A COST-effective steel stock flooring system to meet stringent international health regulations for processing sheep meat has been installed by a Western Australian abattoir. The European Union and US meat authorities have already banned the use of timber in abattoirs and the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service is expected to follow. V&V Walsh at Bunbury has installed a suspended Lysaght Interlok 2 steel flooring system in its new abattoir to replace the timber flooring in its previous holding area. Engineering manager Graham Briggs said the company had decided to install 640sq/m of the grating without knowing whether any other abattoir had used the system. "We wanted something with an open mesh that was non-skid and Lysaght Interlok 2 filled the criteria," Graham said. "Use of this flooring system is already successful. "There was some initial doubt that the sheep would baulk and not run along the passageways because they could see through to the ground. "But the transverse ribs have been positioned so the sheep can't see the ground. They have been running along the main passageways as we hoped." Lysaght Interlok 2 is an innovative, economical grating system suitable for racking, shelving, walkways, catwalks, platforms, ramps and decking. The abattoir trialled it because it required hygienic pens that were easy to clean. The steel flooring system is built inside a shed built with Colorbond pre-painted steel sheeting. The holding pens can keep up to 3000 sheep dry and clean at a time. Interlok 2 allows air to circulate through the pens and droppings to fall to the ground almost 2m below, simplifying cleaning. Interlok 2 has anti-skid teeth in the transverse ribs in a special pattern that provides extra grip in all directions. Ross Beatty, managing director of consulting engineers Westcoast Sheds, said the flooring met V&V Walsh's requirements and was easy to install.