What procedures are use for storing equipment?

Because cleaning is done while production is taking place, you need to wash and carefully store any excess equipment.

Procedures to achieve this will include:

• storing edible bins
• upside down
• off the floor, to prevent contamination
• cleaning and storing inedible and condemned bins separately
• placing brooms and shovels out of the way when not in use
• rolling up and safely storing hoses
• storing chemicals, when used, in accordance with the workplace procedures.

What are the environmental issues when cleaning?

When cleaning, you must think about and deal with:

• waste fats and solids – these must not be hosed down drains
• excessive water use – water is expensive so its use should be limited, where possible, by first dry cleaning the floor, then using a high volume, low pressure wash to prevent splashing
• chemicals – should be mixed only to the required strength and not tipped down drains
• possibility of contaminating blood with chemicals – the blood tank must be covered when washing down the floor near the stick hole.

What are the hygiene and sanitation issues when cleaning during production?

The handling of any animal waste or animal product carries a risk of contact with zoonotic diseases. Zoonotic diseases are illnesses that can be transmitted to humans from contact with animals carrying the infections. Examples of zoonotic diseases are brucellosis, leptospirosis and Q fever. Infection may occur from ingestion, skin contact and/or inhalation of micro-organisms from the carrier animal, their products or wastes e.g. body fluids, urine or hide dust.

Workplace personal hygiene and sanitation procedures are aimed at reducing the risk of contacts and infection to all employees, including their families.

As a starting point, you should put into practice the information contained in the training material for AMPCOR202 Apply hygiene and sanitation practices.

To prevent unnecessary contamination when cleaning production areas, you must:

• wash your hands and sterilise equipment immediately after handling condemned materials and before touching any edible product or material
• follow ‘dropped meat’ handling procedures in production areas as required
• maintain the segregation of edible and inedible products at all times
• change contaminated clothing as required
• remove and clean your apron, and any other personal equipment before leaving the work area at breaks
• use the correct cleaning gear in production areas to avoid direct contamination of the product, or cross-contamination of any equipment used in production
• follow the restrictions on movement between edible, inedible and condemned areas for staff and product.

What are the WHS risks when cleaning during production?

Some particular WHS issues to be aware of include:

• using correct techniques in manual handling when lifting bins or tubs etc
• correctly preparing and using any required cleaning chemicals, following the directions given on the Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDSs)
• using personal protective clothing and equipment
• following correct reporting procedures for injury or near miss
• using tagging or other procedures to identify damaged cleaning equipment
• using correct steam and water mix lines
• following lock out and tag out (LOTO) procedures
• correctly using high pressure hoses.

How are problems reported?

The reporting procedures for you to follow in your area are normally detailed in your job description. These reporting procedures may include:

• hygiene and sanitation report forms
• worksheet reports
• WHS accident report forms
• talking with your supervisor or quality assurance staff.

You need to be a cleaning monitor for the production areas. Clean when you see the need e.g. if there is spillage or when requested. This constant checking and reporting will keep production areas clean.

By using your workplace procedures to report any problems, you can continue production while the problem is dealt with.