Bedding plays a large role in animal research facilities.
Proper bedding provides both comfort for animals and directly supports research outcomes. The type of bedding and how often it’s replaced can also impact animal well-being and behavior.
To maintain these benefits, soiled bedding must be removed and replaced regularly. However, manual bedding handling tends to cause more problems than it solves. It’s time-consuming, prone to human error, and can expose staff to allergens, dust, and other hazardous materials.
That’s why many labs are switching to automated bedding conveying systems.
In this post, we’ll explore how bedding conveying tools improve laboratory hygiene, boost operational efficiency, and create a safer, cleaner workspace for personnel.
What Are Bedding Conveying Systems?
Bedding conveying systems are designed to remove and replace bedding hygienically – automatically. BetterBuilt’s S260 Sure-Vac Soiled Bedding Removal System uses a vacuum-powered setup to remove soiled bedding and transport it to an enclosed waste container. Its components include:
- A bedding dump station
- Conveyance piping
- Primary separator
- Vacuum piping
- Filter separators
- Vacuum
- Exhaust filters
The process is simple: soiled bedding is automatically or manually dumped into the dump station and conveyed through the system using pneumatic pressure. Airborne particles are filtered out along the way.
Once the soiled bedding is removed, fresh bedding is again added to the animal cages.
Manual bedding placement generates a lot of dust and can put your staff’s physical health at risk. The S210 Sure-Flo Clean Bedding Delivery System simplifies this process by using a tubular drag-chain conveyor system to transport and dispense fresh bedding. Bedding can be loaded in bulk or individual bags through inlet ports, depending on your needs.
5 Ways Bedding Conveying Systems Improve Laboratory Hygiene
In animal research facilities, good hygiene is non-negotiable. Poor sanitation can compromise research results and lead to non-compliance with essential animal care regulations.
Bedding conveyors contribute to lab hygiene by:
1) Reducing Cross-Contamination Risks with Hazardous Materials
Contamination is a constant risk in animal research labs. It can endanger research animals, harm staff, and compromise your data. This may require you to repeat your experiments, which can be expensive and time-consuming.
Manual handling of soiled bedding increases contamination risks, including:
- Pathogens spreading across surfaces or equipment.
- Airborne particulates travel throughout the facility.
- Contaminated hands, gloves, or tools unintentionally introduce pathogens into sterile environments.
Automated bedding conveying systems eliminate these risks by removing the need for human contact. Staff only need to load the machine or press a button, and the system does the rest.
2) Improving Dust Control
Animal bedding materials release dust, allergens, and particles into the air.
Handlers involved in cage cleaning and animal care face the highest exposure to aeroallergens. Airborne particulates can disrupt sensitive research environments and create respiratory risks to technicians. Prolonged exposure can lead to hypersensitivity, increase the risk of developing asthma, or worsen existing respiratory conditions.
Modern bedding conveying systems are designed to minimize airborne particulates by enclosing the transfer process and utilizing dust containment features.
3) Streamlining Sanitation and Decontamination of Remaining Debris
Strict cleaning routines are essential to maintain a safe, contamination-free environment in animal research laboratories.
Bedding conveying systems complement other sanitation technologies, such as cage washers and autoclaves. BetterBuilt’s bedding conveyors are designed to easily integrate with cage washers and sterilization units to synchronize bedding removal and cage cleaning.
4) Minimizing Human Error
Manual bedding handling creates inefficiencies that can compromise hygiene standards. Workers may accidentally:
- Leave behind soiled bedding
- Spill waste during transport
- Miss proper disposal steps
Some errors are caught early, but others can escalate into costly problems.
Bedding automated systems follow precise, repeatable processes – making sure all bedding will be handled properly and in line with established safety protocols.
Additionally, manually transporting, dumping, and replacing soiled bedding is very time-consuming. Bedding conveyors are built to optimize these workflows by speeding up the removal process and freeing staff to focus on high-priority tasks.
5) Supporting Regulatory Compliance
Animal research facilities must follow regulatory guidelines for laboratory hygiene and waste management. Failure to comply can result in fines, loss of funding, or even a suspension of research activities.
A bedding conveyor can help you avoid these risks and protect your facility in case of audits and inspections by regulatory agencies. You can also equip them with features that record and validate your cleaning processes.
Best Practices for Bedding Conveying Systems
To keep your bedding conveying systems operating smoothly, we recommend these practices:
- Keep the equipment clean to avoid germs and debris buildup.
- Follow the recommended preventative maintenance procedures.
- Train your team to use the system responsibly.
Even with these precautions, accidents can happen. Stay prepared by keeping emergency washing stations and fire extinguishers close at hand. Also, make sure your staff always wear their personal protective equipment (PPE) when handling soiled bedding.
Simplified, Cleaner Operations with BetterBuilt
Automated conveyors offer a significant upgrade over traditional bedding waste management methods. For facilities looking to modernize their operations, investing in a bedding conveying system is an essential step toward achieving a cleaner, safer, and more compliant research environment.
At BetterBuilt, we provide bedding conveyors as part of our comprehensive range of decontamination and sanitation solutions. Our products, designed to improve worker safety, lab hygiene, and boost productivity, are perfect for any lab animal research facility.
Contact us today to learn more or place your order!