A Day in the Life of: a mechanic on the harvest

When Irish Country Living caught up with Sean Murphy it was in the middle of harvest, most winter crops were cut and farmers were moving on to the spring crops. In other words, peak season for a mechanic specialising in combines. That morning he had been out to a customer that had plated underneath the header of the combine himself and Sean had to calibrate it.

“It wasn’t a major problem, I just had to get it done in case he had to go cut today,” says Sean who has been working with Templetouhy Farm Machinery (TFM) in Enniscorthy, Co Wexford, for 12 years. Early starts are a necessity during harvest season.

“You could be starting at 7am. The workshop would be open 8am, but if you’re out on the road [before that] there could be a problem with a machine and the customer wants it resolved before it comes to 11am, when the sun is in the sky.”

Sean is based in the Enniscorthy depot which services anywhere from north Wicklow to Hook Head in south Wexford and covers parts of Carlow. It is one of six TFM depots around the country.

“There could be customers that ring me and I report back to the foreman; he will either give me the go ahead or tell me that he has work for me [at the garage]. I come back anyway to get parts. But usually I ring in, organise to come in and get parts, then go out to the customer.”

John Deere Link

With the customer’s permission, Sean can access the computer on a combine or tractor remotely using the John Deer (JD) Link app on his phone. JD Link is a telematics system connecting all machines in the field with the office and mobile devices. This means Sean can assess what the problem could be and pick up the right parts before going out to the field.

“Farmers will have an idea of what’s wrong if it’s mechanical, but if it’s an error code on the computer I’d have to put the laptop on it. Most of the time it’s something simple like calibration.

“Technology is a big advancement. Older combines and tractors had linkages and levers, but nowadays it’s just a switch that goes to a computer and that’s it.

"The computer might tell you what wire is gone but it won’t tell you where it is. You’d be in big trouble going around without a laptop trying to fix these newer machines. But it does save on time an awful lot when you have the equipment.”

The combine will graph each part of the field, telling you what yields are like in each part. That data is uploaded to the cloud and is shared with the sprayer next year which will vary the rate of application based on last year’s harvest data.

“It’s all gone towards apps, yield mapping and monitors,” says Sean who believes driverless tractors will soon become the norm. “The technology is there in Ireland, serious technology. It’s crazy what it’s able to do nowadays.”

He shows Irish Country Living the JD Link app, which has a map displaying where all the modern John Deere tractors are in country currently and zooms in on one with seven alerts on the system. As it turns out, they were to tell the driver that the fuel level was low. There was also a combine showing an alert where the driver hadn’t revved up the engine enough before turning on the drum, or another one such as ‘Park brake not engaged’.

“[On a combine] you could get a stupid error code like, ‘Grain tank not open’, but at least it tells you.”

Sean agrees that it probably details more information than you need to know “but it gives us an ongoing record if there is a problem. The information is live”.

“If a customer rings up I can go in and look. I can set it up that I get notifications for a certain machine if it’s just been fixed for example.

“Only I can see it and the farmer version of JD Link is different, detailing more yields and performance. Farmers can agree to it [data sharing] or disagree. Most people agree to it because it saves money when they are charged for parts and time. The less downtime, the cheaper it is for the customer.”

What is the most unusual call-out he has received? Sean says it ranges from a farmer not pushing a button hard enough to a much bigger mechanical issue.

Interest

Growing up on a tillage and beef farm, Sean says he was always interested in becoming a mechanic. He left school at 17 to take up an apprenticeship with TFM.

“The apprenticeship is four years. You go to college in Waterford for the first stage and then you have to go to Tralee IT twice. In between times you come back to the garage and work here. There’s no point in sitting down and learning at college but have no practical experience of what you are working in. When you’re in a working environment you will learn fairly quickly because there are people around you that are mentors and will teach you.”

Plus, an apprentice can earn during training. While the option is there for people to train as a general mechanic, Sean chose to go down the route of training with John Deere.

“Usually when a company takes you in they spend money on you, training you and then you work your way up. I’m here 12 years now. I started out in the workshop the first few years doing servicing and repairs on tractors, gearboxes, transmissions etc. But in the last five or six years I’m in the van and on the road the whole time.”

Being a fully trained John Deere mechanic, Sean could potentially work anywhere in the world with John Deere. Everyone learns the basics and can service tractors but then each mechanic gets a chance to specialise.

“It’s very hard to be an expert on everything, there’s such a difference in machines nowadays. So it’s good that they can specialise you in one area.”

During quieter times of the year he goes to England for further training.

“I’m at balers now as well so last year I had to go on a tractor, baler and combine course; a week long each. [John Deere in] Ireland and the UK share the one training centre.”

Evenings

While harvest is ongoing, there is no set time to clock off in the evenings. Sean says usually he’d be finished at 6pm but that could stretch out. Equally if there is a problem with a combine with a newer machine at the weekends he can be called out. It’s all about keeping the wheels turning.