16 replies to this topic

[jcieslowski]

I have a TV looping things in the break area.  I've traditionally put a sort of 'program of the month' up - focusing a quick primer on one of the core SQF programs (allergens, GMPS, food defense, etc. etc.).

 

I'd like to morph it more into a food safety culture slide.  Still give some program information but in a way to build culture.

 

Any ideas or thoughts?  What are y'all doing?

[TimG]

Man, I think I'd get an uprising if I did that.. Maybe not, they all watch crap on their phones during break now.

 

I'm intrigued but also feel it might be a bit too big brother'ish for my tastes. Do they actually absorb any of the info from the program of the month?

[MDaleDDF]

Cool idea, but for my guys it would be one more thing to ignore the five minutes per day they actually spend in the room.

[jcieslowski]

To be fair, there is probably very little' buy in' on these slides but if it just puts a little reminder in even a couple people's mind then at least it's keeping food safety as a consideration.

 

Our TV is not a 'entertainment tv' so I'm not infringing there.  It displays production statistics, company announcements, birthdays and work anniversaries now.

[MDaleDDF]

To be fair, there is probably very little' buy in' on these slides but if it just puts a little reminder in even a couple people's mind then at least it's keeping food safety as a consideration.

 

Our TV is not a 'entertainment tv' so I'm not infringing there.  It displays production statistics, company announcements, birthdays and work anniversaries now.

I didn't mean for my post to come across snarky, I do think it's a good and innovative way to get a crew thinking food safety.

[Lynx42]

To be fair, there is probably very little' buy in' on these slides but if it just puts a little reminder in even a couple people's mind then at least it's keeping food safety as a consideration.

 

Our TV is not a 'entertainment tv' so I'm not infringing there.  It displays production statistics, company announcements, birthdays and work anniversaries now.

 

We have the same stuff, but we also include our Management Commitment and a HACCP statement on alternating months.  

 

I've been trying to put up some "fun" slides addressing food safety, but haven't taken the time to put more than a couple together.  I don't have control of the TV and the person who does doesn't like me, so I haven't been super motivated. I've added some humor in our training slides and people are more engaged when I do, but some people don't seem to understand that humor can go a long way in some situations.  

 

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are on my food defense slides.

Dick Dastardly and Muttley are on my food fraud slides.

There is a Star Wars lunchbox on my breakroom rules slide.

[LostInTheWoods]

To be fair, there is probably very little' buy in' on these slides but if it just puts a little reminder in even a couple people's mind then at least it's keeping food safety as a consideration.

 

Our TV is not a 'entertainment tv' so I'm not infringing there.  It displays production statistics, company announcements, birthdays and work anniversaries now.

 

It's a branding exercise. On the way to work every day, I pass a Toyota billboard and a Coke billboard. No one has ever purchased a Toyota or a Coke only because they saw that billboard. But Toyota and Coke pay for the billboards because they want their brand to be more recallable to Joe Schmo who later decides they need a new car, or want something to drink.

[GMO]

I'd only ever use this as a much wider communication exercise using multiple methods. Most of your employees will pay zero attention to it. But I as a visitor or auditor will always look at it and 90% of the time find information on it that's either wrong or out of date. So if you're using it (sorry but it is) as a tick box method for culture, be aware that if it's not good stuff, it can bite you in the posterior. 

[G M]

I have a TV looping things in the break area.  I've traditionally put a sort of 'program of the month' up - focusing a quick primer on one of the core SQF programs (allergens, GMPS, food defense, etc. etc.).

 

I'd like to morph it more into a food safety culture slide.  Still give some program information but in a way to build culture.

 

Any ideas or thoughts?  What are y'all doing?

 

 

Like Lynx we use one screen in the break rooms to display an assortment of work related things, some KPIs related to the bonus system, a few video clips from company events, food safety and personnel safety topics.  They change them out ~monthly.  We supply information and topics to the team that puts the content together.

 

It's silent with closed captions.  For a while early on it had audio, and that got annoying real fast if you heard the same loop 2-3 times every break for weeks.

[MDaleDDF]

My guys would be trying to hook up an X Box to a break room tv.....

[TimG]

My guys would be trying to hook up an X Box to a break room tv.....

I mean, so would I..

[Lynx42]

When we were in a smaller non-food facility we dragged ours into the office and hooked it up to a laptop to watch soccer world cup, the Little League World Series (my boss had a nephew playing), post season baseball and the World Series.  

I also made my boss watch the IT Crowd and Cunk on Earth. 

[MDaleDDF]

I mean, so would I..

Hey, PS5 or bust.   Send me your fortnite handle and we'll get down, lol.

 

"When we were in a smaller non-food facility we dragged ours into the office and hooked it up to a laptop to watch soccer world cup, the Little League World Series (my boss had a nephew playing), post season baseball and the World Series.  

I also made my boss watch the IT Crowd and Cunk on Earth.  :rock:"

 

I will always give a pass for anything baseball.   My son is 11 and his team is eligible for llws, we'll see how they do.   Played one of the best teams around Monday and my kid had a single, stolen base, scored a run, and gunned down a dude at second from way out in right.   I love spring.....baseball is one of my favorite things.   My happy place is in Comerica Park stands with a beer and a dog....  Go Tigers!
 

Edited by MDaleDDF, 11 March 2026 - 02:39 PM.

[GMO]

Seriously though... any screen, any laptop that's not locked down, you will get "other stuff" on there at some point or another. Don't say I've not warned you...

 

In all seriousness IT Crowd. Obviously brilliant as is Cunk but nobody is looking at your screen streaming all kinds of stuff on food safety. Honestly. Nobody. Zilch. You've done that work to just tick the box for the auditor. Just want to point that out.

[MDaleDDF]

You've done that work to just tick the box for the auditor. 

 

The way they write the code up, some of it is like they're wanting a box checked.    I have plenty around here that's done to tick a box.... is what it is.

[GMO]

The way they write the code up, some of it is like they're wanting a box checked.    I have plenty around here that's done to tick a box.... is what it is.

 

Yeah, it's possible I think to spend as much effort to get something meaningful out of it. Just my view.

[Hoosiersmoker]

"...nobody is looking at your screen streaming all kinds of stuff on food safety. Honestly. Nobody. Zilch. You've done that work to just tick the box for the auditor. Just want to point that out.

Just want to point out that you are 100% wrong in that assessment, at least in the US. We put up items of common interest and change them frequently. This gets them to look at it so they see when it changes, then word-of-mouth spreads the information even further. We use a very large format monitor (no sound) in our break area for information like shift changes, benefit updates, birthdays and anniversaries, safety issues / reminders, and food safety issues and I get regular feedback from all shifts. These are in English and Spanish since we have a large bi-lingual / Spanish speaking only workforce. I intentionally misspelled a major word in one slide and immediately had 8 or 9 people at my desk pointing it out to me. I also relied on Google Translate for a Spanish translation on one slide and didn't run it past an HR translator. I had several employees pointing out that it didn't mean what I intended it to say (fortunately it had a harmless meaning!). It's also a fact that, especially among younger people, if there's a screen within sight, they WILL look at it at least once and if you put up interesting information and change the content regularly they will look at it regularly to see what has changed (interesting, current trivia is a good example of this). Just don't make the mistake of letting it get stagnant or creating long, involved slides or they will quickly lose interest (also a trait of the younger employees!).