Traceability is a key pillar of biosecurity and readers of this Bulletin will be aware this has been a particular focus for KVH over the last few years. We are continually looking for ways to make this easier for growers and the wider industry and have been investigating digital platforms such as OnSide, an app that was originally developed for health and safety but has growing biosecurity functionality as well.

Many kiwifruit post-harvest organisations, contractors and growers are now using the OnSide app to manage health and safety risks on-orchard, and more recently to ensure awareness of Covid-19 requirements and digitally monitor who is coming and going from their orchards. This is a platform that KVH will look to build on for our on-orchard biosecurity requirements in the future, as an option to simplify what biosecurity requirements are required when entering and leaving a property.

OnSide has a free version of the app here that allows you to:

· remotely see who is on your property in real time via your phone
· communicate your rules and requirements to anyone that checks into your property
· chat to your visitors through the OnSide app without being face to face
· report on who has been on your property, when they were there and for how long.

Below is an example of how OnSide is being used with Covid-19 messaging, a similar approach that could be adopted in any biosecurity response (there’s also a short video available here that shows how these messages can be set up).