CAGE PROCESSING in Animal Facilities - Felasa

4.2.2 Emptying of water bottlesBefore water bottles can be washed, the bottle caps must be removed from the bottle necks. The open bottleswill then be turned over in their crates in order to remove residual liquids. After that the washing chamber willbe loaded with the bottles neck down.4.2.2.1 Design of bottle emptying stationsFor a convenient, staff-friendly workflow, unnecessary stacking and moving of items should be avoided.Hence, the emptying machine should be set up in a way that the washer can be loaded right after the bottleshave been opened and emptied. Avoiding thereby major torso twists and long transport distances is not onlyergonomically reasonable, but also timesaving.Size: Ergonomic working heights are set between approximately 800 and 900 mm. This height is reasonablefor this specific process depends on the bottle crate design. There should also be enough room for a temporarystoring of bottle crates.Structure: To collect residual liquids the emptying machine should be equipped with a basin of sufficient size.The basin dimensions must have enough space for baskets which collect the bottle caps. The work spaceshould allow for a convenient handling and moving of bottle crates.Material: Stainless steel (material AISI 304 or more significant) offers a major advantage regarding durabilityand cleaning.Cleaning: Emptying machines should be easy to clean and be designed accordingly. A general cleaningshould be done daily, an intensive cleaning of the entire machine weekly.4.2.2.2 Different ways of emptying water bottles – advantages / disadvantagesBelow you will find options for a manual, semi-automatic, and fully automatic emptying of water bottles:Table 4-3Option Advantages DisadvantagesManual systemsdecapping of bottles with aspecial cap lifter; immediatedumping of liquids into asuitable sinkcost-effective; can berealised within an existingsystem; flexibletime-consuming; lowcapacity; ergonomicallydifficultSemi-automaticsystemsautomatic decapping ofbottles (pneumatically ormechanically); immediatemanual dumping of liquidsinto a suitable sinkrelatively cost-effective;can be realised within anexisting systemtime-consuming; lowcapacityFully automaticsystemsfully automatic decappingof bottles and dumping ofliquids with help of robotsor machinestimesaving; ergonomicallybeneficial; high capacity;reduced staff possiblehigh costs of purchase;limitations possible due tonecessary standardisation;high maintenance4.3 Washing / Rinsing / Drying4.3.1 Washer requirementsThe function of a washer in the wash-up area of an animal facility is to clean and, where necessary, decontaminateitems (please refer to chapter 3) persuant to operator-specific standards and conditions. The washingis done with suitable process chemicals, following an effective and standardised washing procedure thatusually consists of a recirculation of water and detergent and a subsequent fresh water rinsing, possibly withadded rinse aid.16Cage Processing in Animal Facilities · 4th issue · 2013