No 59, Jalan setiaraya, Bukit Demansara, 50490 Kuala Lumpur Malaysia
In the daily work of a planter or engineer it is part of his job to record the progress of his work, and there is nothing better than to start by taking notes.
Yet in my visits to the field I find that there are planters who are reluctant to take notes. I have found that writing notes will help to keep the points stay longer in my mind. I can also refer to them weeks later and use these notes for making my decisions. It is nothing to be shy about in writing down points. One famous example was the founder of Wal-Mart in America, Sam Walton, who opened up supermarkets and managed to compete extremely well across America. Stories about him told on how he used a yellow legal pad and wrote notes when he visited rival supermarkets and when he talked to customers. His supermarket became even more profitable and at one time he was the richest man in the world.
From these notes the points can be used to write the points about the visit that will require a follow up which will raise the standard of performance of the unit. Similarly at meetings, the notes are taken which will be used to write the minutes in which decisions are put on record.
Records should be written neatly so that they allow for a quick reference. In the plantations the records are kept for the assets of the estate, the operations and their costs, including production and processing, the purchases, sales and transport, manpower, salaries and so on, including items out of our control such as rainfall.
These records are today kept in their final copy in a computer which has been programmed by specialists. The calculation is done instantly. It was once my job long ago, before the arrival of computers, to calculate manually with a Facit machine and I would have to work through several nights to get the checkroll ready. Yet there would be mistakes which could take a lot of effort to trace.
However, there is a danger of having computerisation in the way that sometimes the files are accessible only to some clerks in the office. Therefore the planters can become ignorant about the records and performance of their units. In this case I would recommend that each planter should be given training on computers and to ensure that they have the skill to open the files. These files are there mainly for their benefit which they can study.
In the case of figures, they can trace the month by month trend and see if their performance is
improving. If the trend shows that the performance of some blocks is declining, or below expectation, they will then be able to take immediate action.
From the records the figures are used in the report. In the plantation there are formats to follow. When preparing to write the report it is worth to bear in mind that the reader wants to know about production, quality, extraction rates, costs of production, performance against estimates, and the projections for future months.
Therefore it is important to bear this in mind and that the report will show these figures in
full.
Equally important is that the explanation is given clearly on why the crop is low or the costs are high. It is not good enough to give weak reasons and blame the rainfall or the drought. It is better to look for reasons among factors which are within the control of management. For example the reason for low crop is because the plantation is short of labour' the attendance is low, or fertiliser programme was not completed. Stick to the real reasons and keep it brief. The reader does not like to waste his time reading a lot of words which do not say anything.
For example some reports may say this: "The crop was 4 000 tonnes against an estimate of 8000 tonnes which is a shortfall of 50 per cent..." That is not an explanation and apart from wasting the time of the reader, he will also know that you do not know the real reason for the shortfall. As a result you are not going to go up in his esteem.
Yet you can send a message that you know the real reasons, and to do this you will of course need to know what is actually going on in the field or factory. By walking and checking on problems in the field or on the factory floor, you can find the real problems, and explain what you can do to make improvements. Explain how the shortfall can be made up, and show the potential for the next three months. Knowing the situation will help in making plans which will have a good chance in being achieved. The figures are of course supported with words.
In writing the explanations, it is recommended that words are selected which are short, and easy to understand. Big words may not add to what you want to say. Keep the explanation brief and to the point. Spelling and grammar must be checked. Today the computer can help in a big way, so there is little excuse for any mistakes. An important point to note is that the spelling of names must be right, and wrong spelling can be regarded as lack of respect.
When figures are being shown, they must add up, including the decimals, and if they do not, then against it shows that the writer is not checking the details. The reports today can be sent by hard copy or by email, which is part of the benefit of having modern science to help us. In addition digital cameras can take photos to illustrate what you mean, and the picture is ready instantly. Now of course even hand-phones can be used to take reasonably clear photographs'
On the forecast for the crop, again there is much thought required. If you can gather most of the facts, and consult your team, it will certainly help. When your forecasts are fairly accurate then the reader is comfortable with your judgement. Being consistently right will build your reputation as a reliable person. Your figures will rarely be questioned.
A planter would sometimes need to write visit reports, or special reports on the conditions in an area. It is wise to start a habit of writing the report on the same day, as our minds are fresh on what we saw. Delays are not of any help. One last comment is that the report must arrive to the reader on time, or before the deadline. You are providing a service, and punctuality is valued by the reader.
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