Phase 1 of Truck Wash Automation Project Now Complete

By Bruce Cochrane

Scientists have completed the first phase of a project which aims to automate the washing and disinfection of swine transport vehicles.

As part of research being conducted on behalf of Swine Innovation Porc, the University of Saskatchewan, the Prairie Swine Centre, VIDO-Intervac and the Prairie Agricultural Machinery Institute are working to automate the cleaning of swine transport vehicles.
That project will be discussed during Saskatchewan Pork Industry Symposium 2015 November 17 and 18 in Saskatoon.

Dr. Terry Fonstad, an Associate Professor of Civil and Geological Engineering with the University of Saskatchewan, says the project was initiated help deal with PEDv.

Dr. Terry Fonstad-University of Saskatchewan:
The very first thing is we needed to know what we were dealing with and so there was a 2 phased approach, the first phase being having VIDO, Prairie Swine Centre look at the pathogens of interest and how physically from an engineering standpoint could we destroy those pathogens.

Then the second phase was to test a way to clean trucks in a manner that would collect any of the material in the truck and be able to clean that truck in a short order of time that then also had the potential to be automated.

The next step that we can see is to further develop the work out of PAMI with the truck cleaning to at least be able to do it manually and the second one would be to work with someone like VIDO to verify that the pathogen destruction method will work.

That would be the second phase as we call it.
We're done phase 1 and then phase 3 would be to start working with a commercialization firm on the automation to be able to automate the cleaning of the truck and also the regulatory side of it to work with CFIA and AAFC to bring in this technology to help with biosecurity in Canada.

Dr. Fonstad says researchers will be looking forward to getting additional industry feedback on the project November 18 during Pork Industry Symposium.

Source: Farmscape