Five Reasons why GEA Invented and Engineered the In-Liner Everything Process
GEA’s revolutionary In-Liner Everything technology performs every step of the milking process — stimulation, teat cleaning, forestripping, milk harvest and post‑dipping — in a single attachment. Here is why GEA pursued engineering this unique and forward-thinking technology for robotic milking systems.
1 Many other systems were not using a specially formulated germicidal pre-dip and GEA wanted to offer a model that could safely accomplish this task (in countries where pre-dipping is allowed).
2 Other robots were cleaning teats at a satisfactory level, but GEA thought it could be done better. Research from Penn State showed robot systems were missing teats when attempting to clean — 10% on average and up to 50% if there was a technical difficulty1. GEA wanted to facilitate a higher percentage of teats being cleaned — and cleaned more effectively.
3 GEA wanted to speed up the milking process and decrease box times. Other robots were prepping too slow — requiring two trips to the cow while using the camera twice to locate teats (the most-time consuming variable in the prep process). With In-Liner Everything, cow prep and milking all occur in-liner in one simple attachment — making milking faster and allowing for more milkings per box per day.
4 GEA wanted to improve post-dipping coverage on robot systems. Teat spray devices can perform poorly in terms of coverage of all sides of all four teats and all teat-ends. Dipping in the liner facilitates significantly improved coverage, properly protecting cows from mastitis-causing pathogens in between milkings, when they need it the most.
5 GEA wanted to reduce movements underneath the cow, which has been linked to reducing stress levels and generating a more calm milk harvest process. We think that is a good thing.
GEA has been a leader in milk harvest innovation for more than 100 years. We’ve taken decades of milking intelligence and transferred that knowledge and best practices to the many facets of robotic milking. This expertise facilitates a superior milk harvest using the most modern technologies.
1 Penn State Extension. 2014. Milk Quality on PA Dairy Farms Using Robotic Milking Systems – Part 2. [accessed 2019 Oct 24]. https://extension.psu.edu/milk-quality-on-pa-dairy-farms-using-robotic-milking-systems-part-2.