A freezing facility is a cold storage warehouse that stores goods that require refrigeration below 0degC. These are mainly food products but they also contain genetic material, vaccines and chemical products.
Freezing facilities face a wide range of challenges, from maximizing the use of space and maintaining proper product management to minimizing energy expenditure. Here are a few tips to help you manage your freezing facility effectively and keep your employees safe.
Pest Control
As winter approaches, it’s a good time to start thinking about pest control in a freezing facility. Cooler weather drives rodents and cockroaches indoors to seek warmth, food and shelter. These pests can cause serious damage to your business by contaminating your food and spreading disease.
Ensure that your facility is free of any holes, cracks or crevices that allow pests in and out. Having tight door sweeps and window screens is also key for keeping pests out of your facility.
In addition to pests that are already in your building, kho lanh thuc phama thorough evaluation of previous inspections and prevention measures can identify areas where pests can hide in the future. This can help you develop a comprehensive plan for pest control and avoid having to repeat previous treatments.
The best way to avoid pest infestations in a freezing facility is to conduct routine pest inspections. During these inspections, employees should look for signs of pest activity, including droppings or nests.
If you are unable to perform these inspections yourself, consider hiring a professional pest management company that is trained in integrated pest management (IPM) principles. These companies will conduct routine inspections, create customized IPM log reports and perform quarterly program reviews to ensure that your facility is free of pests.
Refrigerant
A freezing facility has to be equipped with refrigerant in order to cool products to the right temperature for storage. This is an important decision for a business because it affects how long the product will last and how much energy the refrigeration system will use.
A refrigerant is a liquid that moves heat from inside the freezer outside of it. It does this by constricting and compressing the warm gas within the fridge. Then, as the gas is forced through the condenser coils on the unit’s exterior, it loses heat to the outside air, evaporating back into gas and repeating this cycle.
The refrigerant in a commercial freezer is typically hydrofluorocarbons. These are a less flammable but more environmentally friendly type of refrigerant, with lower Global Warming Potential than some other alternatives.
Most commercial-grade freezers and coolers still rely on these flammable refrigerants, but businesses in the food storage and service industries are starting to switch to ammonia. This is due to its ability to move heat quickly, and its ability to be safely cooled without creating toxic fumes.
The walls of a typical freezing facility are constructed with 5″ to 6″ of urethane insulation in a metal frame structure. This is to prevent condensation from forming on the cold side of the wall.
Cold Storage Safety
Keeping products and raw materials at an ideal temperature is the main goal of a freezing facility. Various types of goods and substances like medicines, chemicals, artworks, electronic components, and plants require a cold storage environment to preserve their quality.
As a result, the safety of employees who work in freezing facilities is of the utmost importance. They need to be equipped with insulated clothing and other protective gear to prevent hypothermia. They should also take frequent breaks in order to avoid staying in the freezer for a long time.
They should also keep their skin protected by wearing insulated gloves, which can help reduce frostbite. They should also wear steel-toe boots to protect their toes from the cold.
Employees should be screened regularly to ensure that they are fit enough to work in cold storage. They should also be trained on the key aspects of cold-storage warehouse operation.
They should conduct routine visual racking inspections to spot load size, condensation build-up, damaged rack components and other potential racking hazards. They should also schedule comprehensive pallet rack inspections at least once a year.