The Country
  • The Country home
  • Latest news
  • Audio & podcasts
  • Opinion
  • Dairy farming
  • Sheep & beef farming
  • Rural business
  • Rural technology
  • Rural life
  • Listen on iHeart radio

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • Coast & Country News
  • Opinion
  • Dairy farming
  • Sheep & beef farming
  • Horticulture
  • Animal health
  • Rural business
  • Rural technology
  • Rural life

Media

  • Podcasts
  • Video

Weather

  • Kaitaia
  • Whāngarei
  • Dargaville
  • Auckland
  • Thames
  • Tauranga
  • Hamilton
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Tokoroa
  • Te Kuiti
  • Taumurunui
  • Taupō
  • Gisborne
  • New Plymouth
  • Napier
  • Hastings
  • Dannevirke
  • Whanganui
  • Palmerston North
  • Levin
  • Paraparaumu
  • Masterton
  • Wellington
  • Motueka
  • Nelson
  • Blenheim
  • Westport
  • Reefton
  • Kaikōura
  • Greymouth
  • Hokitika
  • Christchurch
  • Ashburton
  • Timaru
  • Wānaka
  • Oamaru
  • Queenstown
  • Dunedin
  • Gore
  • Invercargill

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / The Country

Health and safety software a 'utility belt' for farmers

By Sally Rae
Otago Daily Times·
30 Jul, 2018 02:25 AM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save
    Share this article
Zero Harm Farm co-founder Mark Orr explains the health and safety software start-up's aims and objectives. Photo / Supplied

Zero Harm Farm co-founder Mark Orr explains the health and safety software start-up's aims and objectives. Photo / Supplied

Like many great ideas, Zero Harm Farm started over a beer.

The Queenstown-based start-up had its origins in November 2015, when co-founders Mark Orr and Ross Copland were discussing the then forthcoming new health and safety legislation.

Both were from farming backgrounds and knew "paper and farming don't mix".

"Farmers hate paper," Mr Orr said.

They were concerned about how farmers would comply with the legislation, which came into effect in April 2016.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

From what was originally a "good idea", the health and safety software start-up had grown into having around 4000 users across 700 sites in New Zealand, Australia and the UK.

It was Australia and New Zealand's fastest-scaling agricultural health and safety productivity tool, he said.

Most recently, it has received investment from SproutX, Australasia's largest ag-tech venture capital fund.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Zero Harm Farm specialised in developing digital mobile and paperless technologies used in the agriculture, construction and general work site market.

He and Mr Copland had been working together in the ski industry, which was quite a similar industry to the agricultural sector, Mr Orr said.

It operated 24 hours a day and was dangerous with "everything that moves, every wheel that turns" potentially being able to injure people.

The statistics for fatalities and injuries in the agriculture industry spoke for themselves. It was a dangerous industry and there was a poor safety culture, he said.

Discover more

Seeka's $18m investment a confidence boost for region

25 Jul 11:30 PM
Opinion

Liam Dann: Trump farm policy is pure socialism

28 Jul 05:00 PM

Feedback sought on manuka honey rules for NZ

26 Jul 02:00 AM
Business

Fonterra shareholder council boss 'shocked' by departure of chairman

26 Jul 08:27 PM

Neither had a software background but they "took a punt" and found some clever people with those skills.

Zero Harm Farm offered turnkey farm safety solutions including a cloud-based safety management app, safety signs and equipment.

The app had a special focus on the management of contractors, rather than just employees, as it had proven difficult for farm or work site managers of remote or unmanned locations to share safety information with workers consistently.

Farmers regularly used contractors who often worked "outside their sphere of influence". The digital platform was a good way to deal with that.

Zero Harm Farm relished the opportunity to pitch to Melbourne-based SproutX, seeing it as a great opportunity.

The intention had always been to "go for scale" — as a digital platform could — and it wanted to have a global reach. There were the same issues whether it was "Ireland, UK or Canada", he said.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

SproutX had bought into 8% of Zero Harm Farm's valuation, opening up large distribution and investment channels across Australia.

While the company would now have a second office presence in Melbourne, it was business as usual for its development and support team in Queenstown.

The Zero Harm Farm application was launched in Australia this month during Australia's National Farm Safety Week.

While a digital app would not solve every problem, Mr Orr said it was a "cog in the wheel" of trying to engage more people about health and safety culture and make it easier.

He likened it to what Xero was to accounting.

"We're the utility belt."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

It was estimated $12 billion was spent in Commonwealth countries each year on compliance management and insurance.

He enjoyed the opportunity of working with Zero Harm Farm which was an exciting and interesting trip so far — "just the fun of helping people, trying to solve a problem ... having a crack", he said.

Save
    Share this article

Latest from The Country

The Country

'This is the most useful day I've spent in years': Positive reception for good 'yarn' event

The Country

The Country: TB on Jeremy Clarkson's farm

OpinionJacqueline Rowarth

Dr Jacqueline Rowarth: Is bureaucracy slowing innovation in NZ farming?


Sponsored

Revealed: The night driving ‘red flag’

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from The Country

'This is the most useful day I've spent in years': Positive reception for good 'yarn' event
The Country

'This is the most useful day I've spent in years': Positive reception for good 'yarn' event

A land-use workshop at Ngātapa provides 'real' and 'relevant' conversations.

05 Aug 03:32 AM
The Country: TB on Jeremy Clarkson's farm
The Country

The Country: TB on Jeremy Clarkson's farm

05 Aug 01:41 AM
Dr Jacqueline Rowarth: Is bureaucracy slowing innovation in NZ farming?
Jacqueline Rowarth
OpinionJacqueline Rowarth

Dr Jacqueline Rowarth: Is bureaucracy slowing innovation in NZ farming?

05 Aug 01:39 AM


Revealed: The night driving ‘red flag’
Sponsored

Revealed: The night driving ‘red flag’

04 Aug 11:37 PM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP