Mobile solutions bring advantages by the bushel
Now equipped with Palm devices and the Satellite Forms application, the viticulturists and technicians no longer have to return to the office early for the unpleasant task of entering all their data into Access. Instead, they can remain out in the vineyard rows, collecting more of the data vital to the success of their business. When they do return close to the end of the workday, they simply pop their Palm devices into a HotSync cradle and download all the collected information into the Access database.

Wylie noticed that because the data transfer is so easy, errors are virtually eliminated, and the work is no longer put off or neglected out of boredom. In fact, the viticulturists have been encouraged to create more field notes because the prospect of having to retype anything they enter has been removed. Another benefit is that turnaround time between data collection and data analysis has also been slashed. The growers can look at the data almost as soon as it's collected, helping them to make better decisions as they go forward.

As far as usability is concerned, Wylie has had no complaints. Because Palm devices have no moving parts, they've never suffered from the dust prevalent in the air of the reclaimed desert land of south-central Washington. The team at Stimson Lane's Columbia Crest vineyard uses Concept Kitchen's WriteRight screen protectors to keep their Palm device screens from becoming scratched. According to Wylie, WriteRights have increased the average lifespan of a Palm device in such a rugged work environment from two weeks to two years.

Most failures, he says, can be chalked up to human error. Once in awhile a worker accidentally drops a device and runs over it with a four-wheeler. When that happens, the employee just returns to the office and pulls a spare Palm unit out of a drawer.

Equipping everyone with Palm devices has most certainly added an additional overhead cost to the business; but Wylie says, in terms of efficiency and effectiveness, each device pays for itself within ten weeks of its introduction. The devices have generally made the workers happier and life at the Columbia Crest vineyard a whole lot easier.

Total Quality Management
Because they're so pleased, they've begun work on programming another application, tentatively dubbed Total Quality Management. The application will be used to evaluate the grapes at various points in the wine making process.

The first point at which the grapes are tested is when they're initially brought in from the fields. The grapes are then crushed by presses, which split the skins and release the juice, allowing yeast activity and fermentation to begin. After being allowed to ferment for a time, the grape mass, or pomace, is taken to the presses, at which point it's tested again. Testing will occur twice more, during the second fermentation stage (at which point the wine's malic acid is converted into lactic acid and carbon dioxide, softening the acidity of the wine), and at the racking stage (where the wine is transferred between clean, sterile barrels, aerating it and leaving behind sediment in the old barrel).