16 replies to this topic

[d guy]

workers on the line production are using water bottles.

they are not suppose to, but sometimes i catch them putting the bottles on the production line.

i don't allow their personal bags in the production room, so they can't keep their bottles in their bags.

they have a water cooler in the room, but that would force them to leave their spot and stop the production.

i am trying to find a soultion that would benefit everyone.

how do you handle water bottles at your facility?

 

[drk0904]

We strictly do not allow any personal water bottles in the production hall/facility.

 

Not only this can cause hygiene problem but this can also be a source of contamination. 

 

Instead like your facility we have fixed water coolers, with disposable cups provided and also restrict the areas where consumption is permitted.

 

You can check alternative thread, https://www.ifsqn.co...oduction-floor/

[zoelawton]

Hi, what is your facility?

 

At my place we simply don't allow water (or any drinks) in the production room or storage areas.

 

It often gets super hot - so sometimes a manager will walk around with water and cups for people. 

 

Sorry i can't help much - but i will be watching this thread to hopefully help myself too!

[Charles.C]

workers on the line production are using water bottles.

they are not suppose to, but sometimes i catch them putting the bottles on the production line.

i don't allow their personal bags in the production room, so they can't keep their bottles in their bags.

they have a water cooler in the room, but that would force them to leave their spot and stop the production.

i am trying to find a soultion that would benefit everyone.

how do you handle water bottles at your facility?

STANDARD ?

 

PRODUCT ?

[olenazh]

We don't allow water bottles or any other personal belongings in the production. Workers keep their stuff in the lunchroom, and if they need water they drink it from the cooler using their personal cups.

[kettlecorn]

We also strictly prohibit water bottles in the production area. We have water dispensers with cone cups only, which means people have to drink at the dispenser and dispose of the cup immediately. 

[zanorias]

Specific non-conformance will relate to specifics of product/standard etc, but generally speaking I would be concerned of the hazards introduced by personal bottles - how do you ensure they are clean? How do you ensure they are intact on entry and exit to the production area?

Hard to say without knowing your exact process, but if the operatives are drinking from bottles whilst continuing their role at the production line wouldn't that alone introduce issues i.e. distraction of H&S related.

if the conditions are hot enough to require extra drinking personally I'd just look at giving them a few minutes to grab a drink from the cooler and avoid the food safety, quality and potential H&S related issues of drinking from bottles on the line.

[TimG]

Good morning d guy. I've handled the above at 2 facilities by performing a hazard risk and controlling the allowance of hydration. In both of these facilities, interior temperatures routinely exceeded 100 F in summer months and the restriction of hydration became a safety hazard.

Your hazard assessment will be different than mine so you might not be able to allow hydration, but for reference some control measures I implemented are as follows:

• Water or company provided Gatorade are the only allowed liquids on the production floor (when it hits >95f we would buy gatorade or mix it to be used in allowed containers)
  • You might run into the "why can't I have XX or XX in my clear bottle" so an explanation of restricting possible allergens from the floor always would follow, to the point I trained on that explanation annually
• All containers must be flexible plastic and clear so contents can be seen
• Absolutely NO glass or brittle plastic containers can be used
• Absolutely NO liquids allowed in the packaging rooms (this is a restriction at my current facility. Packaging rooms are the only place product is exposed, and the room is climate controlled) 

I hope that gives you some reference points. In both of these locations, the risk of product contamination was low, however the risk of employee dehydration was high.

[NutANDFruitFoodSafety]

Is it possible to allow water bottles in the processing area and have the employee walk away from the line, sip from their water, wash hands / perform glove change, and return to the line without stopping production? 

[olenazh]

Is it possible to allow water bottles in the processing area and have the employee walk away from the line, sip from their water, wash hands / perform glove change, and return to the line without stopping production? 

Why is it impossible to leave the line to drink water? It's the same as using a bathroom. I don't think employees're not allowed to go to washroom when they're on the line, it would be against H&S, wouldn't it?

[NutANDFruitFoodSafety]

Why is it impossible to leave the line to drink water? It's the same as using a bathroom. I don't think employees're not allowed to go to washroom when they're on the line, it would be against H&S, wouldn't it?

Yes I agree, this is basically what I was trying to say. Come up with a way to allow them to drink their water and return to the line hygienically.

 

Thank you. 

[NutANDFruitFoodSafety]

Yes I agree, this is basically what I was trying to say. Come up with a way to allow them to drink their water and return to the line hygienically.

 

Thank you. 

I DO think that there should be a practical solution however. If employees still bring water bottles because they are necessary, even if they are not allowed, then that is not a good solution.

 

That is why I was suggesting allowing them and then having a quick easy way for the employee to hygienically return to the line. 

Edited by NutANDFruitFoodSafety, 08 June 2020 - 05:53 PM.

[Hoosiersmoker]

We are a packaging manufacturer and we found that NOT allowing a clear, flexible plastic bottle with a screw on lid that can't leak when inverted or laid on it's side caused employees to leave the line frequently and increased the risk of NOT properly sanitizing hands when coming back. These bottles are only allowed to sit on tables away from the line.

[SQFconsultant]

We prohibit water bottles, we attempted to do the sippy tops, but found that employees used their fingers instead of teeth to pull up the top piece.  We installed water coolers with cone cups, that way they can go to the cooler, grab a cone cup, drink it and not be able to sit it down anywhere - works well.

[moskito]

Hi,

 

we are a bakery and we have hot areas.

We do not allow personal things like bags or water bottles. Eating and drinking is not allowed in production/hygiene area. But for hot zones we provide water dispensers (maintenance!!) and drinking cups with pointed bottom which can not be placed on equiment. Clear advise necessary. This works well since many years.

 

Rgds

moskito

[Ryan M.]

We allow employees to use sealed bottles with only water.  They must be handled and stored so as not to be a potential contaminant or hygiene hazard.  Our high risk areas are air conditioned so they are generally not used in these areas, but we do allow them.

 

We have a lot of limitations in our process such as a lot of very hot areas, limited personnel to provide break relief, downtime is not allowed unless a quality or maintenance issue, and our company has a sustainability certification so we are limited in the materials we can discard and recycle.  

 

It isn't too much risk for us since there is little hand contact with any product surface or product.  However, a lot of employees just grab bottles of product off the line and start drinking those, we make ready to drink tea and lemonade products, which is the biggest challenge we have.

[Iswarya]

I have faced very similar issues in my repacking unit. It is not a high-risk line, but in order to comply with Hygiene standards we had to prevent usage of Water bottles inside the facility.

 

The only option is to be polite and friendly with the staff and make them understand the main reasons on why the company has to prevent personal water bottles inside the facility. Start by explaining the consequences of a possible contamination by a small part of the bottles' cap or the spillage of water in the production line. 

 

Further, you can encourage them on team building by supporting each other on the team during their water breaks. However, this depends on the kind of activity they perform on the line. 

 

Frequent monitoring and trainings are vital to stop this practice!

 

Thanks!

workers on the line production are using water bottles.

they are not suppose to, but sometimes i catch them putting the bottles on the production line.

i don't allow their personal bags in the production room, so they can't keep their bottles in their bags.

they have a water cooler in the room, but that would force them to leave their spot and stop the production.

i am trying to find a soultion that would benefit everyone.

how do you handle water bottles at your facility?