Monday, September 23, 2013

Preventive maintenance

Preventive maintenance programs ensure that manufacturing equipments operation, thereby reducing food safety issues that may result during an unexpected breakdown.

Given the impact of unplanned equipment downtime, one would think every company would have a well-thought-out, engineering-based, concisely described maintenance plan strictly adhered to for each piece of equipment.

And all equipment must be simple to assemble and easy to clean and maintain.

The key is to have all parts of equipment readily accessible for cleaning, sanitizing, maintenance and inspection without the use of tools. 

Properly maintained equipment is less likely to introduce physical hazards such as metal fragments into the flow, process or food.

The core of a good maintenance program is a schedule and a work order system.

The schedule is management tool that ensures that equipment and structures are routinely serviced before they become a source of contamination.

Work order should include a priority system that gives an urgent status to food safety related repairs. 

Preventive maintenance is an often overlooked aspect of food processing plant. It is a hidden cost that is not usually tracked.
Preventive maintenance

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