Use of Maintenance Program in HACCP program

The Maintenance program is important in HACCP and the food safety programs. The main objective of the maintenance program is to maintain the equipment in a good condition so that it can produce safe food products. The other objectives are to minimize the possibility of contamination, identify and correct potential problems, and establish a preventive maintenance plan. Without proper maintenance, cleaning and calibration, the quality of the food products may be compromised. In this blog, we discuss how to use a piece of equipment correctly, including deciding on preventative maintenance frequency, equipment calibration and employee training.

Using Equipment Correctly

Obtain the Manufacturer’s Instruction

To get instructions for your food equipment, you can either download it from the manufacturer’s website or keep the user manual. If you need assistance, you can contact the manufacturer.

Preventative Maintenance

Preventative maintenance is a scheduled maintenance program that helps to prevent equipment failures and minimize unscheduled downtime. Preventative maintenance (PM) is a critical part of any food facility or food manufacturing operation.  Some common PM activities include cleaning and sanitizing equipment, inspecting and repairing seals and gaskets, and checking for corrosion or other damage.

It is important to schedule regular preventative maintenance for all of your equipment in order to ensure its optimal performance. By regularly performing PM tasks, you can help ensure the safety and quality of your products. It is important to start with the manufacturer’s advice and then, adjust based on trend analysis and your own use case for your food facility.

Common equipment that needs calibration before use:

In order to ensure that the equipment in a food manufacturing setting is functioning properly, it is important to calibrate it on a regular basis. This involves adjusting its settings according to a specific standard so that it can be relied upon to produce consistent results. Some of the most common pieces of equipment that require calibration include scales, thermometers, and pH meters.

Employee Training

All employees must be properly trained before they use the equipment to ensure that they don’t damage the equipment.

Here are a few ways we can ensure that the equipment is properly used:

1. Ensure equipment is properly calibrated before use.
2. Monitor how employees use equipment to verify that they are using it correctly.
3. Encourage employees to report machine errors and failures. This will help maintain the equipment and keep it in working order.

How frequently should I clean and maintain food equipment?

The frequency of cleaning and maintaining food equipment should be based on a defined schedule that takes into account the type of equipment, the type of food being prepared, and the environment in which it is used. All food contact surfaces must be cleaned and sanitized on a regular basis to prevent the growth of bacteria.

Tips for Managing Preventative Maintenance Activities

There are a few key things to keep in mind when managing your preventative maintenance activities:

1. Add all equipment to the Equipment List and Master Cleaning schedules -this will ensure that you do not miss any important tasks.
2. Follow the manufacturer’s recommended cleaning and maintenance procedures and schedule closely– this will help ensure that all necessary tasks are completed on time and that potential issues are identified and addressed early.
3. Review and trend your activities – this will help you identify any areas where improvements can be made. Trending will also help you identify any potential issues before they become bigger problems.

What is Required in the Maintenance Program?

Your Maintenance Program shall include the following:

1. Equipment List
2. Critical Parts List
3. Preventative Maintenance Schedule
4. Post-Maintenance Cleaning Procedures
5. Equipment Calibration Procedures and List
6. Equipment Calibration Records (External and In-house records)

If you require a copy of the Maintenance Program template, do consider checking our template here, instead of writing them from scratch:

Single Maintenance Program Template Bundle

SQF 9.0 Template Bundle

SFCR Program Template Bundle

Check our free resources in our Template section:

Scales Calibration (pdf)

Thermometer Calibration (pdf)

pH meter Calibration (pdf)

Also, published in https://felicialoo.com/use-of-haccp-maintenance-program/.