The process of cleaning blenders, called “energizing”, has been an industry standard for some time. While energizing achieves the objective of creating a clean piece of equipment, the process by which energizing is performed has the ability to cause significant worker safety concerns. Even though injuries don’t happen often, when they do occur, they are typically severe and life-altering in nature. As a result of the potential severity of these injuries, PSSI set a goal in 2016 of finding a better way to maintain food safety with quality equipment while keeping employees safe.

Within clients’ facilities PSSI identified 1,411 blenders that were currently being cleaned through energizing. PSSI worked with their customers to design tools that could turn blenders so they could be cleaned without the energizing process. Because no situation is the same, specific tools had to be designed to fit unique machinery needs. In a few cases, where energizing had to remain part of the cleaning protocol, it was made safer with additions of secondary guarding to the equipment.

Initial results show that effective cleaning can be completed without worker safety concerns that have long been associated with energizing blenders. The process has been successful enough that it is now incorporated into every new customer bid.

While contract sanitation companies specialize in cleaning complex equipment, they also bring a unique expertise to other disciplines like equipment design and safety. This expertise creates opportunities to develop processes that enable proper sanitation while ensuring worker safety. The goal of any sanitation company should be the creation of an environment that enables the development of safe food products through processes that promote worker safety, all while mindful of budget parameters.

We know that the entire industry can benefit from what we have learned. That’s why we want to make the process available to all companies that use blenders. PSSI is partnering with The National Provisioner to offer a webinar series that delves into this in greater detail. We invite you to join the Webinar in November 16. You can learn more and sign-up by visiting http://webinars.provisioneronline.com.  NP

For more information, visit Packers Sanitation Services Inc. at www.pssi.co.