Hairnet for maintenance worker vs. Hard hat vs. cap

Hi everyone,

I work in a small food manufacturing facility. Our policy is that there are designated "hairnet areas" around food production and packaging. It is overall very well applied by all employees (office workers going through production, floor employees and visitors as well)

We are encountering an issue when it comes to the hairnet policy for our maintenance employees: their argument is that hairnet are a hazard during maintenance work, would get snagged on equipment, and could catch fire when working with sparks.

The maintenance employees have been wearing until now a personnal tight knitcap with a baseball cap over it. I don't think this is alright since we have to rely on employees being diligent and washing the two items themselves. When told that they need to cover their current head covering with a hairnet when around food product (therefore excluding the maintenance shop), they refused, their argument being that hairnet are a hazard during maintenance work, would get snagged on equipment, and could catch fire when working with sparks.

They want to wear a hard hat around food production areas (where we would have required them to wear a hairnet), worn off course over the knit cap. I don't think hard hats are a much cleaner alternative to the knit cap, seeing that they cannot be cleaned often, and do not fill the first purpose of the hairnet, which is to cover all hair and avoid contamination into open product.

Are we being too strict?

Are you having a maintenance work while having production at the same time? in the same place?

If yes, then i don't think its appropriate (due to many risk and hazards) unless you have a proper segregation for both activities. 

Hi EssentialFA,

IMEX this is a sort of an "old chestnut" question  with respect to engineering personnel (= maintenance?) who are obliged to "wander" during the working day and are by profession typically recalcitrant over uniforms. 

Froma GMP POV do you have an (agreed) SOP covering maintenance ?

Foodwise, it's a question of risk assessment, therefore, for example, it overlaps haccp / local regulatory FDA/USDA, any other relevant FS Standard. Plus OSHA of course

IMO, as per the previous post, need more info,eg  relating to product/process/activity "maintenance" people.

I predict answers to this OP will be contentious but if the maintenance POV is OSHA supportable, my guess is that will be (legally) final and you will have to find a (food) workaround.

In the various food plants I have worked in maintenance has always wore hair nets in food manufacturing areas, some with and some without hardhats/bump camps.  I do see your point about sparks and my questions would be 1st can we move this activity to the maintenance shop or away from product as not to contaminate & 2nd if we can not production needs to halt or some effective means to segregate the welding/cutting/grinding.  Then since the area will have to be cleaned, inspected, and released by someone then no hair net during the effective spark generating process.  But in the end IMO always a hair net if possible.

G

Thank guys.

90% of maintenance work will be done in the maintenance shop (as much as possible), and if there are sparks, etc. all other production in the area is stopped.

and let's face it, most maintenance work done does not require welding and other fire inducing work.

When done in the maintenance shop, I don't require employees to wear hairnets, as the equipment will be cleaned and inspected before release. But when they do adjustments on machine say in the packaging/bottling room, I feel like it is fair from a QA standpoint to require them to cover the baseball hat and knit cap with a hairnet, since everyone else is that area is wearing one.

If they elect to wear a hard hat when in those areas, they should (IMO) wear a hairnet under the hard hat.

We make them wear hair nets in the production areas but not in the maintenance shop.

If production is running then they should be wearing hairnets. If production has properly stopped (not just paused while adjustments etc are made), with the lines cleared, then it's probably not necessary. However, you will need to ensure that the line is clear, and you may need a full clean down and inspection before handback.

Just for interest, can compare the (hairnet) opinions to those in this customer, risk-based, manual -

http://www.ifsqn.com...indpost&p=81054

(file sh7, eg pg 47 et seq, et al)

My own Production experience is rather similar. Canteen rather less so.