When it comes to processing products for human consumption, like flour, sugar and other powdered products, there are strict safety and sanitation requirements that industrial plants must follow. One way to eliminate these concerns is to use food grade flexible connectors, like the BFM Fitting®, which are safe, sanitary and offer snap-on efficiency.

Here’s an overview of both preventive measures processing plants may take and the more stringent government mandated requirements that work to ensure the food industry’s commitment to keeping our food safe and us healthy.

Prevention-based Food Safety

1)  Hazard Analysis & Critical Control Point (HACCP) identifies, monitors and prevents specific food safety hazards that will adversely affect the safety of food products unless properly managed. HACCP plans identify potential food safety hazards so that key actions can be taken to reduce or eliminate the risk of those hazards. Prevention is the most effective means of ensuring food safety. More than 150 countries have adopted HACCP, making it the global standard in food safety programs.

2) Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs) address the methods, equipment, facilities, and controls for producing processed food. As sanitary and processing standards for producing safe and wholesome food, GMPs are an important part of regulatory control over the safety of the nation’s food supply. GMPs also serve as one basis for U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) inspections.

3) Self-audits performed routinely ensure that the programs in place are being followed and monitored correctly. Independent third party auditors verify that the procedures stated in the programs are being followed. They also perform a physical inspection of the facility to ensure that the programs and procedures are reflective of industry and company standards and requirements.

Government Regulated Food Safety

OSHA and FDA both set regulations for fine powdered food processing facilities which drive safety design and construction.

OSHA standards set worker and operational safety and are considered a minimum that must be met for nonpublic operational areas. They cover a number of construction related issues such as access, exits, fixed ladder construction, stairs, ships ladders, guardrails, equipment access and tunnel construction.

The FDA regulates requirements of food related operations for the manufacturing, packaging and holding practices in food production facilities. For our purposes, we’ll only discuss food plant safety.

FDA & Food Safety: Minimizing Food Contamination

Facility Construction. The building must be constructed in a way such that floors walls and ceilings can be easily cleaned and that construction materials are durable and easy to clean. Floor drains should be provided in wash down areas. Ducts and pipes must be located where they cannot contaminate food from condensation or falling debris. Adequate space should be provided between equipment and walls for cleaning.

Water Waste Treatment. A facility must maintain an operating system for waste treatment. There must be a potable water supply and adequate plumbing. Rubbish and disposal of viscera must be provided for. There must also be a suitable dry and wet waste disposal system depending on the processing method. Adequate toilet and hand washing facilities must be available to employees.

Lighting & Ventilation. Adequate ventilation and control equipment must be in place to minimize odors and vapors (including steam and noxious fumes) in areas where they may contaminate food. The FDA also requires that fans and other air-blowing equipment are located in a manner that minimizes the potential for contaminating food, food packaging materials and food-contact surfaces.

Operational Safety. Other operational aspects that a facilities manager needs to consider include cleaning/sanitizing of the physical plant, utensils and equipment, storing cleaning and sanitizing products and materials, pest control, and maintenance and repair.

Not So Brief Overview

As you can see from this not so brief “overview,” there is much a plant owner can do on both a self-regulating basis and in following state and federal regulations to ensure food safety. Care must be taken in all aspects of the layout, design and operation of a bulk food processing plant in order to establish and maintain the maximum safety and functionality of and for the physical plant. These safeguards will go a long way toward minimizing food borne illnesses and worker safety.

Energy Audit

The first step in creating an environmentally-friendly plant is to develop an energy audit. Knowing first-hand the age, condition, energy consumption and maintenance requirements of the building will go a long way in creating a checklist for potential savings and ways to improve health and safety.

Areas for improvement might be found in how power is distributed through the plant or how the HVAC, light and water systems are maintained. Just installing motion sensor switches in bathrooms and low-traffic areas, for example, can result in significant energy savings.

His experience with hiring independent contractors can give him insight into who might provide the best services for energy, steam and compressed air audits. Those who specialize in designing or retrofitting plants to improve sustainability are the most capable of interpreting results and recommending a course of action.

Safety Hazard Audit

While no plant manager wants to dwell on possible hazards on the factory floor, research shows that indirect actions that skirt sustainability, such as the management of hazardous materials on site, contribute to the highest injury rates. A facility manager interested in the overall sustainability of his plant will want to perform a plant walk through to identify problem areas.

While overall health, environmental and safety processes and reporting fall under the facility manager’s day-to-day job requirements, long-term plant sustainability must come from the top down. While the tenets of sustainability already exist for safety and environmental compliance, senior management must recognize and accept sustainability as a long-term corporate priority.

Human Assets Audit

Once sustainability is acknowledged as a primary business driver, the facility manager can incorporate various aspects of the plan into ongoing activities and include them in continuous improvement programs by calling upon talented “human assets” that already exist within the organization. When that happens, then management teams who direct existing reliability, efficiency, productivity and cost-reduction programs will step up and help optimize the sustainability of new facilities, equipment and procedures over time ensuring the long-term success of your plant’s green initiatives.

When people think about industrial safety, they often associate danger with large equipment failure. But, have you considered that something such as a poorly installed flexible connector can be equally dangerous. The result may be employee exposure to hazardous dusts, an explosive environment, and overall poor working conditions.

Here are some tips on how to improve worker safety by taking advantage of technology improvements.

Pallet Lifts

Some of the simplest solutions often result in the highest worker safety improvements. Many on-the-job injuries can be avoided by using pallet lifts. Today, pallet lifts are designed to be ergonomically efficient and to offer relief from back strain and stress injuries. An added benefit is that pallet lifts are now made with stainless steel allowing them to withstand harsh sanitizing and minimizing cross contamination concerns.

Dust Collectors

Dust generated during manual dumping poses a hazard to the operator. Dust collectors that can handle free- and non-free-flowing bulk materials ranging from large pellets to sub-micron powders, aid in dust recovery and improve worker safety. In addition to containing the dust generated, dust collectors conserve useable product while reducing the frequency and cost of trash disposal.

Fan Technology

Fan technology has advanced to allow for more effective air circulation through improved compact design, even in small spaces and areas with limited ceiling heights. Users control fan speed creating a more individualized work space and healthier air flow. Some industrial fans are now engineered with an aluminum balanced blade/hub connection and vibration absorbing materials that reduce stress by 50 to 75%. Utilizing resilient materials and improved balancing provides more reliable operation and reduces maintenance costs.

Temperature Control

Climate control is an important consideration in any food processing plant. The need to isolate different areas such as freezer and cooler areas, loading docks, food processing lines and warehouse operations creates a challenging safety and economic issue.

Temperature loss between climate controlled areas can result in high energy costs. Installing “climate curtains” that are not fire resistant or are prone to mildew and rot pose a serious safety and health threat.

Benefits of Implementing HES Standards

Whether your solution to improved worker safety is as simple as installing non-slip high traction floor mats to the latest in high-tech industrial products, your company will benefit from better morale, fewer sick days and an improved bottom line.

When plants use rigid standard connectors that can often be installed in different ways by different operators, the recorded weight can vary. Even the smallest difference in the amount of a particular ingredient can affect the outcome of a baked good, rendering a batch useless.

The BFM® Fitting, however, will help ensure the connection itself does not affect the scale and accuracy of powder weight.

The BFM® fitting provides a guarantee to the weigh and hopper application that the weight it records will always be accurate.  Gone are the days of installation error or even in using different size or numbers of hose clamps to secure standard traditional fittings; gone are the days of second guessing the repeatability of your scales.
With standard connectors held taut by hose clamps, leaking is inevitable and just how much leaks out can be dangerous in the case of volatile powders such as sugar.

For the baking industry and the bulk processing plants and factories that deliver tasty treats to the masses; safety, reliability and repeatability within the powder processing production steps are crucial.

Ready to learn more about the BFM® fitting? Contact BFM® fitting distributor Powder-Solutions today.

ISD aims to design and operate a safe processing plant. It tries to eliminate, or at the very least very significantly reduce, hazards in a plant rather than just manage them with procedures or hardware.

If your plant is looking to reduce the costs that accompany safety equipment or enhanced procedures, then ISD may be a worth implementing.

Chemical Processing offers three approaches for implementing ISD in new and existing plants:

1. An inherent safety analysis of a process using an ISD checklist
2. An independent Process Hazard Analysis (PHA) for a plant focusing on ISD
3. A complete PHA of the plant with ISD considerations fully incorporated into the PHA discussions

Looking to improve plant safety even further?

One area often overlooked by bulk powder processing plants is outdated hose clamps and flexible connections. Old-fashioned hose clamps are likely to fail in the event of an internal dust explosion. By replacing hose clamps with the BFM® fitting, plants can significantly reduce this risk and enhance plant safety. The BFM® fitting expands with the sudden pressure shock, but the internal snap band seal does not fail.

Discover more about the BFM® fitting and its plant safety benefits.

That’s particularly true for plants that must batch change often for different types of powder, such as food, dairy and pharmaceutical processors.

Using outdated hose clamps and flexible sleeves, time spent taking down and cleaning equipment can be significant – not to mention the time spent cleaning up any resulting leaks or messes.

That equals unnecessary downtime, lost productivity and lost revenue.

On top of that, manual installation of equipment presents a slew of safety concerns:

1. Operators must climb a ladder carrying tools, which endanger employees and equipment below.

2. Operator have to reach to tighten clamps, which presents potential safety and ergonomic issues.

3. Operators could slice or puncture their hands with the tools.

One solution solves all of these issues. By replacing old-fashioned hose clamps with the BFM® fitting, plants can enhance efficiency by significantly reducing time spent maintaining equipment.

The BFM® fitting:

• Requires no tools to install, saving time and eliminating safety concerns
• Snaps perfectly into place in just 40 seconds, regardless of the operator’s experience
• Comprises two basic elements: the flexible sleeve with top and bottom snap bands, and two matched spigots

The improved plant efficiency afforded by the BFM® fitting directly translates to the bottom line.

Check out this BFM® fitting video to see firsthand how the connector system can be installed in less than 40 seconds.

Sophisticated explosion venting and suppression systems can be successful if the primary explosion is contained within the process equipment. It’s also important to control the ignition of sources to prevent dust explosions. OSHA offers a few tips:

• Use appropriate electrical equipment and wiring methods

• Control static electricity

• Control smoking, open flames and sparks

• Control mechanical sparks and friction

• Use separator devices to remove foreign materials capable of igniting combustibles from process materials

• Separate heated surfaces and heating systems from dusts

• Proper use and type of industrial trucks and cartridge activated tools

• Adequately maintain all the above equipment

One area often overlooked are the flexible connections on process equipment. For bulk powder processing plants, hose clamps are likely to fail in the event of an internal dust explosion. In controlled tests by an independent lab, slow motion video revealed the BFM® fitting expands with the sudden pressure shock, but the internal snap band seal does not fail. Designed for food and dairy facilities to stop powder leakage, the BFM® fitting has the potential to improve safety in a wide range of industrial applications and industries.

Discover more about the BFM® fitting and its safety benefits.

If you are processing any of these food allergens, such as lactose and peanut residue, on the same bulk powder processing line, you are at risk for cross-contamination.

With traditional flexible sleeves held by hose clamps, powder buildup and leakage are common issues that can increase the risk of cross-contamination. The BFM® fitting ensures a smooth crevice-free connection. Powder does not become trapped in the connector, minimizing the chance for cross-contamination. The snap band design forms a perfect seal, and allows the flexible sleeve to easily be removed for cleaning without requiring tools. Also, the dust tight seal prevents powder from leaking into the atmosphere.

Discover more about how the BFM® fitting can help prevent cross contamination.

Bulk material processing plants typically use a dust control system, such as a baghouse dust collector, to capture and manage dust, and reduce dust hazards. The National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), however, recommend using whole-plant ventilation to supplement existing dust control equipment in order to reduce dust levels.

Powder Bulk Solids magazine offers several other methods for reducing dust hazards:

1. Use the appropriate housekeeping measures to eliminate or minimize combustible-dust accumulation.

2. Install equipment grounding and appropriately rated electrical systems to eliminate or minimize static-electricity buildup, and regularly inspect the systems to make sure they are running properly.

3. Ensure equipment is vented to safely discharge combustion products from a dust explosion to the atmosphere.

4. Use equipment isolation barriers to prevent a primary dust explosion from becoming a more severe secondary event. Solutions may include rotary airlocks, screw conveyors, mechanical isolation barriers and chemical isolation barriers.

5. Implement equipment suppression to detect a dust explosion before it happens and extinguish it using the appropriate quenching agents.

Another method for reducing dust hazards in a powder processing plant is the use of the BFM® fitting to replace old fashioned flexible sleeves held with hose clamps. Sleeves held by clamps can contribute to a dusty plant environment and increase the risk of dust explosions, both primary and secondary. The BFM® fitting is dust-tight, plus it seals even tighter from explosion pressure shock. In controlled explosion trials by an independent lab, the BFM® fitting was compared with sleeves held with hose clamps. The BFM® fitting remained intact at higher explosion pressures, long after hose clamps had failed.

Discover more on how the BFM® fitting can reduce the presence of dust and the risk of explosions.