As a life science laboratory manager, a bedding dump station is a necessity.
It keeps your lab sanitary and your workers safe from disease and allergens. It’s the cage dump operation that efficiently disposes of soiled bedding and feed without slowing down your processes. You want your bedding dump station to be heavy-duty, reliable, and have the capacity that suits your facility’s individual needs.
There are many things to consider when looking for a bedding dump station. Let’s talk about 4 key questions to ask to ensure you get the perfect solution for your facility.
1. Do you need a stand-alone or integrated station?
An automated dump station can be purchased either as a stand-alone unit or integrated with a tunnel washer. The ActivADS solution offers either version so you can customize the unit for your lab’s specific needs. These systems provide a safe work environment for your operators by automatically dumping and scraping soiled cages in an enclosed stainless steel cabinet.
Running a sanitary facility is crucial to keeping your operators and other employees safe. By using fixed control movements via pneumatics and drives, the soiled rodent cages are dumped and scraped automatically. The enclosed environment limits exposure to allergens and other harmful particles to your lab employees.
The ActivADS Dump Station is part of an automated suite of solutions that can solve the operational and worker safety concerns in your life science laboratory. Whether or not you need a stand-alone bedding dump station or an integrated solution will depend on your lab’s workflow.
2. How much bedding will the station need to accommodate?
As a facility manager, you’ll need to consider the capacity of your new automated dump station. Size is important – and your decision will depend on the volume in your laboratory. The type of animal being housed and the size of the facility will also influence your decision.
If you have a bigger facility with a large volume of bedding material, a small unit might not have the capacity to handle all the waste generated by your facility. In these instances, you will need to weigh your volume against the space you have allocated for your bedding dump station and the capacity of the integrated removal system.
If you have questions about the capacity of an automated dump station and how it will fit into your laboratory plans, it’s a good idea to consult with an expert.
3. Do you need an automated or manual unit?
When assessing your laboratory needs, ask yourself what kind of unit works best for your individual situation and layout. Automated dump stations are more expensive than manual units. However, they will do a lot to improve the efficiency of your facility.
Automation is quickly becoming a critical component in a facility’s success.
If you have a high-volume facility, a larger unit that’s automated will help speed up your work processes by allowing your workers to let the ActivADS do some of the monotonous work. With an automated dump station, the cages are simply placed in the unit and the system does all the work. This frees up your employees for other tasks and increases work efficiency.
Using manual units requires an operator to physically dump the soiled bedding into the station. This takes time and a dedicated operator to run the unit. With the ActivADS, you can operate it in automatic or manual mode for the best of both worlds. There may be times when the manual operation of the unit is necessary for safety or efficiency – and the ActivADS can be easily switched from one to the other.
4. What safety features are important to you?
When choosing an automated dump station, you’ll need to think about what safety features are most important to your laboratory. All automated dump stations come with some safety features. However, the level of protection can vary from one unit to another.
We know the safety of your operators and workers is important and plays a big role when buying a bedding dump station.
That’s why the ActivADS includes a fully enclosed cabinet. Having the entire unit enclosed limits your operators’ exposure to allergens or other harmful particles. An optional dust collector is available for the unit that further limits the operator’s exposure to harmful allergens. The unit is quiet, efficient, and effective in reducing allergen exposure.
The Next Step
BetterBuilt has manufactured industrial washers and other equipment for life sciences laboratories – such as the ActivADS – since the 1950s. We’re proud that our products have become a vital link in the success of laboratory research and medical procedures in the life science industry for over 70 years.
Contact us online or call 1-888-553-0855 to learn more about our bedding dump stations or any of our other life science laboratory products. We’ll work directly with your team to design a unique solution for your laboratory that meets specifications and exceeds your expectations.