5 replies to this topic

[shelby.ansems]

Looking for some advice. We are a food manufacturer that recently acquired a small warehouse on the property. This small warehouse is separate from our manufacturing plant, but on the same property. We'd like to store low risk raw materials in this warehouse to free up some space in our production plant (things like pallets, packaging, corrugate). The problem is that the docks are not sunken, so we'd have to unload the semi trailer with a ramp leaving the dock door open during this process. 

 

Any suggestions on ways to reduce our risk for pests? Is this even going to be feasible?

[SQFconsultant]

Build an annex - extending the dock door to where you need it, could be portable, think jetway or permanent.

[jfrey123]

I consulted for a company that had 2 buildings on the same lot: one pure storage and the main building a mix of storage and production.  Both had ramps leading to a rollup door, and they would forklift pallets of raw and finished between buildings.  Their defense was the rollup opened and closed rapidly and automatically (only open long enough to allow the forklift to pass thru 1 time), and a strong air curtain blasted before it opened until after it closed.  Justified it with strong pest result trending and extra traps near the doors, SQF scrutinized it but couldn't make a problem with it.

[shelby.ansems]

I consulted for a company that had 2 buildings on the same lot: one pure storage and the main building a mix of storage and production.  Both had ramps leading to a rollup door, and they would forklift pallets of raw and finished between buildings.  Their defense was the rollup opened and closed rapidly and automatically (only open long enough to allow the forklift to pass thru 1 time), and a strong air curtain blasted before it opened until after it closed.  Justified it with strong pest result trending and extra traps near the doors, SQF scrutinized it but couldn't make a problem with it.

How would they move pallets back and forth between buildings? We've discussed doing this and covering them with plastic or something else to protect them from the outside elements. Winter might pose another problem for forklift traffic outside.

[jfrey123]

How would they move pallets back and forth between buildings? We've discussed doing this and covering them with plastic or something else to protect them from the outside elements. Winter might pose another problem for forklift traffic outside.

 

They just drove them between buildings via forklift.  Closed boxes with sealed poly liners inside the boxes.

[G M]

We've done something like this at a small facility.  The site is a small old establishment (building is around 100 yr old) with what is essentially a garage door for a loading dock.  When pallets of material are received the door is open, a forklift drives out onto the street and grabs them out of the back of a truck. Everything has dustcovers that get removed after the door is closed again.  The loading bay is separated from other rooms internally with heavy poly curtains.

 

Plenty of small operations don't have a sealed loading dock for a truck to back into.