1. Drivers need to be held accountable. Yes, sometimes it is unavoidable...but at my last job, we had forklifts moving hundreds of 2,000 lb totes every single day, and in the 2 years I was there, I was involved in investigating and determining disposition of about 5 or 6 totes...total. Our drivers were well-trained, and understood the consequences of reckless or careless handling of product...up to and including termination.
2. Yes, MAY be able salvage most of the product when it is torn/ripped/skewered...but it must be handled correctly, or else it will all need to be discarded. Again, at my previous job, we had a very specific, detailed procedure for handling such situations, and it was always investigated and implemented on a case-by-case basis. Since I no longer have access to the specific procedure, I will give you the overview:
- Driver must IMMEDIATELY report the situation to QA, and the QA manager (or equivalent) is the final word on whether it can be salvaged or not.
- QA then investigates the situation, the condition of the tote (fraying, pieces missing, cleanliness of the surrounding material, etc.), the exposed material itself (is it full of frays and shreds from the tote? Is it now wet for any reason? etc.), the "instrument" that caused the damage (how clean/dirty was the part that caused the puncture? Had it been exposed to any allergens? etc.), and the extent of the damage (width and height of puncture, and approximate depth) - these are all documented in a Corrective Action report
- IF the only material deemed to be "potentially contaminated" is limited in scope and can be safely isolated and removed/mitigated, then the QA techs may begin the process of removing the potentially contaminated portion and repairing the damage to the tote (temporarily; it must ultimately be transferred to a new tote upon completion)
- The process is sterile; requires a sterile scoop, sterile knife, sterile gloves, etc. - the tote surface is thoroughly and carefully cleaned, and any fraying or pieces from the tote that are loose are removed. The contaminated portion is carefully scooped out, along with at least an equal amount of surrounding material to serve as a "buffer", as material may shift slightly during removal. This ensures that all potentially contaminated material is removed.
- The punctured area of the tote is then covered with a sterile covering (you need to determine what works best for your situation), then taped over very securely to keep it in place.
- It is then monitored during the process of transferring the material to a new tote to ensure that none of the covering or tape come loose and become FM, and the entire process is done slowly through a fine mesh screen to ensure no other FM gets into the new tote.
Ultimately, every single situation has to be assessed individually, and the risks carefully weighed out to determine the correct course of action. If in doubt, always disposition it for destruction/waste, as it's better to be safe than sorry...even if it does cost the company money. Sometimes, costing them money is the only way to light the fire under them to address the way the material is being transported and handled in the first place!
Best of luck,
Brian