I’m the hygienic design lead at ZERO2FIVE and I work with Welsh food and drink manufacturers to support them to apply the principles of hygienic design within their own factories. I have over 27 years of experience in the food and drink industry, both in technical and operations-based roles, and have a range of experience of overseeing factory set-ups, re-fits and installations.
Last year, I was part of a European Hygienic Engineering & Design Group (EHEDG) working group that developed a new guideline on “Managing Building Work and Equipment Installation/removal During Food Production”.
The development of this guideline came about because of the dangers associated with building work and the installation of equipment in food and drink factories. Within the UK’s chilled food industry, there have been many cases of listeria contamination following building work as a result of pathogenic bacteria been disturbed by construction work and finding its way into food products via dust and water.
The Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) recognised this and suggested that food manufacturers should undertake a risk assessment prior to undertaking building work or equipment installation, if food production activities are taking place at the same time.
At EHEDG, we’ve worked to produce a guideline that has broad significance to the food and drink industry and will enable the development of an appropriate building works risk assessment. Whilst the full guideline is important reading for anyone managing building work or equipment installation, here are nine principles that you should adopt to ensure food safety during the construction or installation process:
- Communication is vitally important – At the outset, you should produce a user requirement specification for your project so that the contractor knows what’s expected. It’s important to have a conversation around what can and can’t be done, and what controls need to be put in place.
- Appropriate training of construction workers – It’s important to make sure that the construction team have had the appropriate training in areas such as personal hygiene, entrance and exit procedures, waste, storage of tools and parts, pest control and appropriate food safety.
- Get input from all relevant stakeholders – As with all multidisciplinary team projects, it’s important to get input from all interested stakeholders both within your business as well as externally. if you’re undertaking construction work, then consider consulting with your architect whilst if you’re installing or removing a piece of equipment then get input from the original equipment manufacturer (OEM). Ensure there’s a discussion around the hazards and risks of the project, what can and can’t be achieved and what can be mitigated against.
- A good risk assessment is vital – Ensure all risks are considered and controls are put in place to reduce the likelihood of a hazard entering the food product.
- Consider building up stock our outsourcing part of the process – If there is an opportunity to build up stock to allow for a week of non-manufacture in your factory or if you have a sister factory who you can outsource all or part of your production to during the construction / installation work then this should be considered. If you do decide to outsource production, consider what controls need to be put in place for this.
- Review your pre-requisite programmes – If production does need to continue during construction or equipment installation then carry out a comprehensive review of your pre-requisite programmes. If these are insufficient, you will need to consider new prerequisite programmes and also update any records and training associated with them.
- Consider operational changes – You may need to consider operational changes during construction work. For example, do you need additional storage, or do you need to stop construction during certain times?
- Review your documentation regularly – It’s important to regularly review and update your documentation as your processes may have to change to allow for building work and therefore your documentation may need updating too. For example, an enhanced environmental swabbing regime may be required, and your documentation would need to be changed to reflect that.
- Carry out a post-project review – At the end of the project, it’s vitally important to review the project and have a discussion around what went well, what didn’t go well and how any changes could be implemented to improve the process next time you’re undertaking construction or installation work.
Here at ZERO2FIVE we can offer funded hygienic design support to eligible Welsh food and drink manufacturers through the Welsh Government’s HELIX Programme. To find out more about the support available, please contact us.
Simon Burns
Process Operations Manager
ZERO2FIVE Food Industry Centre
