AMPC, with support from its industry technical steering committee, engaged Southern Engineering Services Ltd (SES) to develop a Lamb Tunnel Boning alpha-prototype. It is now time for Australian processors to work with SES to develop this solution to a commercial outcome. AMPC is seeking up to five lamb processors who would now like to further develop this innovation with SES and AMPC.
Over the past 20 years the industry has supported the development of bone-in automated solutions. Solutions are now readily adopted within the Australian industry. A significant part of these developments was the engagement, and willingness, of Australian processors to leverage their accumulated levy funds for a project in plant PIP, to take R&D alpha-prototypes and be one of the first five to have a beta-production R&D prototype built and installed in their facility for further development of the innovations.
The Australian red meat processing sector has also been directly investing in and, together with AMPC, improving efficiencies at the back end of boning rooms. Areas of focus have been pick and pack innovations ,carton storage and retrieval systems, and more recently carton handling systems (such as AGVs). The industry is also, with the support of solution providers and processors, investing in container loading solutions.
With substantial investment, either realised or underway, at the front and back end of boning rooms, there is still a large opportunity to be realised by the development of hands-off processing innovation solutions for boneless process in lamb and beef. These hands-off solutions will be a combination of fully automated solutions and operator aided solutions. To this end, AMPC engaged, and supported, SES’s innovation concept of a small stock hindleg deboner.
The alpha-prototype, a hands-off operator aid solution, is now completed (photo below). Early evaluations of this prototype have demonstrated improved yield with resulting benefits to work health and safety (WHS) concerns in undertaking this task.
For more information either about the technology, or your business leveraging their PIP funds, please contact innovation manager Sean Starling at s.starling@ampc.com.au