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Three robotic systems to alleviate worker strain and injury were installed
in Peel Valley, a sheep processor in Tamworth, NSW.
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AUTOMATING THE INDUSTRY
Science for the future
Increase cost efficiency and productivity – off-farm
In the off-farm arena we focused on enhancing eating quality, increasing yields, labour saving and improved safety. We commenced a number of important projects during the year:
- Three robotic systems were installed in Peel Valley, a sheep processor in Tamworth, NSW.
- The robotic beef front leg cutting system, which will be the first example of full automation in the Australian beef industry when complete in early 2009 at Swift’s Dinmore, Queensland facility.
- In partnership with the Australian Meat Processor
Corporation (AMPC)
- two scoping studies to automate the sheep evisceration process alleviating strain and injury usually associated with this job
- the assessment of setting up a system to rapidly freeze meat blocks without cartons to form the boxes, which is expected to translate into a jointly funded pilot system that could save industry millions of dollars.
We also began a collaborative project with the Danish Meat Research Institute to identify opportunities for automation in beef boning and to set up the platform for future developments that join Australian and EU resources, know-how and funds.
Genetically selecting an animal with the right DNA can help to produce a juicy, tender steak. Processors also play a crucial role in reducing variability in the eating quality of red meat and delivering a precisely defined, high quality product to market.
We have four objective measurement technologies to improve eating quality under development for the processing sector:
- MLA’s Tenderometer Digital, an objective tenderness measurement device ready for sale to processors will optimise tenderising processes.
- Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR), with encouraging results so far linking low-field NMR readings with eating quality and a new pre-production prototype being built to continue investigations.
- Near Infrared (NIR), a major comparative study of available NIR equipment has identified the best commercially available technology for online measurement of eating quality; the first Meat Standards Australia (MSA) trials to evaluate standard off-the-shelf equipment as a tool for MSA graders will commence in August 2008.
- Smart Stimulation underwent final development to prepare the technology for commercialisation; and a web-based internet system is being developed to capture real time plant data, collate and transfer it electronically to a central location to allow other capabilities of the technology to be explored.
