9 replies to this topic

[Larsson89]

Hi, everyone.

 

We have an ongoing issue at our site. We make use of strip curtains and forklifts in the warehousing area of the site. However, we are constantly finding ourselves replacing strip curtains due to them being damaged or ripped off by the forklifts driving in and out of the area. 

 

We have discussed removing them, but they're there to prevent entry from birds as the surrounding area is open to the environment. 

 

Has anyone had this problem before? How did you overcome this? What alternative measures can be implemented? Are there alternatives to strip curtains? 

[Alex A.]

Hi Larsson89,

 

This wasn't in a food business, but in one of my previous jobs we had similar issues. They installed some high speed PVC shutter doors with sensors, so they would open automatically when the FLT is nearby. The FLTs had a remote button installed as well, just in case they wanted to open/close manually.

Good to have a see through strip in it as well, so people can see if there is anyone on the other side of the door.

[GMO]

I agree, rapid rise doors are the way to go anyway.

 

I've had similar problems with strip curtains and the fact is that they get trapped, they become a safety issue so what team members then do is tuck them aside anyway.

 

Replace them with roller shutter doors which are fast acting and by movement sensors.  It will take some trial and error to get them working properly.  Make sure that you work with the team in the area (I've found doors locked off in the upright position before because they weren't sensitive enough which is obviously terrible for pest management.)

 

I have heard of air curtains being used to prevent pest ingress but honestly I have my doubts that they'd be effective against rodents and they'd be energy hungry.  I'd be interested to know if anyone has any experience of them.

[jfrey123]

I have heard of air curtains being used to prevent pest ingress but honestly I have my doubts that they'd be effective against rodents and they'd be energy hungry.  I'd be interested to know if anyone has any experience of them.

 

Two plants I've consulted for used a combination of the solid high speed roll up doors along with air curtains that only activate when the door opens.  These were exterior doors at the top of a ramp, so our justifications included that the rodent would need to be waiting at the top of the ramp in order to sneak in (which is unlikely due to being exposed out in the open).  But further, we increased the number of tin cats and ILT's near that door.  Said door only lead into a storage area, with other doors fully segregating the storage from the open production areas and a policy that prohibited opening any product in the storage area (even for sampling).

 

It always drew a raised eyebrow from the SQF auditors, but after reviewing pc logs and our risk assessment for the practice, they found no faults.

Edited by jfrey123, 23 April 2025 - 04:46 PM.

[acarver]

We had a similar problem. With a little research we found that headlamps on one of our lifts had sharp edges on the brackets. Easy fix. May be worth looking into.

[HillBilly]

The length of the curtain can cause it to get caught under the tire. If that is the case make sure the curtain is just long enough to reach the floor without being to long to be caught under the tire. 

[GMO]

The length of the curtain can cause it to get caught under the tire. If that is the case make sure the curtain is just long enough to reach the floor without being to long to be caught under the tire. 

 

I've not found that's the issue, more that the curtains will get caught around the cab as well as they go through.  It's definitely not just getting caught under wheels.

[Larsson89]

Yes, I agree that the curtains get caught around the cab as well as they go through the curtains. I asked about the rapid rise doors, but they said it was proposed before, but due to the amount of traffic in/out of the area it would not be feasible. However, they would be willing to revisit the idea should the problem continue. 

[GMO]

Yes, I agree that the curtains get caught around the cab as well as they go through the curtains. I asked about the rapid rise doors, but they said it was proposed before, but due to the amount of traffic in/out of the area it would not be feasible. However, they would be willing to revisit the idea should the problem continue. 

 

It might be worth looking at a combination of rapid rise and air curtain.  Expensive for sure but it would work.

 

Alternatively if your volume of traffic is massive, it's worth looking at it more widely.  Why?  If you're having to bring in a fork lift every 5 minutes or more, should you be unloading box trailers on a dock leveller instead?  Yes that's even more spendy but if you look at this cross functionally, you might find there are potential savings in labour as well as improvements in food safety.

[Alex A.]

I don't see how the high traffic would affect this. They open very quickly, FLT drivers don't even need to stop if the sensors are set up correctly.

There are other options to deter birds as well, netting, spikes, hawking, bio-acoustic scarers etc., how bad is the situation? What type of birds are these, are they protected species? Might worth to discuss alternative options with your pest control or have a field biologist visit and see what options are available.