The Perception of Robotic Milking Systems by a Sample of Employed Stockpersons

摘要

Purpose: Whilst much has been written about robotic milking systems and the management of the dairy cows in them, very little research has been undertaken on the attitudes of those working with them. This paper presents the results of a series of interviews with Stockpersons working on these systems with the objective of ascertaining their attitudes to their systems. Design/Methodology/Approach:The research interviewed 23 Stockpersons who were employed staff, with the objective of ascertaining theirattitudes. All of the study farms had at least two milking stations with approximately 60 cows per station and had been operational for over six months. The Stockpersons were all interviewed at least twice, with the objective of finding recurring themes.Both open and closed questioning was used. Findings: The positive recurring themes generally focused on the animals and their welfare. The negative recurring themes seemed to focus on the "machines'. A consistent negative theme was the reliability and complexity of robotic machines. The staff seemed to really like working on the systems, many wanting to stay and would recommend it to others. Whilst most felt their employers understand the problems of being called out in the middle of the night when theautomatic breakdown alarm calls their mobile 'phone, many fewer felt their partners did. Implications: The research suggests that the interaction skills of the stockperson can still be manifest in these systems. Staff seem to like the robotic systems but have some concerns about reliability. With expanding herd sizes it is likely that there will be more robotic milking systems, although it is not possible to predict the rate of change. All in all the implication is that staff on the systems to seem torate them highly. It must be recorded that this is a small study, although important as reflecting an area of little previous research. It is also true that may be the staff on such systems are self-selecting, i.e. those on the systems 'believe' in them.Adopting robotic systems can have staff management implications in several areas. Originality/Value: This is probably the largest and most comprehensive survey of to date. It may set a pattern for further studies.