Meat Industry Efficiency and Innovation Capacity Enhancement: Benchmarking Technologies and Systems from Automotive Industry

This project will focus on accelerating the adoption of new technologies by benchmarking the competitive and sustainable Automotive manufacturing industry as well as other food industries. The Automotive industry, as a high volume-low margin sector, is the pioneer in automating manual tasks, by developing the most advanced and cost-effective systems. Development of innovative manufacturing, processing, materials handling solutions and technologies as well as management systems and appropriate culture help the automotive industry to stay efficient and sustainable for many years. On the other hand the Australian automotive industry is leaving a huge number of culturally trained and skilled workers behind. All the above mentioned makes the need for an extensive research in adapting and using the already existing technologies, strategies and systems in the Automotive industry inevitable. A PhD research for the duration of 3 years to study the possibilities and potentials for the red meat industry to adapt technologies and solutions in the field of automation, materials handling solutions, management of processes and procedures, and quality assurance systems developed and used by the other industries is proposed. The research outcomes will generate a database for a rapid knowledge transfer in order to improve red meat industry’s innovation capacity on a sustained basis. This will ensure quick knowledge transfer by enabling the industry to acquire skills, as well as a huge number of skilled and culturally trained, unemployed workforce. This database will generate a bank for several future research activities in line with the AMPC capability building strategic plans.