Mock Crisis - Truck breaks down on highway
First time doing a mock crisis.
The scenario I have been tasked to tackle is our transport vehicle breaking down on the side of the highway.
We are a poultry processing company so the truck would contain skids of fresh and frozen chicken cuts packaged in wholesale sized boxes (i.e. 4kg box of individually vacuum packed boneless skinless chicken breasts).
Any suggestions/ideas on what I should include in my report would be greatly appreciated.
THANK YOU.
It would be helpful to know what this crisis is for, SQF, BRC,...etc.
Is this for business continuity?
We currently are not SQF certified (however in the process of working towards it).
As part of our HACCP program we are required to do one mock exercise annually.
Ensure you include your controls over time and temperature and how you would decide on using or destroying the product. I would record each step / action taken and the time it was taken (theoretically) to get an accurate log of events.
Having dealt with this specific issue from time to time, evidence of the cold chain is going to be key in determining if product is recoverable or not.
Since it sounds like you're doing a full crisis management mock event, you will want to involve all departments that would be utilized in a real event (shipping/dispatch/etc). What you're looking for in these mock scenarios is feedback on what you can implement to tighten up the handling of that type of event if it were to actually happen, so that your team isn't just staring into space wondering what to do.
That being said, if they haven't been trained or explained what to do in that scenario, expect them to be staring into space wondering what to do. Which is fine (relatively) because you're capturing that now, in a mock scenario.
If anyone has time/interest and is willing to read what I have and provide constructive criticism. Thanks.
For context, we are a very small company with only one truck.
Crisis Scenario – truck experiences mechanical issues on highway
On July 6th 2021 at approximately 9:00am, the truck began to experience mechanical problems while driving on the highway. The driver pulled off the highway and parked in a safe location. After inspecting the vehicle, he deemed it unsafe to drive and immediately contacted the Director of Operations to explain the circumstance. The Director of Operations gathered important information such as the time of the incident, the location of the vehicle and if the reefer unit was still operating effectively (it was). He proceeded to inform the members of the crisis management team, which are outlined in the chart below.
The Director of Operations began making arrangements with to have the product remaining in the truck returned to and the broken truck towed to for repair. is the company that leases the vehicle from and the first point of contact when any trucking issues arise. The Director of Operations has the contact information for saved and was able to immediately arrange to have a reefer truck rented and a tow truck sent out. The ETA was communicated to the driver as well as detailed instructions to record the temperature of the product in 30-minute increments. See chart below outlining the data obtained.
The product arrived back at by 11:30am. It was received according to our receiving procedure and the BOL’s were referenced to ensure all product was accounted for. The HACCP coordinator placed hold stickers on each individual skid and the production manager segregated the skids in the cooler and freezer.
The HACCP Coordinator and Director of Operations conducted a food safety analysis to determine the disposition of the product. They opened boxes from the top, middle and bottom of each skid to examine the product. The product was inspected to ensure there were no signs of damage (i.e., dented, punctured or disintegrating boxes), the seal remained intact, no evidence of excessive dust or debris and/or no noticeable off-odors that may suggest the product could have been contaminated during the mechanical issue or while transferring the product from the truck to the truck.
Product Disposition:
The bulk whole birds and individual vacuum-packed chicken cuts were deemed safe for human consumption and taken off hold given there was no evidence of damage to the boxes or seal and the temperature was maintained within a safe range the entire time (below 4°C for fresh product and -18°C for frozen product). Note: there were 3 skids on the truck which took the driver approximately 16 minutes to transfer from one truck to another. Food safety was not jeopardized given the short duration of time the product was exposed to temperatures outside the acceptable range.
However, the HACCP coordinator raised concerns regarding the IQF boneless skinless breast as they are not vacuumed sealed. Rather, the product is contained in a plastic liner/bag within the cardboard box. Given that it is not completely sealed, combined with the knowledge that the product transported from the truck to the truck under un-controlled circumstances and the driver reported dust and debris at the site where the truck was pulled over lead the HACCP coordinator to believe the product may be susceptible to contamination. A sample of the IQF product was shipped to Lab for microbiological testing, and will remain on hold pending results.
Additional Contact Information:
In the event did not have a reefer truck available for rent on the day of the crisis, the following companies are used by for 3rd party trucking and will thus act as the contingency plan in such event.
I would be sure to incorporate that it's the carrier's responsibility to keep up with the trailer seal. If a seal must be broken for any reason (border crossing, weigh station, equipment problem, etc.) the carrier must note the time, date, location, seal number and reason for removal on the paper BOL. The carrier is also responsible for communicating this information immediately to his / her dispatcher. As soon as practically possible, the carrier must reseal the trailer with a new seal or padlock (this seal is provided by the carrier). The carrier must record the new seal number, time, date, and location where the old seal was broken and where the new seal was applied on the paper BOL.