What affects mushroom picking’s profitability and ergonomics the most?

Experience and knowledge of mushroom growing farm’s owners, which was shared over the years of discussions between different entrepreneurs, allows us to draw certain conclusions about the best ways to run such a farm. Over years it has became clear that wages of the pickers are one of the biggest expenses in every mushroom growing farm.

Therefore, it’s extremely important that the pickers work as efficiently as possible, as to generate the best possible cost to income ratio. However, for the pickers to pick fast, and not get tired easily, the owner of the farm has to accommodate them and facilitate their work. The best way to do it is to choose the appropriate mushroom picking trolley, equipped with modern solutions, as the pickers will spend most of their time on said trolley.

Here are some of the factors that should be taken into consideration when choosing a new mushroom picking trolley. Good, modern trolley ensures stable productivity and happiness of the employees, while lack of the necessary functions may lead to exhaustion and lowered productivity.

1.Fast and easy picking thanks to automation of the platform movement. For a mushroom growing farm to be profitable, mushrooms that have reached appropriate dimensions should be picked fast, and preferably without too much physical effort. Movement of the mushroom picking trolley (both the left and right, as well as up and down) can be manual, but can also be semi-automated or automated. The last option is the best, as it allows the picker to pick more mushrooms in a shorter amount of time, while also using up much less energy.

2.Ability to adjust parameters of the shelves for mushroom containers. Reaching a mushroom ready for picking is one thing, but there’s also another step: putting it in a mushroom container. It can be easier or harder depending on if the shelves’ height, inclination and distance are set properly. Proper adaptation of the trolley to the picker (e.g., their range of motions) will make this step, which is repeated numerous times during every shift, faster and much less strenuous.

3.Adjustable seat. Every modern mushroom picking trolley should have a seat that can be adjusted in two important ways. The first one relates to the distance to the mushroom containers, and the second one to the height of the picker (since it can vary greatly between different employees). If the seat is adjusted properly, picking is less tiring and as such much more productive over longer periods of time.

4.Profiles with optimal parameters (thickness, shape). Guardrails on mushroom picking trolleys have a dual role. Firstly, they make sure that the employee won’t fall out of the platform and injure themselves. However, it also fulfills a secondary objective. Namely, it functions as a support for a picker while standing up and sitting down, facilitating their work and preventing slipping. Quality of the rails is of utmost importance, both when it comes to ergonomics (guardrails should be easy to grip) and strength.

5.Appropriate placement of brake and remote control. Remote control, which is an important feature of every modern mushroom picking trolley, should above all be easy to use and well placed (e.g., easy to reach without unnecessarily wasting time and effort). The same can be said about the brake. The recommended location for both of these components is in front of the employee (and above the mushroom containers, to be exact).

6.Easy maintenance of all the parts of the mushroom picking trolley. Safety and hygiene requirements make regular maintenance and disinfection of mushroom picking trolleys a priority for every mushroom growing farm. It’s crucial for a good trolley to be easy to disassemble and reassemble, as well as to clean and disinfect. Maintenance and disinfection shouldn’t require special qualifications or negatively affect the trolley’s longevity. Otherwise, the whole process would take too much time and lead to ongoing deterioration of various components.

7.Solution allowing for effortless picking from the bottom shelf of the shelving. Reaching the bottom shelf of the shelving, which is necessary for fully productive picking, can be hard if the trolley doesn’t have customized solutions facilitating bottom shelf picking. Thanks to such solutions, present in modern, ergonomic mushroom picking trolleys, picking from the bottom shelf of the shelving doesn’t have to be overly tiring. That’s why it’s so important to choose a device that has the right design, both when it comes from picking from the bottom shelf and from all the other ones.

Since labour costs are such a big part of most mushroom growing farm’s expenses, the best thing to do to raise the employees’ productivity is to choose a trolley that will facilitate their work. Fast, easy picking that doesn’t lead to the pickers becoming too fatigued is the key to higher profits and making the entire operation run more smoothly.

It’s not a good idea to choose a cheaper mushroom picking trolley, which doesn’t have modern systems and solutions allowing for more productive, but also very safe work. In the long run, investment in a more expensive, but much more modern and technologically advanced trolley will certainly pay off and lead to greater success of the mushroom growing farm.

This article was prepared by GROWTIME (growtime.eu), which is a trusted supplier of modern, high-quality mushroom picking trolleys for successful mushroom growing farms all over the world. If you want to take your mushroom growing farm’s productivity and profitability to another level, our trolleys may be just the thing you are looking for. Take look at our recommended products:

● Mushroom picking trolley PASCAL

● Mushroom picking trolley NEWTON

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Marketa Bakes
I had a chance to cooperate with Michal on some other matter and I can say that he is really realible person, very straightforward and communicative. I can say I can recommend him to do the business with, from my own experience.
Krystian Sopiński
GROWTIME is our long-term business partner who always rises to the challenge. The products supplied by GROWTIME are characterized by high quality, long-term reliability and impeccable aesthetics. This company has professional technical service that is able to design and implement machines for the most demanding customers. I am pleased to say that choosing GROWTIME was a good choice and it is a pleasure to work with the experienced staff.
Josipa Ervačić
Very efficient, reliable and business correct. Always at the service of its customers in terms of professional assistance, advice and other things important for better cooperation and progress.
Tommy G
Very high standards of production and order fulfillment. The product, in our case – picking trolleys, is well designed and adjusted to the dimensions we provide. The trucks perform very well. The service from the GrowTime team was excellent, including export documents and shipping.
Kamil Hornowski
unbeatable prices
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Professional approach to the client. High quality of the offered products and competitive prices. I recommend!
Harry Nolan
We purchased collection platforms, tunnel lighting, grow nets and collection aprons and are impressed with the quality of everything. The pre-sale and after-sale service is also excellent. Growtime is a great partner to work with.
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A company worth recommending. The quality of the products offered is very good. Everything was sorted out on time. Very good contact with the owner, he will help and advise in every situation. We have been working together for several years and always with full professionalism. Keep it up. Regards