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In cold storage environments, thermoplastic polyolefin (TPO) single-ply roofing systems have become the roofing system of choice due to their energy efficiency, reliability, labor-saving installation, and maintenance advantages.
Continue Reading “Five Advantages of TPO Single-Ply Roofing Systems for Cold Storage Facilities”
Insulated metal panels (IMP) are becoming the preferred material for ductwork within food plants for their efficient, hygienic and durable qualities. IMPs consist of two steel skins injected with urethane foam insulation, providing a better-insulated solution than traditional ductwork. The steel skins can be constructed of standard pre-finished metal or stainless steel to meet the required sanitary specifications. Panels are cut and fabricated to meet the specific size and space requirements of a facility, and joints are installed together with caulks, urethane spray foam, sealants, vapor barriers and fasteners for an air/vapor-tight construction.
Continue Reading “Five Reasons Insulated Metal Panel Ducts Are the Right Choice for Your Food Plant”
You’ve conducted the required emergency response training with your employees — but are they truly prepared for an incident? Recognizing that government-mandated training is often not enough, many food processing safety managers are going above and beyond mandated requirements and customizing training to ensure employees are prepared for a range of unexpected scenarios. Below are five key steps you can take to ensure your employees are prepared for any emergency:
On August 1, 2013, President Obama signed an Executive Order on Improving Chemical Facility Safety and Security designed to reduce the risks of hazardous chemicals. While many food processing plants already have controls and processes in place to ensure chemical safety, tightened regulations and increased risks have encouraged many plant owners to take a second look at their programs.
Continue Reading “Federal Regulators Target Hazardous Chemical Safety”
Food processing plants can do everything within their power to prevent an ammonia leak, from conducting proper maintenance and inspections to having the appropriate safety systems in place such as alarms, shut-offs, and overrides. Yet accidental leaks and spills can occur, so it’s important to be prepared with an emergency response plan.
Continue Reading “Which Emergency Response Plan Is Right For Your Plant?”
Natural disasters can wreak havoc on a food processing facility, not only causing physical damage to the building, but also resulting in a huge economic loss in product and production downtime. Planning for a natural disaster has to be strategic and should include partners from your local emergency response teams, vendors and designated employees.
Continue Reading “The Three Ps of Preparing for Natural Disasters: Plan, Partner and Prioritize”
When performing a design review, BIM gives all of your food processing plant’s stakeholders — operations, maintenance, safety, and engineering teams — an opportunity to explore the facility in a three-dimensional mode. Viewing the design in this 3D model helps visualize the building space so owners can make more informed decisions in these areas:
Food processing plants are embracing business information modeling (BIM) as the new standard in facility design. BIM’s three-dimensional format allows designers to give plant owners, managers and employees a virtual walk-through of the facility. By viewing virtual construction elements such as walls, windows, slabs and roofs, they can then make the most informed decisions on process and work flows.
Every single piece of equipment in a food processing facility – from processing equipment to compressors, chillers and the machine room – requires some form of power whether it’s electricity, steam, hot water, or compressed air. Determining the utility requirements of the plant’s operating systems is a critical part of the design process that involves the plant’s owner, as well as the mechanical and electrical engineering team.
Continue Reading “Best Practices for Developing a Food Processing Plant Utility Matrix”
Preliminary discussions with your food processing plant architects should include a thorough discussion of your sales and marketing goals. Your plant’s specific products, product mixes (including future products), and production volume all impact decisions made during the design process.
Continue Reading “How Product, Product Mix and Production Volume Impact Design”
