Poultry Continued from page 17 employers must have trained all employees on the new “People identify more with our failures than our successes,” he commented, then urged attendees to anticipate successes, embrace workplace diversity, base attitudes on facts, and appreciate what you have. Brandon Lairmore, Pilgrim’s, used several math equations to explain product yields and their economic impact in poultry rendering. He highlighted various factors that affect everchanging yield, such as excess water, over processing, leaking equipment and pipes, inaccurate weights and inventory, and raw material mix, quality, and age. In the end, Lairmore said plant operators can and do affect product yield with their decisions, resulting in millions of dollars in profit or loss to the company’s bottom line. Dan Henson, Simmons Foods, Inc. addressed rendering plant atmosphere and safety/security, stating that the most affected people in the company are plant workers, followed by customers who visit, shareholders, company owners, and then government. Many renderers are now improving or adding outdoor lighting for safety and security reasons. Henson advised top coating floors and putting nonskid floors on stairs to prevent slips, and suggested moving employee break rooms/lockers away from production, perhaps in the same building as management to allow more worker interaction. He then led a discussion with the audience on the importance of outside plant appearance. “First impressions are everything,” Hansen announced. “It will tell a visitor what it might be like on the inside.” Paul Schlumper, Georgia Tech Research Institute, talked about truck safety as it falls under the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). He showed the most frequently cited standards under Standard Industrial Class code 753, Automotive Repair Shops, which rendering truck repair shops could fall under, as being: hazard communication, respiratory protection, and wiring methods, components, and equipment for general use. Schlumper noted that fatalities in this area usually occur while employees are working on or under a vehicle or inflating a tire. Bottom line: OSHA expects companies to have procedures for employees working on vehicles and how they are to be protected. Lockout/tagout for vehicles should cover battery acid, battery shock or burns, air bag explosions, fuel systems, elevated vehicles, and so on. As for servicing tires, Schlumper reported that from 1978 to 1987, there were 694 reported injuries from explosions during tire servicing; 143 were fatal, mainly from truck tires. He recommended restraining devices (cages) for tires and a clip-on chuck for safe distance while inflating tires. Other potential hazards in truck repair shops are confined spaces, fall protection (e.g., oil change pit), vehicle lifts, compressed gas cylinders used in welding, exit markings and accessibility, and air quality (e.g., carbon monoxide). Schlumper suggested renderers to access the OSHA website for the automotive repair standards. He next warned that hazard communication changes under OSHA go into effect December 1, 2013. By this date, Globally Harmonized System labels and Safety Data Sheet format (“Material” will no longer be part of the document), although compliance dates for using the new labels and data sheets aren’t until 2015 and 2016. Schlumper again mentioned accessing OSHA’s website as renderers will have to use the new Safety Data Sheets for their customers. Starkey continued the discussion on safety, noting that there isn’t much difference between food safety and worker safety, with the biggest challenge being changing the attitude and culture of employees caring after safety. He presented some simple housekeeping tasks as keeping work areas clear of tools and cleaning floors for grease buildup to prevent falls. Starkey also advised monthly testing of low-water cutoffs on boilers after four incidences in “First impressions are everything. It will tell a visitor what it might be like on the inside.” ~Dan Henson, Simmons Foods the past six weeks that fortunately didn’t result in any injuries but did cause millions of dollars in equipment damage. One renderer commented that everything workers deal with in a rendering plant is hot so burns are common. Wearing long sleeves and gloves helps to prevent burns that occur mostly on the hands and arms, and highly visible uniforms that include hard hats and hydrogen sulfide (H2S) monitors also help keep workers safe. Another renderer said a recent fatality in Europe involved vapor steam from a cooker an employee was working on. “Don’t forget to treat vapor as an energy source,” Starkey warned. He then urged open communication with workers that encourages reporting any safety issue, and reminded all to include office and lab workers in the safety realm. Focusing on H2S was Steve Harris, Tyson, who described the colorless, flammable gas as having an offensive odor similar to rotten eggs. H2S is the result of a natural breakdown of organic materials (e.g., feathers, blood, and offal) that can affect one’s ability to smell at higher levels and cause immediate collapse or unconsciousness at very high levels so monitors in the plant and on worker’s uniforms are essential to keep employees safe. OSHA allows a maximum level of 20 parts per million (PPM) during an eight hour shift, but Tyson’s guideline and action limit is 10 ppm. Worker education and signage on H2S throughout the rendering facility are imperative, as is proper ventilation. Tyson has spent about $25 million over the past 10 years in ventilation equipment in the plant and in tanker trailers. “You can’t put a price tag on a person’s life or health,” Harris stated. Fans have been a big part of those upgrades. “We have fans in our plant like Bubba Gump has shrimp.” Strategically placed floor fans in Tyson’s plants help disburse any small amounts of H2S, a “Big Ass” fan (huge slow moving blades) in high ceilings keeps air flowing, and an air tunnel pulls fresh air from the outside and disperses it across meat cookers. “The money you spend on safety is money well spent,” Harris concluded. Wrapping up the two-day seminar was David Davis, Hydro Solutions, who discussed air scrubbers, commenting that renderers should do as much as they can mechanically to remove odors before using chemicals. R 18 December 2013 Render www.rendermagazine.com
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