9 replies to this topic

[Will5]

Does anyone else have issues with ice melt getting tracked into their warehouse area during winter months? Has anyone found a viable alternative to commercial ice melt products?
Due to the layout of our warehouse, it seems no matter how many boot-brush stations I have, or how many times I conduct training on the issue, someone is always tracking ice melt to areas that it shouldn't be.
Ideally, I would like to prohibit direct outside>inside traffic, but at this time it is not possible with our current traffic pattern. Anyone have any ideas or experience with similar situations?

[Tony-C]

Does anyone else have issues with ice melt getting tracked into their warehouse area during winter months? Has anyone found a viable alternative to commercial ice melt products?
Due to the layout of our warehouse, it seems no matter how many boot-brush stations I have, or how many times I conduct training on the issue, someone is always tracking ice melt to areas that it shouldn't be.
Ideally, I would like to prohibit direct outside>inside traffic, but at this time it is not possible with our current traffic pattern. Anyone have any ideas or experience with similar situations?

I do sympaphise. I guess a change of footwear is one solution but sometimes not very practical.

In similar situations in the past I have hired/used a floor cleaner/vacuum to keep on top of the situation.

Regards,

Tony

[GMO]

In warehousing I suspect the only good answer is to have entry areas with mats which are changed very regularly ideally these areas should be not leading directly into the warehouse from outside too to minimise the issue.

I also suspect though that the main issue with this is health and safety as long as the floors are regularly cleaned. In a warehouse if I was auditing and saw some water tracked in (a small amount anyway) my main food safety concern would be it shows that a door to the outside is often open so I'd keep an eye on it during the audit and see if my suspicions are confirmed. I may also mention it as a H&S concern but not include it in the audit if I see no evidence of doors being left open.

[Will5]

Thank you for your comments. I have never had an issue with auditors, nor have I had any food safety issues because of it. I was hoping for a miracle ice melt product that I had never heard of, that was non-tracking and left no residue...

[Simon]

I think it's a very low risk and more of an eyesore; also could be a health and safety issue (slips, trips and falls)as I think GMO mentioned.

[Dunde]

Thank you for your comments. I have never had an issue with auditors, nor have I had any food safety issues because of it. I was hoping for a miracle ice melt product that I had never heard of, that was non-tracking and left no residue...

Normally salt (NaCl) is not a hazard to any type of area such as a warehouse within a food industry? Or am I wrong? So I dont quite see the problem.

[Will5]

I guess my concern, other than the housekeeping issue(s) is... could the ice melt, depending on whether it was Sodium Chloride (NACl) or more commonly at this time Calcium Chloride (CaCl2), be considered in any way an uncontrolled chemical? I don't apply it, my people don't apply it, it is the snow-removal people that apply it, BUT... it IS on my sidewalk, and gets tracked into my facility.
Am I reading too much into the requirements of our chemical control program?

[mgourley]

I guess my concern, other than the housekeeping issue(s) is... could the ice melt, depending on whether it was Sodium Chloride (NACl) or more commonly at this time Calcium Chloride (CaCl2), be considered in any way an uncontrolled chemical? I don't apply it, my people don't apply it, it is the snow-removal people that apply it, BUT... it IS on my sidewalk, and gets tracked into my facility.
Am I reading too much into the requirements of our chemical control program?

I suppose this is where hazard analysis gets really anal. Is it possible that a substance brought into your facility, where there is no control, be a hazard? Probably. Is it really a hazard? Probably not, but still possible. What do you do to control the hazard? You have procedures in place that limit where people coming in from outside can go, you put down mats and mop the floor on a predetermined schedule. Will this control the hazard? In most cases, yes.. unless the person who tracked in the ice melt makes a bee line for the production line and physically shakes off the contents of the tread of his shoes into your product. Is that possible? Yes, but hardly likely.

See what I mean?

[Charles.C]

Dear Will,

If you are proposing that HACCP is not infallible, I agree.

And NaCl is definitely a hazard to Al. But not specifically a safety one AFAIK.

Rgds / Charles.C

[Will5]

Thank you all, for all the input. I usually try to curb the anal thought process before it reaches too high of a level, but this one has been rearing up everytime we have bad weather. Hopefully at some point I will be able to re-route the traffic to where this won't even be close to any kind of an issue, but until then I will have to make do with the situation as it is.
Thank you all, once again.