Maintaining cleanliness in food processing facilities is essential for ensuring product quality and employee safety. These facilities manage a wide range of ingredients, each with unique risks and numerous methods for addressing them.
Dust Control at a Corn Processing Facility
According to the plant manager in one corn processing facility in Georgia, employees were cleaning up fugitive dust for as much as two hours daily to maintain compliance. After cleaning every day for several weeks, they still saw an inch or more of accumulation in the rafters and on their equipment.
Protecting a Food Production Facility From Combustible Dust
According to the plant manager, the difference after installing dust control fans was stark. He noted, “It’s gotten a lot better. I mean, you could see it [cornstarch dust] coming through the air. Now you can’t.”
Fugitive Dust Makes Housekeeping More Difficult for Food Processing Facilities
Dust poses ongoing challenges for food processing facilities, creating constant concerns about:
- Strict Compliance Standards
- Expensive Housekeeping
- Time-Intensive Cleanings
- Combustible Dust Explosions
- Employee Health Liability
- Citations and Fines
The Hierarchy of Dust Control
Which Method Reigns Supreme?
Facilities employ various methods to mitigate dust hazards, each with different levels of effectiveness. Here they are, ranked by efficiency:
- Dust Control Fans [Elimination/Prevention]
These fans generate an airflow barrier that prevents dust from accumulating in hard-to-reach areas like ductwork and beams. This method effectively eliminates and prevents dust buildup by ensuring that dust settles on the floor for easy removal, addressing the primary hazard of combustible dust explosions. - Dust Collectors [Elimination]
Dust collection systems capture significant amounts of dust from primary operations. While they reduce dust buildup, they cannot entirely eliminate fugitive dust, making them a partial elimination solution. - Regular Cleaning [Substitution]
This method involves manually cleaning dust-prone areas. Though effective, it is labor-intensive, expensive, and potentially hazardous for employees, especially in elevated locations. - Isolating Dust-Producing Operations [Engineering Controls]
This method isolates dangerous processes or materials to minimize exposure. However, partial isolation is often possible, with dust frequently escaping and posing risks to nearby employees. - Dust Control Program [Administrative Controls]
Implementing control programs, including regular inspections and hazard analyses, can help mitigate risks but does not address dust production and buildup. A plan is ineffective without consistent follow-through. - Masks/Respirators [PPE]
Personal protective equipment minimizes dust inhalation. While it protects against inhalation, it does little to address the explosive nature of combustible dust.
By focusing on elimination and prevention methods, facilities can better manage dust hazards, ensuring a safer environment for employees.
How Do Dust Control Fans Combat Fugitive Dust?
SonicAire’s proprietary BarrierAire technology, tailored to food processing dust, can revolutionize dust control in your facility:
- High-Velocity Airflow: Creates robust airflow that prevents combustible dust particles from gathering on overhead structures.
- Thermal-Current Control: Manages thermal currents to prevent dust buildup in inaccessible areas prone to fire and explosion risks.
Automated Dust Management
Equipped with BarrierAire® Technology, SonicAire dust control fans automate dust management, making it easier to maintain cleanliness and safety without extending work hours or halting production for cleaning.
Introducing the CIID1-Certified XZ-210 and XZ-215 Fans
The new CIID1-certified XZ-210 and XZ-215 fans from SonicAire are purpose-built for hazardous, highly explosive environments. Food processing facilities are certainly among these environments. These fans are engineered to meet stringent industry standards, deliver unmatched performance in preventing dust buildup, and comply with NFPA and OSHA regulations. Using BarrierAire™ technology, the XZ-210 and XZ-215 fans effectively disrupt thermal airflow patterns, ensuring combustible dust particles settle on the floor rather than accumulating on difficult-to-clean surfaces.
Continuous Cleaning Backed By SonicAire’s Compliance Guarantee
SonicAire is so confident in its product’s ability to solve your fugitive dust problem that it offers the SonicAire Compliance Guarantee*. If SonicAire fans, when installed and maintained according to their recommendations, fail to eliminate the need for overhead housekeeping, they will provide a full refund or reimburse the cost of any imposed fine, whichever is less.
