it be implemented? What is the service package behind the technology? Training is crucial when it comes to the service package.
The final step before implementation would be to understand communication. Who is going to be the leader? Employees need to know who to go to for answers. Will employees be comfortable communicating with the lead person? Does the lead person have patience? I suggest having a group message to keep the team in the loop on what is happening.
Implementing a new technology can lead to great things for a dairy farm. However, if the process is not fully understood it has potential to be a disaster. Doing research, developing an action plan and communicating are great ways to help ensure a win with new technologies.
