Trailer Washes and Other Cleaning

Strategies- Strengths and

Weaknesses

Perry A. Harms DVM, MS

SPG/ MurphyBrown LLC

Rose Hill, NC

Overview

• Strategy Formation

• Fleet Dedication Strategies

• Truck Baker

• Recycle Rinse

• Modeling Risk

• Process Validation

Sanitation Strategies

• Review the root reason for sanitation

– Aesthetics

• Public perception

• Competitive (Jones’ syndrome)

• Use pride as a motivator

• Likely concentrate on the outside of the trailer

– Function

• Safety

• Shut the gates

Sanitation Strategies

• Disease transmission/ risk control

– Across flows or farms

• Efficiency of equipment

• Contract haulers

• Emergency/ contingency

– Within flows

• Weaned pigs

• Feeder pigs

– External contact (terminal markets)

Background Sanitation Resources

• MurphyBrown East

– 600K sows NC, SC,

VA

– Centralized support

services in general

– Company and Contract

Transportation

– 10 truck washes

– ~1790 washes/wk

Truck Wash Utilization

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

TH WS LG RG CT GW CL RB 701 TB

Truck Wash

Wa

sh

es

/ W

ee

k

No Wash Strategy

• Site Run-out

• Back to back loads (wean to feeder to top)

• Cost savings- focus resources on high return

areas

• Creates a more complicated system to

monitor

Fleet Dedication

• Genetic

• Multiplication

– PRRS negative

– PRRS positive

• Weaned pig/ Sow

• Live haul

• Top Haul

• Disease status (TGE)

Trailer Baker (multiplication)

• Objective- decrease the risk of PRRS transmission

by transportation• Drying a key component in sanitizing a trailer

• Creates “down time” faster

• Effectively remove transportation as the scapegoat for PRRS

breaks

• Symbolic investment by management in a PRRS negative

system

• Combined with dedicated fleet, transfer stations,

and high sanitation expectations

Trailer Baker

• Risk Assessment Model

– Truck washing and disinfection were estimated to be 99.9% effective in creating a PRRS free trailer (multiplication in cleanup phase)

– Multiplication at 50K sows washed ~225 trailers a week

– That would result in 12 PRRS breaks a year attributable to transportation- Not considered a sustainable level

Multiplication Transportation

Campus

Trailer Baker

• 2 Bay AP system

• Cycle time 30-45 minutes

• Heats and hold at a minimum of 142 F for 10 minutes

• Flushes with fresh air

Trailer Baker

Rolling heat duct Heat sensors

Trailer Baker Validation

• Can’t validate entire sanitation process because the expected failure rate is so low

• Modeled surface and joints with plates

• Surface and joints negative for PRRS VI (MLV) except when joints were spiked with shavings and/or manure

• Not a substitute for good sanitation

Trailer Baker

Baker drain Can’t stop the rain

Recycle rinse???

• Why do we wash trucks?

• Is the truck cleaner with or without recycle

flush?

• What are we willing to compromise in

balance priorities?

Dirty Trailer

Recycle Flush

Flush-Tidal Wave

TGE Model

• Selected TGE model

– Very visible disease outcome

– Can often track movement of disease

– Dedicate fleet by TGE status

Model Variables

• Diagnostic lag

– Incubation, recognition, diagnosis, segregation

• Temperature

– Lagoon, wash bay

• Sanitation efficacy

– Wash, disinfection, dry, downtime, dedicated

Model Calculations

• Viral survivability

• Infected bay days

• Number of trucks exposed

• Decontamination success

• Number of infective trailers

• Relative risk vs. fresh water

Sensitivity Analysis

Diagnostic Lag X Lagoon Temperature

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

Days

Ris

k-

Re

cy

cle

/Fre

sh

Lagoon 50F

Lagoon 70F

Lagoon 80F

Recycle is higher risk in cold and when quick to diagnose

Sensitivity Analysis

Cleaning Efficacy X Lagoon Temperature

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%

Efficacy

Ris

k-

Re

cy

cle

/Fre

sh

50F

70F

80F

Risk approaches zero as you approach perfect sanitation

Recycle Flush Conclusions

• Diagnostic lag (infection to fleet

segregation) is critical

• Temperature/Season drives TGE risk

• Recycle flush must improve the sanitation

efficacy 400% and be in Summer to reach

neutral risk

Which risks make sense?

“The most

consistent way

to get a trailer

clean is to start

with a clean

trailer.”

Key Lessons from TGE

• 3 nursery breaks from contaminated trailers

– 2 next load became infected, 1 twice removed

– Multiplies risk as finishers receive pigs

• One break due to truck/driver not trailer

– Hauled positive load (yet undiagnosed),

dropped trailer for clean trailer, infected the

next set of pigs

– Do an evaluation of CCP’s

Live Haul Wash Process

• Define Wash Process

• Get the Right

Equipment in Place

• Process Training

• Audit to the Process

Audit

• Audit the Process

– People

– Process

– Equipment

– Verification

• Audit Trucks and

Trailers

Audit Management

Audit Pre-Wash

Audit Equipment

Audit Wash Process

Audit Disinfection

Audit Results

• Internal QA

• Spot check trailers

• Develop quantitative

measures

“Soft” Issues

• Know what creates buy-in

– “Process development” vs. “Give me clear

direction”

– Measure and recognize effort and results

– Segment into the team levels for accountability

and feedback loop

– Involve all players into the same goal

Accident Response

Questions?