California is facing what has been described as a “severe” farm labor crisis, with estimates that some areas of the Central Valley and Central Coast have lost up to 70% of their farmworkers and that, across the board, the shortage is about 20%. Meanwhile, there are fears that the increased use of automation and artificial …
Despite the demise of a prominent autonomous tractor company at the heart of experimental variances at two California wineries, Cal/OSHA says the variances remain in place – at least for the time being. The Division of Occupational Safety and Health is evaluating two separate variances involving other autonomous equipment companies. Autonomous agricultural equipment continues to …
The Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board staff has recommended that Cal/OSHA require approval for all self-propelled autonomous equipment before it can be used in agricultural operations where workers are present. Board Chair Joseph Alioto, Jr., quickly dismissed that and other recommendations on the long-simmering issue at the rulemaking body’s recent meeting. “We’re not going …
A Cal/OSHA advisory committee met for two days recently to continue its deliberations about how or even whether to regulate the increasingly sophisticated autonomous technology used in agriculture. Proponents say the machines work better than a human mind in hazard recognition and eliminate many hazards created by having employees on tractors. Skeptics, mostly representing labor, …
Agriculture employers have been urging the Board to revise the current regulation about autonomous equipment, which dates back to the 1970s. In those days, self-propelled equipment was still in its rudimentary stages of development. Now, modern autonomous tractors, harvesters, cultivators, weeders, and other machines feature highly advanced electronics, imaging systems, and sensors to alert remote …
The long and winding road to resolving the decades-long issue of how and when autonomous vehicles and equipment can be used in California agriculture gets a kick-start on March 26th. That’s when the Cal/OSHA Standards Board will convene an advisory committee to discuss autonomous tractors. Cal/OSHA says the meeting will be virtual to allow for …