Blade control procedures
Hi all
we currently are having problems with blade control,
Following Brexit and Covid our core employees have moved on and been replaced with a core of indifferent workforce who seem to come and go as they please, with little regards to rules as they know senior management will not get rid of them for breaking the rules as we are in a low unemployment area.
we have controlled things by moving the best staff into the food contact area but my main issue is control of blades as production managers seem to dish them out without requesting the old one back.
So I can find blades discarded in the area.
Does anybody know of a unit which will dispense blades on return of a used one.
I've tried to get managers and supervisors to issue blades on return of an old one but we do not have the quality of managers to manage this aspect of the process.
thanks
Mark
what kind of blades are you using?
if senior management isn't supportive, nothing you try to implement will succeed
why not switch to an actual knife program?
Can you be the blade go to person?
At this point, I dont feel anyone is on board with this and the only way to solve the issue is for you to be the one who gives out the blades.
At the end of the day, I feel it is better to be short staffed with good employees than be staffed with bad employees.
I can't be the knife man as I am not onsite more than 50% of the time. this is why I have tried to get the two shift managers to be guardians of the blades.
We can't use knifes instead of blades as this is poly and needs a sharp blade to cut.
I do feel unless our shift managers begin to manage we are going to get a major CAR this time, unless I can find a way of managing.
Without senior management commitment in disciplining / taking action nothing will work :thumbdown:
Ok, please walk us through the procedure where using a blade is required.......it may be that there is a more suitable alternative that would eliminate this headache altogether
Ok we produce reels of Poly film, in bag format and sheet. Some of which goes into the food industry, the guys on the shop floor have stanley type knifes for cutting film. In addition we have very sharp razor blades inserted into a blade holder on the extrusion process to trim the film being extruded. Currently we have two shifts day and night. The Shift managers are supposed to issue blades into a blade safe on each line for supervisors to issue on an exchange basis to staff. and to set up trim lines. However this doesn't happen, shift managers simply give out packets of both types of blades. Each line also has a yellow blades container for old blades but such is the indifference of staff, or lack of training from the supervisors, I can find blades discarded within feet of the blades containers.
I am trying to see if I can find a dispenser which would dispense a blade on receipt of an old one but I can't find one! :(
thanks
Mark
I subscribed to this topic as I have been dealing with the same problem with 2 separate plants with a 3rd that is pending to be added to the program. I'm sharing my experience below as it may stimulate some thought, good or bad.
I set up basic blade control - 1 for 1 exchange with Supervisor. We received a non-conformance for someone using a knife from home leaving us to specify approved knives only. In response, we added a shadowbox for utility knives at each workstation (1 per person). These were to be used during the shift and returned at the end.
Plant #1 has been most successful. The Supervisor runs through the workstations every morning installing new blades before the shift starts. This cuts down on random people needing new blades during the shift. I must mention that this Supervisor does have a food related background so a little understanding goes a long ways. The biggest problem I see at this plant is people forgetting knives in their pockets when leaving which do not get returned or replaced until Supervision sees it is missing and the occasional person that carries their own unauthorized knife.
Plant #2 has more turnover, and a Supervisor that has been in and out with health issues. They started the actual program but insisted on additional knives in the shadowboxes to reduce the need to change blades. It worked for a little while but due to Supervisor medical leave, the program has completely flopped even upon his extended return. I have instructed the Supervisor to reduce the # of knives at workstations and mirror Plant #1 but am at my wits end with all of it.
As mentioned above, without senior management commitment and discipline my simple program doesn't work all the time and in some cases not at all. It is all about culture change which is easier said than done. In addition, we have removed ourselves from certification and maintaining an internal HACCP based program. The fact that we do not have an upcoming audit in the foreseeable future makes it an even harder sell to enforce the program.
I feel your pain, it is the culture and supervisors/Shift managers not caring. We have an unannounced audit coming start of next year and I fear the worst. We aren't even allowed to discipline for the most basic of breaches.
We have had to bring good quality staff into the company from abroad so I have hope for the future but not in time for the audit next spring.
M
ah, got it now
a quick google search "food production safety knives" yields lots of results for knives without removable blades--some are metal detectable, not all, and you probably do not require that
https://www.googlead...6BAgBEEA&adurl=
https://www.googlead...egQIARBQ&adurl=
https://www.googlead...egQIARBs&adurl=
remove the replaceable blade type knives from production floor altogether, that takes care of issue A the knives can be engraved with an id # that is attached to specific employees---the onus is now on the employees not the supervisors
have your qa techs be responsible for issuing the new knives for the extruder line, this is a task that should be lead hand or higher anyway (IMHO), OR make this a maintenance task
when you can't go through, get creative and go around