Boosting poultry production by automating incubators

Using a method that dates to the early Egyptians, poultry producers have been using incubators to hatch eggs for more than a century. Now new control systems are set to improve yields 3–5% while energy costs are slashed by 30%.

A modern incubator is a device that aims not just to simulate but to exceed the results from natural avian incubation. They create the perfect environment and conditions for an egg to incubate because it is able to allow all factors both internal and external to the incubator to be monitored and work together to achieve high quality and hatchability.

Now a Sydney-based engineering company has taken this process a giant leap further with the development of a groundbreaking new control system.

Automated Control Solutions (ACS) is a company that specialises in automation and control for the manufacturing and the food and beverage industries. Established in Western Sydney over nine years ago, ACS has turned its focus to the food industry to assist poultry producers to increase their productivity.

“Our company has been doing research and development into incubator control systems for the poultry industry for many years,” said ACS founder and CEO Adam Francica.

“We have been trialling our latest system at the plant of a leading poultry producer on the outskirts of Sydney.

“The results have not only shown an increase in number and quality of hatchings, but also a huge increase in efficiency.

“After using the new technology, the producer has seen an increase of 3–5% in hatch results and a reduction in energy costs of more than 30%, which easily provides a quick return on investment.”

Better hatch results

Francica has been working closely with a leading poultry producer for several years.

“We have been studying the hatching process over several years and have been working with hatchery managers to develop, trial and prove a new control system that achieves better hatch results than current systems available on the market.

The main goal is to increase the productivity of poultry producers by increasing their efficiency and producing large numbers of uniform, robust day-old chicks.

“And the system must be flexible to suit all conditions — both internal to the incubator and the external environment,” said Francica.

ACS developed the first prototype of the new control system three years ago and has been continuously developing and improving with its latest system in trial for the past six months.

The system is still in the developmental stages, but the early signs are most promising.

“The producer is extremely happy with the results,” said Francica.

The success of the system can be largely attributed to the reliability and accuracy of its components.

Nearly all the hardware was supplied by Omron, a global leader in automation, specialising in control systems. Omron supplied the control hardware — PLC, HMI (touchscreen) and various control components, helped to implement the new system and is providing ongoing support.

ACS aims to expand the control system into the poultry industry both nationally and then globally as companies overseas have already expressed interest in the system.

How the ACS system is different

“There is one key point of difference — customisation as the system provides more control and flexibility,” said Francica.

“Our system can be custom designed to individual applications and our unique knowledge gained from research and consultation with industry leaders has enabled the development of a control system that is versatile and more flexible than competitor systems. We can locally support our control system due to in-house design and development, and this gives us a great advantage over current overseas suppliers.”

The control system uses the latest in valve technology, which enables optimum temperature control and efficiency, while the PLC incorporates custom algorithms with an easy-to-use touchscreen for operators.

“With the new system we have been able to control the environment far more efficiently.”

Francica hopes to soon unveil the new system to the world.

Top image credit:©stock.adobe.com/au/Szasz-Fabian Jozsef