Industrial bakery operations are optimized to avoid many types of food safety and workplace hazards. Whether a bakery relies on new or used bread production lines, it is imperative that its facility and equipment, as well as its procedures and safety practices, are geared to minimize risks to their customers and bakery employees. One workplace safety hazard that industrial bakeries may confront is dust explosions. These dangerous events can cause severe injuries to people and damage to the facility but can be guarded against with an understanding of its risk factors and a proactive safety culture within an industrial bakery.
The ingredients of a dust explosion Dust explosions can happen in several industries and types of operations, such as in textile production, timber processing, and in industrial bakeries. What is primarily required to trigger a dust explosion is fuel, an ignition source, and oxygen. In bakeries, the fuel is often flour, sugar, starch, or spices. Only 1/32 of an inch of this flammable particulate organic material on five percent of the surface area in space is enough to fuel a dust explosion, while ignition sources can include sparks from equipment, open flame, or merely electrostatic discharge. When the three necessary ingredients of a dust explosion are paired with a sufficient concentration of dust dispersed in the air and the confinement of the dust cloud, an explosion is imminent. Once ignited, the dust particles combust and can create a domino effect, triggering secondary dust explosions as the force of the initial blast kicks up more dust into the air or damages safeguards meant to contain it. Incidents of this sort lead to numerous injuries and even fatalities in food processing operations across the world. Ways to mitigate dust explosion risk The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recommends industrial bakeries use several basic safety practices to minimize the risk of dust explosions, including installing adequate ventilation systems, regularly inspecting equipment and surfaces for dust accumulation, using cleaning methods and equipment that don’t disperse dust into the air, and keeping heated surfaces and systems away from areas where dust clouds may develop. In addition, it is crucial to incorporate equipment, new or refurbished, that utilizes hygienic design. Hygienic design in bakery equipment is primarily meant to protect against food contamination, but it also lends itself to workplace safety. Many prominent brands offer this kind of equipment, such as used Mecatherm industrial bakery equipment, that is easy to cleanse of particulate materials and avoid recesses or cavities in the machinery where dust can collect during operation. Artisan Capital Partners tailors solutions and services designed to create liquidity from industrial bakery assets while consistently managing transaction risk. Artisan Capital Partners helps bakeries manage assessing equipment, dismantling, and transportation, as well as design, installation, and testing to provide bakeries with a liquidity event that meets their goals. Comments are closed.
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