Process safety in the food ingredients industry

Process safety is of the biggest concern for producers in the food industry, amongst other industries. That safety is guaranteed at Royal Buisman: the past three years there have been no accidents, states Aaltjan van ‘t Hul, Manager Operations at the company.

My background is in food. I started with a job at a chicken slaughter and climbed the ladder until I became manager operations at Royal Buisman. That is a company that has existed for a long time. In 1867, Herman Buisman discovered how caramelized sugar can strengthen the taste of coffee. It inspired his followers to continually find new ways of strengthening the signature of a diverse array of food products, with expertise and dedication.

The caramelized sugars that we produce, strengthen the signature of coffee, bread, banket and other products.

Every three years people from an external company come to us to conduct research: is the process safety alright? Of course, there is always room for improvement, that’s normal. What are the dangerous aspects? How do you adapt to the health of the people? An example of process safety is the right clothing for men in de roastery, where the temperatures are significantly high; suitable clothing, gas masks, heat resistant shoes and gloves, fall protection. Our employees are also required to follow certain courses. These explain how to lift best, how to improve one’s posture. Employees all obtain their fork-lift certificate, and for those who maneuver machines there exists a thorough training period. Hereby, we increase the general security of our production rooms.

Novelties in the realm of process safety aren’t relevant. We follow the report and from there we take small steps. In the daily operations there are only ten process employees present. So, it is safe. Adding to that, seven of them have done an ERO (emergency response officer) training.

The last time an accident happened, it concerned a cutting incident caused by a sharp piece of metal. We let our technical team adapt the cause immediately. The process safety at Royal Buisman is up to date. As stated earlier, we have had no incidents in the workspace the past three years.

This column was originally published by EVMI