See

discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/306223884

MECHANIZED TOOLS AND TECHNOVATION

MACHINERY IN PALM OIL PLANTATIONS:
UTILIZATION OR...

Conference Paper November 2015

CITATIONS READS

0 83

5 authors, including:

Nur Syazwani Mohd Nawi Mohd Nizam

Universiti Utara Malaysia International Islamic University Malaysia
13 PUBLICATIONS 5 CITATIONS 25 PUBLICATIONS 43 CITATIONS

SEE PROFILE SEE PROFILE

Nordin Norani Ezrin Hani Sukadarin

Universiti Utara Malaysia Universiti Malaysia Pahang
49 PUBLICATIONS 127 CITATIONS 19 PUBLICATIONS 15 CITATIONS

SEE PROFILE SEE PROFILE

Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects:

A CLOSED-LOOP SUPPLY CHAIN MODEL TOWARDS MALAYSIA GREEN AGENDA: A PROMISED SUSTAINABLE
PERFORMANCE View project

Online 3D Oil Palm Plantation Management View project

All content following this page was uploaded by Nur Syazwani Mohd Nawi on 17 August 2016.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file. All in-text references underlined in blue are added to the original document
and are linked to publications on ResearchGate, letting you access and read them immediately.
International Symposium on Advancement in Ergonomics & Safety 2015/
Lean & Six Sigma Symposium 2015 Full Paper

30 Nov 1 Dec 2015, Alam Pauh Putra Campus, Universiti Malaysia Perlis, MALAYSIA

MECHANIZED TOOLS AND TECHNOVATION MACHINERY

IN PALM OIL PLANTATIONS: UTILIZATION OR REJECTION?

Nur Syazwani Mohd Nawia,b*, Baba Md Derosa, Mohd Nizam Ab

Rahmana, Norani Nordinb, Ezrin Hani Sukadarinc.
*Corresponding author
aUniversiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi, Selangor nswanimn@gmail.com
bUniversiti Utara Malaysia, Sintok, Kedah
cUniversiti Malaysia Pahang, Kuantan, Pahang

Abstract
Palm oil is a strong contributor and one of the pillars to Malaysias sustainable
development. The existence of various technologies and innovation (technovation)
tools can help further enhance the productivity of this industry. Currently, there is a wide
range of technovation or mechanized tools produced in order to replace
manual tools usage. However, the majority of harvesters still continue to use manual
tools. Therefore, the aim of this research is to examine the extent of implementation of
technology within the organization. It highlights the types of technologies applied and
also it identifies factors of the rejection of technology. A case study was conducted at
three companies of oil palm plantations in Malaysia; small holders, private and
government schemes. From the results, it shows that all three case study companies are
using technovation tools albeit not comprehensively. Workers still remain using either the
manual or traditional tools. This is due to several problems such as ergonomic issues, not
to miss the cost and lack of information regarding each harvesting technological tool.
To solve these problems, improvement of the human-machine connection is required
during product design and product manufacturers need to play role to disseminate
information and give training to the workers.

Keywords: Technovation, Mechanized tools, Oil Palm Plantation, Technology rejection

1.0 INTRODUCTION industry stands in prominence as a central

component that supports the economic growth
The importance of the agriculture sector to the
in Malaysia [2]. In the era of globalization that is
economic growth of developing countries
exponentially growing, Malaysia is making the
cannot be overlooked [1]. The agriculture
1
effort to increase its productivity advantage
through technological and innovation growths
(or coined as technovation) [3]. The effort to
develop and utilize technovation tools
facilitate and increase the agriculture industrys
performance in Malaysia [4]. The technovation
implied in this study refers to the agricultural
mechanized tools and that have been
manufactured in abundance. These
technologies have long been introduced, which
was centuries ago [5]. To date, there has been a
lot of improvement on these technologies,
making them greater innovation that aims to
help boost the growth of our nation.
This improvement is at par with our national
development of science and technology, which
aims to increase the quality of the agricultural
outcome and help lessen the burden of farmers
[6], for instance, the use of mechanized tools and
machineries during the paddy harvesting
process. With the existence of these machineries,
the issue of the shortage of rice can well be
prevented and the harvesting can be performed
faster and a yield obtained at greater amount
[7]. This is similar to the technological machineries
used for the palm oil industry. Various types of
machines have been developed
manufactured to help workers at the palm oil
plantations such as Cantas, Mechanical
Harvester, Powered Wheelbarrow, Roller picker,
Tractor Mounter Spreader, Mechanical Sprayer
and more [8]. Thus, the technologies existing
today serve as a new technovation which is
regarded as appropriate for modern agriculture
today.
However, there are still many farmers who are
inclined to reject the utilization of technology [9].
From the study that has been carried out, the
agriculture sector workers have rejected the use
of this technology due to several reasons such as
the lack of training and information, the fear of
trying something new, the inclination to retain the
will traditional method and a few others [8,10,11] .
This rejection will definitely leave a negative
impact to the development process of the
agriculture industry in Malaysia. If this issue of
rejection continues and becomes more and
more serious, surely it will give a negative impact
towards the national economy [9]. In fact, the
existing technology that has been developed will
be left neglected and subsequently, it will all go
to waste.
2.0 METHODOLOGY
This study was carried out in three different palm
oil plantations, located around the Peninsula
Malaysia. The selection of these three plantations
at random was based on three categories of
ownership in Malaysia. The types of ownership
depend on the organizations that manage the
plantations, namely private-scheme,
government, and small-holder, or individual
[12,13]. Observation was done at these three
plantations, starting from early in the morning
and until afternoon. The activities carried out include
the FFB harvesting, the collection of FFB, fertilizing
and herbicide-spraying. Images and videos have
been recorded so that the study can be done
more thoroughly. Other than that, an informal or
semi-structured interview was also done on
several workers and managers. Interview
provides richness of data which is very important
source for this study compared to other methods,
such as observations and questionnaires. The
selection of workers and managers was done
randomly. The informal interview was carried out
at the palm oil plantation which is during the
2
observation stage. The observation and interview again the worker will use the shear to transfer the
were done simultaneously, with the objective to FFB from the container into the lorry which is
obtain a more precise and accurate picture and already waiting. This lorry will then send all these
information. fruits to a special collection site. The work of
collecting loose fruits is also done manually using
3.0 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION the spade and the broom. It is done by contract
workers who work with the plantation owner.
From the observation carried out at the
plantation, it is proven that there is an
implementation of technovation at the palm oil
plantations. A number of up-to-date tools have
been brought in and used in the workers daily
activities. However, the use is still found to be
incomprehensive. The majority of the workers still
use manual tools in their daily tasks and activities.

3.1 Small-holders Plantation

The plantation is owned by an individual.

Plantation workers comprise of villagers in the
vicinity and a number of foreigners. In terms of
the use of technological tools, all in all, the
plantation workers still use manual tools namely
the chisel and the sickle to cut the fruits. Next, to
collect the fruits that have been cut, the
Figure 1Among the work activities done at a private
plantation workers do not use manual tools as
plantation
they normally do, namely the metal shear and
the cart. Instead, the FFB will be collected using a 3.2 Private Plantation
machinery with a container at the back to fill in
these FFBs. This machinery will drag the container Majority of the plantation workers are foreigners,
from one tree to another. However, this activity from Indonesia and Bangladesh. The work
still requires an assistant to walk from tree to tree, activities in this plantation use manual tools and
following the movement of the machinery. This is also technological tools and machineries. For FFB
because the worker needs to use a manual tool harvesting, workers still use manual tools, namely
as in the sheared metal to collect the FFB from the chisel and the sickle. Then, these fruits will be
the ground and to pull it up into the container. collected by different workers, using a machine
After the container is full, it will be brought to the or technological collecting machine named Mini
side of the road, ready with the content ready to Tractor Grabber (MTG) and Mechanical Buffalo
be transferred into a bigger lorry. Here, once (Badang). The MTG Machine is used for flat areas
and where they are easily accessed.

3
Meanwhile, the Badang Machine is used in hilly
and undulating areas. Meanwhile, collecting
loose fruits is still done using the broom and a
special spade. Apart from that, fertilizing and
herbicide-spraying still require the use of manual
tools, where workers have to carry too heavy
loads in long working hours.
Figure 2Among work activities at the private plantation
3.3 Government Plantation
There are a many workers in this plantation. The
majority of them are foreigners. The government-
scheme plantations are normally large, and it is
common to have several blocks of plantation
management. This plantation still uses manual
tools to handle various tasks at the palm oil
plantation. There are only few fruit-cutting tools
that have been brought into the plantation, one
of them is Cantas. Despite this, only a minority of
workers are skilled enough to use it. Majority of
them will resort to manual tools, namely the chisel
and the sickle. Fruit collecting also requires a
manual tool, namely the cart. Workers would
walk from tree to tree while holding the sheared
metal rod and pushing the cart. The same goes
with the task of collecting loose fruits, fertilizing
and herbicide-spraying. The use of manual tools
is still practised by a large majority of the workers
in this plantation.
Figure 3Among work activities at the government
plantation
From the observation done in these there
plantations, it can be summed up that the use of
technovation tools at the palm oil plantations is
still at a low level. The summary is given in Table 1:
4
 Table 1Summary on the use of technovation tools and machineries at the individually-owned, government and privately-
owned palm oil plantations

Work activities/ Type Small holders plantation Government plantation Private Plantation
of Plantation
FFB Cutting Manual: Manual and Machine: Manual:
Chisel and sickle Chisel, sickle, Cantas Chisel and sickle
machine
FFB Collecting Machine: Manual: Machine:
Jentera Cart Cart and chock metal Mechanical Tractor Grabber
(MTG) dan Mechanical Buffalo
(Badang)
Collecting loose Manual: Manual: Manual:
fruits Broom and spade Broom and spade Broom and spade
Fertilizing Manual: Manual : Manual:
Spraying Spraying and spreading Putting fertilizer sack on the
shoulder while spreading
Spraying herbicide Manual: Manual: Manual:
Back spray Back spray Back spray

Based on the informal interviews with a few the workers movements become slow; (2) high
plantation workers and managers, there exists the maintenance costs; (3) health and security issues for
issue of rejection or hesitation in using the the workers; (4) workers reluctance to use the
technological machineries and tools at the machineries. Therefore, it can be concluded that the
plantations by the workers and managers rejection in using the technology does not just prevail
themselves. This is caused by several arising issues. among the workers, but it is a fact that the
Workers have rejected the technology and favored management also fails to offer full encouragement.
manual tools as: (1) they have been comfortable The primary cause of this issue lies in the fact that the
using the manual tools and have been able to work existing technovation tools demonstrate a lot of
fast as compared to them using new tools, it will be weaknesses, especially in terms of their non-
time-consuming for them to familiarize themselves ergonomic designs. A good technivation tool should
with the new tools; (2) there have been cases of boast off ergonomic design characteristics as they
injury, causing them to become fearful in using can help address the users health issues, security,
mechanized tools and machineries; (3) the lack of performance and even emotions.
exposure and training; (4) there have been side
effects to their health following the physical state of
4.0 CONCLUSION
the machineries and tools, such as vibration, sounds
and so on. For plantation managers, they have had
Mechanized tools and technovation machineries are
a disagreement about bringing in more
modern alternatives to the current agriculture
technological machines due to the following
industry. The outcome of research and the
reasons: (1) the deteriorating rates of productivity as

5
 development of the technovation tools have been Eng. Int., vol. IX, pp. 19, 2007.

widely used by various relevant parties. To ensure
that the agriculture industry continues to be active
and able to compete with developed countries, the
issue of technivation rejection needs to be addressed
so that this issue does not become widespread. The
rejection against the technovation tools by workers
and the management will surely impede the national
agenda and subsequently, affect the national
economic status. Researcher has to emphasize the
inter-relation between the physical design and the
human factor as the users of the tools, so that the
tools can be further improve in the times ahead. This
[8] N. S. . Nawi, B. M. Deros, and N. Nordin, Barriers of
Adopting Harvesting Technology In Malaysian Oil
Palm Industry, Aust. J. Basic Appl. Sci., vol. 8, no. 19,
pp. 198200, 2014.
[9] M. Shahbaz, W. Saleem, A. Syed, M. Aslam, J.
Arshad, A. Farooq, S. A. Masood, and M. Shaheen,
Evaluating the factors responsible for slow rate of
technology diffusion in Livestock Sector of South
Asia and developing a framework to accelerate
this process: A case study using data analysis for
Pakistans Livestock Sector, Life Sci. J., vol. 9, no. 3,
pp. 2330, 2012.
[10] V. Thepent and A. Chamsing, Agricultural
mechanization development in Thailand, Fifth Sess.
Tech., 2009.

improvement will help encourage workers to use [11] S. Kulkarni, India Agricultural Mechanization-
Present Scenario and Perspective, India, 2000.
technovation machineries and tools and further
increase work productivity. [12] Y. Basiron, Palm Oil Production through Sustainable
Plantations, Eur. J. Lipid Sci. Technol., vol. 109, pp.
289295, 2007.
References
[1] A. D. Alene, Productivity growth and the effects of [13] R. Idris, Malaysias Innovation and Comparative
R&D in African agriculture, Agric. Econ., vol. 41, no. Advantage in Producing/Exporting Palm Oil and
34, pp. 223238, May 2010. the Development of Best Sustainability Practices
Applied by Palm Oil Producer, 2011.
[2] M. M. Alam, C. Siwar, Md Wahid Murad, R. I. Molla,
and M. E. Toriman, Socioeconomic Profile of
Farmer in Malaysia: Study on Integrated Agricultural
Development Area in North-West Selangor, Agric.
Econ. Rural Dev. New Ser., vol. 7, no. 2, pp. 249265,
2010.

[3] B. O. A. Adebowale, Innovation Policies and

Sector Development : The Case of the Oil Palm in
Nigeria, pp. 126, 2008.

[4] M. L. Norzan, B. M. T. Shamsul, B. M. Deros, A. S.

Rambely, K. Wan, Y. G. Ng, M. Afendi, E. M. Cheng,
N. B. Shafriza, and S. K. Zaaba, Overcoming Issues
of Oil Palm Plantations Manual Work with
Ergonomic and Engineering Considerations, Aust.
J. Basic Appl. Sci., vol. 8, no. 4, pp. 393397, 2014.

[5] K. P. Paudel, Why Dont Farmers Adopt Precision

Farming Technologies in Cotton Production, in
Agricultural & Applied Economics Associations
2011, 2011.

[6] K. Widana, A. I.N., S. I.D.P., and Sutjaya I.M.,

Redesigning Tractor for Soil Treatment Decreases
Productions Cost and Increase Productivity , Health
of Workers in Agriculture Industry, in Southeast
Asian Network of Ergonomics Societies Conference
(SEANES), 2012.

[7] R. Yadav and S. Pund, Development and

Ergonomic Evaluation of Manual Weeder, Agric.

View publication stats