Keeping Stock High and Dry

A Western Australian abattoir has installed a cost effective suspended steel stock flooring system to meet stringent new international health regulations for processing sheep meat destined for local and export markets.

The European Union and American meat authorities have already banned the use of timber in abattoirs and the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service is expected to follow suit.

V&V Walsh at Bunbury has installed a suspended LYSAGHT INTERLOK™ II steel flooring system in its new facility to replace the timber flooring in its previous lairage, the pens holding animals awaiting processing.

V&V Walsh Engineering Manager Graham Briggs said the company decided to install 640 square metres of LYSAGHT INTERLOK™ II grating even though it did not know whether any other abattoir had used the system.

"We wanted something with an open mesh that was non-skid and LYSAGHT INTERLOK™ II filled the criteria," Graham Briggs said.

"The use of the flooring system is in its infancy but already it is proving successful. There was some initial doubt that the sheep would baulk and not run along the passageways because they could see through to the ground," he said.

"But the transverse ribs of the LYSAGHT INTERLOK™ II have been positioned so the sheep can't see the ground - they have been running along the main passageways as we hoped."

LYSAGHT INTERLOK™ II is an innovative and economical grating system suitable for racking, shelving, walkways, catwalks, platforms, ramps and decking.

The need for hygienic pens that were easy to clean was the motivation behind using the LYSAGHT INTERLOK™ II steel flooring system built inside a shed made from COLORBOND® steel.

The lairage can keep up to 3,000 sheep dry and clean at any one time. LYSAGHT INTERLOK™ II allows air to circulate through the lairage and enables the animals' waste products to drop to the ground almost two metres below, simplifying cleaning.

LYSAGHT INTERLOK™ II has anti-skid teeth formed in the transverse ribs in a special pattern which provides extra grip in all directions.

Consulting engineering firm Westcoast Sheds Managing Director Ross Beatty said LYSAGHT INTERLOK™ II met V&V Walsh's requirements and was easy to install.