Floor Pans / separating equipment from the floor
We have half a dozen chocolate tanks that look roughly like this (stole this pic from a used equipment site, mine don't have flaking paint) -
As you can see, the tank drain is on the bottom side. On our tanks this is very close to the ground, sitting just above the height of a standard 5 gal bucket.
My problem is that we drain these tanks into 5 gal buckets and want to use the drained chocolate. We are using full sheet baking pans like this one under the bucket -
We did this to keep the bucket off of the floor, but still allow the tank to drain into a bucket via gravity (without a pump). The problem is we use this tray - everywhere! They become make shift tables when sat on higher bucket dollies, a barrier to carts for cleaned equipment, used to hold truffles, and we use them to catch chocolate at various different points in the process, where the opening between machinery will not fit a bucket. Sometimes over food contact surfaces.
So I need a way to designate the pans for food contact and for floor / non food contact. We don't want to use pans that have been on the floor over a product zone. :helpplease:
It seems the pans are not available in different colors, even black. Bucket dollies are too high. We tried plastic slip sheets, and, to my horror, cardboard, but employees walk over these and treat them as the floor. We thought about painting the word "FLOOR" on the pan in red, but this introduces paint that will flake off, and employees can't see it if the pans are stacked. We also discussed using caution tape or other bright tape to designate the edges, but again, tape is a potential physical hazard. The best solution would be equipment that is not the pan for one use and to keep the pan for the other use, but it's dimensions are perfect for our operation.
I'm also questioning the benefit of this "separation" from the floor - does anyone know how far off of the floor equipment must be? It's a noble effort on our part, but I don't think it's doing the job. We do not have enough pumps to use them for draining the big tanks (we have two for the mixing tanks), and I don't think production would take kindly to washing the pipes and pumps every time they have to drain a tank (Ed note: I believe using pumps would cause a revolt amoung the plebeians & the extra time & cost of pumps would not be approved by senior management.) .
Raising the tanks isn't viable without a lot of construction / additional piping. So if the risk is - the floor is dirty - and the mitigation is - raise buckets off the floor - how much risk are we really mitigating with pans? Is that really the risk? Or is the risk that dirty equipment will be moved between hygiene zones and spread Listeria, Salmonella, etc? Can I mitigate the risk, whatever it is, but keep the pans?
Any thoughts?
Instead of using a baking sheet / 5 gal bucket can you use a shorter bucket and a small stand? The stand doesn't have to be tall to work but then it's different than the other cookie sheets you use in the plant and they will know they are for holding food contact buckets.
Can you notch the pans to visually separate the trays? Some kind of triangle 'bite' out of the long sides?
Hi Magenta
I faced a similar issue with decanting into pails from IBC's - and I ended up using grated racks for bucket stands that are kind of like cooling racks for cakes (see picture below). These racks are visually different and in my GMP's these are defined as floor bucket stands only.
Hope that helps!
S
Instead of using a baking sheet / 5 gal bucket can you use a shorter bucket and a small stand? The stand doesn't have to be tall to work but then it's different than the other cookie sheets you use in the plant and they will know they are for holding food contact buckets.
We have soooo many 5 gal buckets! Hundreds. We need to stop using those for everything, too. Most of the stands I've seen are for standard size buckets, but I was open to this, until....
Can you notch the pans to visually separate the trays? Some kind of triangle 'bite' out of the long sides?
I also proposed engraving / notching, but the HACCP team let me know that would be hard to clean if the roll of the pan was hollow , and might be a safety hazard if the cut was sharp. I was so impressed by their use of food safety knowledge to get out of making a change that I bought it hook line and sinker. But really, maintenance could file it down to be smooth / cap it off
Hi Magenta
I faced a similar issue with decanting into pails from IBC's - and I ended up using grated racks for bucket stands that are kind of like cooling racks for cakes (see picture below). These racks are visually different and in my GMP's these are defined as floor bucket stands only.
Hope that helps!
S
Brilliant! Buying is way easier than creating, they are flat, they are raised off the floor a tiny bit, they are $5/ea, and there are so many of them! Even BUCKET sized ones! :wub:
YAY! SpursGirl!
Hi Magenta
I faced a similar issue with decanting into pails from IBC's - and I ended up using grated racks for bucket stands that are kind of like cooling racks for cakes (see picture below). These racks are visually different and in my GMP's these are defined as floor bucket stands only.
Hope that helps!
S
ingenious!
such enlightenment, spurs girl!