Paint on grab wire switch not resistant to cleaning procedure
- Customer: Arjan Jansen | 2 Sisters Storteboom
- Challenge: Paint on pull wire safety switches was not resistant to the cleaning procedure
- Text: Erik Driessen
Supplier of fresh and frozen chicken products
At 2 Sisters Storteboom in Nijkerk, the paint on the pull wire safety switches started to peel off. Not an ideal situation for a company that must comply with the strict requirements of the food industry. A trial with an alternative solution from fortop solved the problem, explains work planner Arjan Jansen of 2 Sisters Storteboom.
Strips, cubes or pieces of chicken fillet
The 23,000 employees of the British 2 Sisters Food Group produce everything from pizza and pudding to biscuits and chicken. 2 Sisters Storteboom – with six sites in the Netherlands and one in Poland – is responsible for the latter product category. The company supplies fresh and frozen chicken products in all shapes and sizes. The slaughterhouses are located in Poland, Kornhorn and Putten. "Every day we receive chicken breast portions from the slaughterhouse in Putten, which we cut into strips, cubes or pieces of chicken fillet," Jansen explains, describing the daily process.
Thirteen production lines are installed at the modern facility in Nijkerk. Jansen is responsible for ensuring that these machines operate six days a week. “The lines are equipped with razor-sharp blades that cut the fillets. The safety of our employees is therefore extremely important. That is why every line is fitted with multiple pull wire safety switches. At the first sign of a fault, employees can stop the machines immediately,” says Jansen. Read more about machine safety.
Paint disappeared in floor drains
Not a safety risk, but a solution was needed
The problem arose with the pull wire safety switches. It was not an immediate safety risk, but it was a situation that required a solution. The requirements of the food industry are extremely strict.
The pull wire safety switch worked perfectly, but our cleaning process gradually caused the yellow paint to peel off.
“The pull wire safety switch worked perfectly, but our cleaning process gradually caused the yellow paint to peel off. During the day, the temperature is between 2 and 4 °C, but in the evenings the cleaning team cleans the production floor and the machines with hot water. As a result, the paint peeled off and the paint particles were washed into the floor drains. Naturally, we started looking for a solution.”
Practical test with a plastic pull wire safety switch
A more or less coincidental request from fortop therefore came at just the right time. “fortop wanted to test a new plastic pull wire safety switch in a real-life application and approached us to do so. The company had also supported us in the past. We immediately installed the pull wire safety switch and agreed to monitor it for a year. That period has now passed and the switch has proven to withstand our cleaning procedure. In addition, this solution is equipped with a status LED that is extremely useful in the event of a fault. In short, we are very satisfied.”
Jansen also welcomed the supplier of the machines used by 2 Sisters Storteboom in Nijkerk. fortop also introduced the new pull wire safety switch to the machine supplier, who wanted to assess the situation on site. In time, 2 Sisters Storteboom will replace all pull wire safety switches on the thirteen production lines with the fortop solution. Read more about pull wire safety switches.
