SANITATION
or processors can choose a commer-
cially available product, of which there
are many options. Features an operator
might look for in an electronic system
include:
•;Maintenance;scheduling
•;Flags;when;items;are;due
•;Flags;for;past-due;items
•;Cost;integration:;maintenance;hours,
capital costs, parts, downtime, etc.
•;Procedures;for;doing;work
•;Automatic;entry;by;workers
•;Ability;to;verify;that;work;has;been
done
•;Print;capability:;summaries,
schedules, equipment registers
•;Ability;to;“talk”;to;other;systems
the best use of a system I have ever seen
was a processor who elected to incor-
porate their maintenance management
into their system. The program manager
could capture all hours involved with
maintenance and emergency repairs, plus
the cost of spare parts and downtime
for each unit operation in every line in
the plant. He could demonstrate how
much it cost to run each unit operation
and/or piece of equipment in a line, and
therefore the cost to operate each line.
This allowed the company to determine
which pieces of equipment were operat-
ing efficiently and which were not. They
used these data year to year to further
improve efficiencies.
Summary
A;well-organized;preventive;main-tenance program is an essential part of
a company’s food safety and quality
program. It is acknowledged as one of
the prerequisite programs for Hazard
Analysis;and;Critical;Control;Points.
What it can also do is save money in
different ways. Well-maintained, sanitary
equipment will last longer and perform
better. In addition, maintenance records
can provide management with a tool
for more intelligent purchasing of new
equipment.;Cost;is;only;one;consider-ation when buying equipment. If the
records indicate that a piece of equipment was down often or very expensive
to maintain, maybe it is not a brand
that;one;should;buy;again.;And;finally,
without records, how does one ever
troubleshoot;a;problem?;A;food;proces-sor simply cannot operate without a
good maintenance program. n
Richard F. Stier is a consulting food scientist with
international experience in food safety, plant
sanitation, quality systems, process optimization
and microbiology. Among his many affiliations, he
is a member of the Institute of Food Technologists
and an editorial adviser to Food Safety Magazine.
He can be reached at rickstier4@aol.com.
