Share thisThe nature of my work as an automation specialist means that I have traveled worldwide over the last ten years; on one occasion I met a technician named Max who told me something that changed my approach to automation and helped me to “do the job properly”.
Max asked: “Why does my boss invest in an automated system if:
- I have to clean up the mess and unclog the pipes of the waste disposal system every month?
- The index tunnel washer is slower than the articulated robot?
- The software is so complex as to be like something out of NASA?”
In this article I’ll do my best to address each of his points, as well as other considerations related to successfully introducing automation into any animal facility, however large or small it may be. But first, a few historical background facts that explain why the whole issue of automation is often viewed with a certain suspicion, sometimes verging on downright hostility.
History
Decades ago some pioneering suppliers installed a few prototype automation systems in a number of laboratory animal facilities. These suppliers had little or no knowledge of the day-to-day operational realities faced by those running animal facilities. These installations included semi-automated waste disposal systems using vacuum or mechanical tecnologies, semi-automated clean bedding dispensing systems and automated cage processing using industrial robots (gantry or articulated robots). It was a marvelous concept, but like any concept in real life it needed the right moment, the right technologies, the right team with the right competencies, as well as passion and a “fanatical” attention to detail.
Determined to investigate this situation in greater depth, for several years I read articles by facility directors, attended AALAS presentations presented by end-users and visited new facilities which were up and running—but for how long and with what consistency? Moreover, at that time, everybody linked the word automation to a millionaire investment, not affordable for my facility or with too big a footprint for my facility.
Things are different now, and more enlightened vendors of automation systems have listened carefully to the users. We may perhaps define ourselves as automation integrators who have not only thought about new sites but also about existing facilities. We have taken space saving issues into consideration, in the awareness that automation does not have to be confined to large facilities. Suppliers have thought about realistically affordable investments for facilities of all sizes and have considered flexibility in processing a variety of cage models (both new and existing cage models not only those linked to one cage manufacturer). The human-machine interface has been made as user friendly as possible and the equipment is governed by simple, reliable software. In short, equipment suppliers have learned from decades of installations in lab animal facilities and we have finally come up with automation solutions that give a guaranteed performance.