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Project profiles - round 9
The projects funded in Round 9 cover a range of regional and national initiatives. Many of the projects have a specific focus on small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs).
Hortilink Mango E-Solution
This project will introduce an electronic tracking solution into the fresh mango supply chain from the grower, through the packing house, and then to the market agent through to the distributor. This will enable grower product to be available to the market as soon as information on product quantities, quality, source and price is uploaded to the web. Fifty three mango growers and grower/packers operating in Western Australia, Northern Territory and Queensland will participate in this project along with two large packhouses based in Carnarvon and Darwin and five staging partners located in Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney.
This project will ensure improved product traceability and deliver cost efficiencies and greater returns to growers and distributors by improving data integrity and transaction credibility which will also allow for rapid industry response to retailer and market requirements.
Automatic payments to growers as mango product moves up the supply chain are proposed as part of this project.
ITOL Funding: $121,000
Contact: Mr Lincoln heading, Australian fresh Mango Cooperative Ltd, Tel 08 9169 1595, lincfel@bidpond.com or leigh Gammond, Project Manager Tel: 0428 285 096
Universal Intelligent Online Forms
The project will reduce the costs of regulatory compliance by small and medium sized business by improving the efficiency and effectiveness of electronic business and government information transfer.
The objective of the project is to trial the use of new generation web forms (the World Wide Web Consortium's XForms) in a range of business environments and pilot their implementation with at least three organisations in diverse environments including the Queensland Department of Innovation and the Information Economy, the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal and the Victorian Society for Computers and the Law. XForms could be used in applications such as business licences.
The outcome of the project will be three fully tested implementation models that can be adopted widely by Australian business and government. SMEs will benefit from the introduction of web forms through reduced costs of regulatory compliance and improved efficiencies as part of day-to-day business.
ITOL Funding: $98,000
Contact: Mr Zoran Milosevic, Distributed Systems Technology Centre Pty Limited, Tel: 07 3365 4310, zoran@dstc.edu.au
The Sugar Industry Network
This project will implement a spatial-based information exchange tool that provides climatic, crop and forecasting information for sugar cane growers, harvesters, transporters and mills in North Queensland. Through the improved management methodologies growers and the environment will benefit from decreased use of fertilisers and mills will be able to maximise yields by improving resource planning and the coordination of harvesting operations.
The proposed interactive on-line system will provide rapid access to agricultural monitoring information, including climatic analysis tools and yield mapping that will enable accurate forecasting via satellite imagery for farm and fields. This demonstration project will be readily replicated across all cane growing regions.
ITOL Funding: $187,500
Contact: Mr Simon Holloway, Agrecon, Tel 02 6201 2552, simonh@agrecon.canberra.edu.au
Health-e-People - Connecting Health Information and Service Delivery
The Health-e-People project will use an intelligent interpreter to improve health support services to health professionals and consumers. The first phase targeting mental health will build on the websites operated by depressioNet and Mensline that provides information to health professionals and consumers.
This web based project is part of a larger initiative to improve health counselling and support services through an online care centre where trained staff will be able to more speedily attend to information requests through the automatic generation of specific information sets from a large health database. These staff will vet information generated to ensure that it is appropriate before it is sent back to the person or organisation seeking assistance. The database content will be able to be shared by multiple service delivery 'partner' organisations, each with the ability to filter or take the entire view of available best practice information/advice.
The consortium will support the expansion of Health-e-People into other health areas following the project implementation stage.
ITOL Funding: $180,400
Contact: Ms Leanne Pethick, DIRS Pty ltd, Tel 03 9898 9165, lpethick@bigpond.com, gen@depressionet.com.au
Better Business Processes in the Community Sector
This project will implement a system to enable not for profit and community organisations to increase their take up of e-business by automating a broad range of funding and payment transactions that are currently all done by paper systems. This project will streamline the delivery of business services in this sector and through efficiency dividends deliver more cost efficient services to clients. Such efficiencies are critical to the survival of many not for profit organisations which are operating in business environments.
ITOL Funding: $114,000
Contact: Dr Rhonda Galbally, Tel 03 9320 6801
Digsafe
This project will enhance an existing telephone service Dial Before you Dig which provides plans for anyone excavating with a view to minimising disruption to consumers and expense for utilities. The Digsafe project will implement a customised Internet-enabled system and will trial the additional functionality of GIS asset location programs linked to plan requests.
Digsafe will be available to developers, project managers and excavators 24 hours per day, 7 days a week. Dial Before you Dig operates in all Australian States and Territories and most utility organisations which include electricity, water, gas, waste water, ammonia gas, communications, oil and fertiliser components are members of Dial Before you Dig and fund its operations.
The second phase of the project will trial an interactive automated and graphical Internet-based service with a major utility. The project aims to reduce request turn around, in some cases from 2 days to 20 mins, thereby providing efficiencies to the construction industry, improving the safety for excavators and reducing disruptions to consumers.
ITOL Funding: $200,000
Contact: Mr Dominic Puiu, Association of Australian Dial Before You Dig Services, Tel: 02 9386 4403, dpuiu@bigpond.com or Mr Mark Scopece, DBYD Vic , Tel 03 9466 9644, mscopece@mocs.com.au
Global Electronic Invoice Presentment & Payment
The project is to develop and trial an export e-commerce service trusted by both exporters and importers that can be secured simply and cost-effectively over the Internet without paperwork and time delays. The secure service will provide reliable cross-border, multi-currency invoicing and payment capabilities designed for small business exporters and importers.
A portal (www.myexports.com.au) will provide easy-to-use transactional services to new and experienced SME exporters. Exporters will be able to track orders, invoices, payments and shipments as well as meet regulatory requirements, such as electronic customs declarations.
ITOL Funding: $165,000
Contact: Mr Dilip Rao, Paymate Pty Limited, Tel: 02 9929 8513, drao@paymate.com.au
Textile Supply Chain Interoperability Project
This interoperability Project seeks to integrate the different production supply chain systems from suppliers to the Australian Weaving Mills plant at Devonport, Tasmania through to major retailers. The logistics function is a key component of the project with the tracking of yarn consignments from supplier to manufacturer and then the end product to the retailer.
The project will implement a system where data can move seamlessly through the supply/production chain to allow production levelling and supply chain optimisation. SMEs will also gain access to an Electronic Document Exchange Bureau. This project will enable the benefits of e-business to be measured along the whole supply chain.
ITOL Funding: $200,000
Contact: Mr Stan Kaine, Tasmanian Electronic Commerce Centre, Tel: 0417341090, kaine@tecc.com.au
Bar codes, Data Loggers and Kangaroo Steaks
This project will implement the first stages of an electronic data transfer system for mobile harvesters in the macropod and wild game industry to regulatory bodies, dealers and processors.
The system will allow regulatory bodies to review and analyse field data for quality assurance kangaroo management, allowing speedy and accurate interpretation of the data resulting in holistic outcomes for the entire industry. This system will address issues relating to sustainability, quality assurance and data collection and dissemination as per regulatory requirements. Paddock to plate trace-back systems are being demanded more and more by European trading partners to demonstrate product integrity.
The system will also improve the quality of data exchange between harvesters, dealers and processors, providing for a more rapid acceptance of product at each level in the supply chain.
ITOL Funding: $180,350
Contact: Mr Tom Garrett, Queensland Macropod and Wild Game Harvesters Association Inc. Tel 07 4623 1380, QMWGHInc@bigpond.com