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Shear Express Frequently Asked Questions
Nature of System
Is the system part of the robotic shearing program?
How do you know the system will work?
Surely a sequential production line system will be only as fast as the slowest operative on the system?
Won’t a slower to shear sheep slow the whole system down?
Won’t a slower shearer slow the whole system down?
Where could productivity gains come from in the Shear Express system compared with traditional shearing?
Wouldn’t cradle shearing be more effective and cheaper?
What improvements have been made over the Wool Harvesters mobile prototype which operated in 1999/2000?
On Farm Impact
Can the system shear wet sheep?
Can the system handle non standard requirements?
How will my clip preparation requirements be handled?
What site works requirements are there before the system can operate on my property?
Do I still need a woolshed to carry out animal husbandry such as crutching?
Can you take sheep straight out of my shearing shed?
Can the system be used to effectively select sheep for breeding and other stock selection purposes?
How soon could I expect to be able to use the Shear Express system on my sheep?
Benefits to Wool Producers
Will the Shear Express system be cheaper than traditional shearing?
Will there be a wool marketing advantage using Shear Express?
What workers compensation cost advantages will there be?
Services Provided
What services will be provided?
What preparatory work does a wool producer need to carry out on his flock before presentation to the Shear Express system?
If I use the Shear Express system, do I need to get sheep husbandry activities, such as crutching, carried out?
For more information telephone 1300 135 840 or Email Us
Nature of System
Is the system part of the robotic shearing program?
The Shear Express system has no connection with robotic shearing and its principles of operation are quite different. The Shear Express system does not replace shearers, shed hands and classers, it uses them in a different way. The system uses a sequential production line with 7 stations at which wool is removed from the sheep. Wool harvesters remove wool under better and easier ergonomic conditions than shearers, with the reduction of manual handling and bending over. The system will operate a 10 hour day, and have 14 operatives, including 3 shed hands, 2 classers and 9 wool harvesters who will work an 8 hour day on the system, in rotation.
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How do you know the system will work?
The mobile wool harvesting system was successfully demonstrated by the Wool Harvesters in 1999/2000 with wool being shorn from over 40,000 sheep. The purpose of the current project is to overcome the weaknesses of the original prototype through a thorough design and trial process, leading to practical demonstration in the field and commercial trials.
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Surely a sequential production line system will be only as fast as the slowest operative on the system?
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This is correct. However, sequential production line processes are used in most high volume manufacturing processes, having taken over from individual item production processes (such as the traditional method of shearing) because of the productivity and quality control gains available. Industries which use sequential production line production processes include the car industry and, in the agricultural sector, abattoirs.
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Won’t a slower to shear sheep slow the whole system down?
Approximately 10% of each mob, the inconsistent shearing sheep, will be drafted off in the lead-in making the both the mob and draft-off group consistent for wool harvesting. This maximizes the throughput rates for both groups.
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Won’t a slower shearer slow the whole system down?
There is scope along the system to balance workload to minimize the impact of a slower operative.
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Where could productivity gains come from in the Shear Express system compared with traditional shearing?
Productivity gains and improved quality control in sequential production lines systems come from the following factors:
- The complex task of shearing a sheep is broken down into 7 individual tasks, each of which requires lesser skill and a shorter learning curve than the single complex task of shearing a sheep;
- Productivity gains arise from each individual task being performed substantially more efficiently than the equivalent part of the original shearing process.
This arises because the individual task can be focused upon more closely by the operative.
Training in each task also becomes more specific allowing improved techniques to be effectively brought into the system over time.
- Gains are also expected to arise from improved quality control over the wool clip, due to the use of standard operating procedures; and
- More specialized tools can be utilized, such as a central comb grinding function and specialized combs at each station which allow an individual tasks to be carried out more effectively.
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Wouldn’t cradle shearing be more effective and cheaper?
There is no evidence of cradle shearing being used on any scale to carry out mainstream shearing (although it is used extensively for crutching) despite a range of cradle shearing systems having been widely available to the industry for many years.
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What improvements have been made over the Wool Harvesters mobile prototype which operated in 1999/2000?
A number of major improvements have been made over the original prototype. These include:
- Developing a robust engineering specification so that the machine will be durable
- Improving the way in which the sheep are handled on the system and the general productivity of the system
- Developing standard operating procedures to manage the system and control output quality
- Developing systems for capturing individual sheep data on machine including animal ID and weight, outputs from fleece testing and other wool classing information.
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On Farm Impact
Can the system shear wet sheep?
The Shear Express system will have a mobile sheep cover which can hold approximately one days supply of sheep. Its purpose is to keep sheep dry and thereby extend the envelope of days of operation of the system in wetter months when shearing would otherwise be constricted. Sheep will only be shorn if the moisture content of the wool is below acceptable levels and where wool would not be prevented from, or damaged by, pressing.
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Can the system handle non standard requirements?
The Shear Express system can accommodate variations in customer requirements. An example of such a customer requirement would be recovery of wool down to the toe in superfine sheep. In this case it would be possible for the legs of the sheep to be taken out of the leg cuffs at one or other station in the Shear Express process to allow this valuable wool to be taken off.
Changes to the standard procedures may slow the system and may add to the cost. [Note: the removal of hocks at shearing significantly increases the risk of fleece contamination by kemp and medulated fibres].
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How will my clip preparation requirements be handled?
Prior to commencing wool harvesting a flock, the wool producer will be consulted to ensure that his clip preparation requirements, where practicable, are set up in the machine’s database and control system and that the classers are appropriately briefed on the wool producer’s requirements. The wool producer’s drafting requirements, as far as practicable, will also be set up in the machine’s database and control system. The first machine will have a three way draft capability.
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What site works requirements are there before the system can operate on my property?
The system will need a space of 40m by 12m alongside the farmer’s sheep yards. This site needs to be reasonably level site with around 30cm maximum fall across 20m. Shear Express is currently establishing the detailed requirements for the machine footprint, requirements for yards and turning circle for delivery and exit. It is expected that most wool growers will need to do some site works to accommodate the system and allow set up of sheep entry and exit draft systems. This work is expected in most cases to be capable of being carried by the farmer with his own equipment in a few hours.
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Do I still need a woolshed to carry out animal husbandry such as crutching?
Mobile crutching cradle systems are used widely to carry out crutching and other husbandry requirements. These do not require the use of shearing sheds. A crutching service could easily be offered as a co-service to the Shear Express system, either at a separate time or in-line just prior to sheep entering the wool harvesting machine.
It is under consideration by the management team as part of the service offering. In-line crutching is expected to have cost advantages for those who crutch twice a year; the second crutching being required to remove dags and stain prior to shearing as they will save on mustering, labour and reduce injuries to sheep through minimising sheep handling in the yards.
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Can you take sheep straight out of my shearing shed?
The wool harvester entry requires sheep to be picked up from its own lead-up pen. Shearing sheds close to yards may be useful for storing sheep overnight and in showery weather.
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Can the system be used to effectively select sheep for breeding and other stock selection purposes?
Sheep can be drafted through a three way auto draft on exit from the system. In time the three way system is expected to be increased to allow wider drafting options. A wool producer’s draft criteria will be established prior to commencement of wool harvesting. Overall it is expected that the auto draft system will:
- Provide a significant labour and time saving advantage to the farmer by avoiding additional or double handling of sheep
- Facilitate the handling of larger mobs with single pass non-shearing husbandry operations; and
- Enable drafting decisions to be electronically recorded on a per sheep basis.
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How soon could I expect to be able to use the Shear Express system on my sheep?
Trials of the first commercial prototype are expected to be undertaken during the last quarter of 2003. The future of the system will depend upon the success of these trials. The first machine will be available in the Bendigo region and, additional machines will be deployed in the future to other areas.
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Benefits to Wool Producers
Will the Shear Express system be cheaper than traditional shearing?
Shear Express intends to offer the system to wool producers initially at a rate which will be cost competitive with contract shearing.
It is expected that wool producers will use the system instead of traditional shearing because of the value added from:
- Improved consistency and quality of clip, through consistent use of standardised procedures;
- Ease of collection and use of sheep and wool data, including in-shed testing, for use by wool producers to assist them in improving their flocks and marketing their clip; and
- Savings on making capital investment in new wool sheds or substantial refurbishment of existing wool sheds.
The system provides improved Occupational Health and Safety conditions over traditional shearing for employees and access to a broader employment pool for wool harvesting, which may help deal with the declining numbers of shearers working in the industry;
The system is expected to be able to demonstrate productivity gains, through de-skilling and specialisation of discrete tasks within the system. The benefits of these productivity gains may be passed through to wool producers over time.
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Will there be a wool marketing advantage using Shear Express?
Wool clips prepared using Shear Express’ controlled production procedures, in the future, are expected to give wool buyers additional confidence when making purchase decisions. Wool producers may see benefit through higher demand for Shear Express prepared clips or through lower discount penalties arising from stain, fibre length variation and poor consistency within lines of wool.
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What workers compensation cost advantages will there be?
The extent of cost advantages on workers compensation premia which would arise from the Shear Express system is difficult to calculate because the systems and rates for workers compensation in each state are different. In addition the rates are determined in part by claims history. For instance Shear Express currently pays the published rate of 6.76% in Victoria (with no operational history), while [some] shearing contractors are understood to be paying around 12% in the state after taking into account their claims history.
However, it is expected that overall the Shear Express system will benefit from lower premia than shearing contractors through providing a lower risk environment which leads to lower claims.
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Services Provided
What services will be provided?
Initially the Shear Express system will provide:
- de-fleecing and clip preparation;
- in-shed fleece testing (OFDA or Lazerscan);
- three way auto-draft for sheep on exit; and
- provision of sheep production data (sheep weight, fleece weight, and fleece class).
The Shear Express Mobile Wool Harvesting System is fully self-contained, providing its own power supply, toilets, and sheep storage shelter (if required).
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What preparatory work does a wool producer need to carry out on his flock before presentation to the Shear Express system?
All sheep entering the wool harvesting system must be free of dags, fly strike, disease and heavy urine stain. This is necessary to ensure that stained wool stays out of the clip and give confidence in the Shear Express system to wool buyers. Therefore it will be necessary for wool producers to carry out certain husbandry procedures such as crutching before using the Shear Express system.
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If I use the Shear Express system, do I need to get sheep husbandry activities, such as crutching, carried out?
Wool producers will need to carry out husbandry activities such as crutching prior to using the Shear Express system. Within the Shear Express system stations 1 to 3 prepare the sheep and fleece for removal of the clean fleece wool on stations 4 to 7. This is not a crutching process.
If a farmer requires hocks removed, this should be done as a husbandry activity as part of the normal crutching process - hock removal during shearing creates fleece contamination. (For example; a local cradle crutching contractor could offer this service in tandem with the wool harvesting service.)
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For more information telephone 1300 135 840 or Email Us
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