Oxil, in collaboration with labour hire company, The Job Shop have developed FarmMate; a personalised mobile app to inform, engage and survey seasonal workers at scale in the agriculture industry.

Andrew Coldbeck, The Job Shop CEO says, “with so many workers being from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, FarmMate has been a game changer to effectively communicate vital information to our workers, help keep them safe and hear from them directly.”

Oxil recently partnered with WorkSafe Victoria, together with two of Australia’s largest Labour Hire Companies, MADEC and FIP GROUP to expand FarmMate to conduct a trial with their Victorian workforces.

The aim of the app is to improve direct communications of vital health and safety information to Agricultural Seasonal Workers and gain first-hand feedback and important data into their engagement level and work experiences.

Laurie Brautigan, MADEC Chief Operations Officer, said “MADEC are excited to be part of a trial that aims to assist communication and safety advice to PALMS workers in a clear, interactive and easy way using an app-based approach.”

FIP GROUP Site Manager Michael Johnston said “this app is phenomenal for us. It will make our lives so much easier” The trial generated 3,480 engagement actions across the 164 workers who participated in the trial via 19 OH&S content campaigns.

FarmMate is generating valuable insights into worker engagement levels, worker needs, and a broad range of physical and mental health data via the app. The end game being to radically improve worker safety, and overall health and well-being.