Tractor manufacturer Massey Ferguson has completed the second season of its reality show called Master Mechanic, which highlights the central role technicians and mechanics play in the industry to ensure accurate diagnoses of problems, rapid repairs and improved uptime for agricultural equipment owners, says agricultural equipment company AGCO product marketing manager Ryan Clark.

Technicians are the main touch point for customers after they have bought equipment, and improved are technically also the face of the company, as the equipment owners will likely have many more interactions with them than with sales staff, he highlights.

Further, there is a significant shortage of trained technicians, including in developed countries, and the competition – which is presented as a four-part reality television programme on social media – is aimed at highlighting the importance of technicians in the industry, as well as the highly technical and technological nature of the machines they work on.

“These tractors are highly sophisticated technology machines, often used in remote communities and locations. They are connected to the Internet and the MF technicians can do a remote diagnosis of faults before they arrive to fix them. This saves the technicians and customers a lot of time and money. The competition highlights the high calibre of technicians in our country and aims to inspire the young and upcoming technicians to join the industry.

“We also wanted to highlight the fact that technicians face different challenges every day. South Africa has [a] diverse agriculture [sector], and there is work for technicians year-round,” adds Clark.

Meanwhile, precision farming is one of the key objectives and requirements of users of Massey Ferguson’s agricultural machines. Precision mitigates waste and makes farming operations more efficient, increasing overall productivity and profitability.

For example, some of the machines can vary the dosage of fertiliser or liquid pesticides dispensed by every nozzle to spray the predetermined required quantity on the field as the machine drives over it as part of its normal routine, highlights Clark.

“With precision solutions, farmers can set the requirements for each part of the field, with a resolution down to 1 m2, and the satellite geolocation will ensure that each part is dosed correctly. These are some of the aftersales solutions that we offer, and technicians are indispensable to ensure that the machines are kept running. The remote diagnosis function also reduces the costs and time for the farmer and the technicians."

Farmers can also read all the key performance indicators of every machine remotely and are sent notifications and maintenance alerts in real time, he adds.

Owing to this complexity, every challenge in the competition was a curveball that required the technicians to use Massey Ferguson error diagnosis tool technology to remotely diagnose and undertake fault-finding, after which they had to choose the parts required before travelling to the location.

Clark was one of the judges of the competition. The aim was to test the ability of each of the three teams of two technicians to use the technology and resources available to repair the machines.

“The judges also introduced an intermediate challenge for competitors to repair a separate machine at a different location once they had already left with all the parts for the main job. This was intended to serve as a distraction and to simulate a typical day at work for technicians, who often have to do jobs they had not prepared for but which they can do with the tools at their disposal,” he explains.

“The challenges tested the knowledge of the teams of authorised technicians, and highlighted their skills. However, the most important thing the competition did was to raise the level of excitement among Massey Ferguson technicians in South Africa about their careers, their importance and roles in the industry.

“When we first put out calls for the first season of the competition [last year], technicians were hesitant and we received only a few applications. Once we explained what the competition was about, we even received applications from our competitors’ technicians,” Clark quips.

The second season aired on November 18. The winning team received R100 000 and an opportunity to train at the Massey Ferguson Beauvais factory, in France, where the high-horsepower tractors are manufactured.

The Master Mechanic competition is helping the company to change the industry. The technology involved and technical nature of the work is generating excitement, with significant numbers of views generated across social media, Clark adds.

“South Africa has a unique agricultural industry, with two broad northern and southern regions producing a wide variety of crops in different seasons. Some machines run constantly during busy times, and there is work being done throughout the year, including ground preparation, planting, fertiliser and pesticides application and harvesting.

“This is the industry our technicians support and help to operate efficiently, and we are doing our part to ensure that they receive the recognition they deserve for their work,” Clark states.