SANITATION
By Richard F. Stier
Preventive Maintenance:
An Essential Prerequisite for
Food Safety
ood safety professionals expect all processors,
large and small, to have prerequisite programs in
six areas:
•;Sanitation;Standard;Operating;Procedures
•;Good;Manufacturing;Practices
•;Preventive;Maintenance
•;Product;Identification
•;Traceability;and;Recalls
•;Education;and;Training
Preventive;maintenance;is;not;only;a;prerequisite
program, it is also one area where a well-documented
program;can;provide;a;company;not;just;with;significant
cost;savings;but;also;with;data;for;future;savings.;In;the
context of food safety management, well-maintained
equipment will ensure that a facility runs smoothly,
works properly, helps ensure the production of safe foods
and;provides;a;means;to;document;performance.
A;number;of;foodborne;outbreaks;have;been;directly
attributed;to;failure;to;properly;maintain;equipment
under;sanitary;conditions.;One;of;the;most;famous;was
the;type;E;botulism;outbreak;of;the;early;1980s;that
was;caused;by;improperly;performing;can;reformers.
The;problems;with;the;reformers;led;to;more;intense
F
Preventive maintenance is
more than an effective
sanitation step
monitoring of these units and their
eventual phase-out in favor of nested
cans.;Improper;equipment;maintenance
was once a major cause of foreign materi-als;complaints.;However,;with;increased
use of metal detection systems and an
enhanced commitment to maintenance
programs, foreign material complaints
are;now;far;fewer.
But preventive maintenance is much
more.;It;protects;equipment,;extends
said equipment’s life and enhances oper-ating;efficiencies.;There;are;many;other
preventive maintenance activities that we
take;for;granted.;Most;people;see;their
dentist once or twice a year to have their
teeth cleaned to ensure that they last and
to;minimize;cavities.;Additionally,;who
doesn’t;bring;their;car;in;for;a;checkup
before;a;family;vacation?;The;last;thing
anyone wants to do on a summer vaca-tion;is;break;down;in;the;middle;of
nowhere.;The;bottom;line;is;that;preven-tive maintenance provides peace of mind
for people and food processors, and is
one;program;where;benefits,;both;qual-ity;and;economic,;can;be;measured;(for
an outline to help you draft or evaluate
your preventive maintenance procedures,
please;see;the;sidebar,;p.;15).
Starting Out
Perhaps;the;best;way;to;begin
developing a preventive maintenance
program;is;to;take;inventory.;There;are
different;ways;to;do;this.;A;small;facility
might make a master list of all equipment requiring maintenance, whereas a
large facility can set up their master list
by;processing;line;or;process;area.;The
master;list;(Figure;1);should;include;the
following:
•;Equipment;name
• Location
EQUIPMENT SERIAL# DESCRIPTION LOCATION FREQUENCY METHOD RESPONSIBLE COMMENTS
