Solution to High Bacteria Counts

Problem:

Cheese and dairy products customer was having problems with valves not cleaning properly.

Observation:

Mixproof valves and drain valves did not seem to be getting cleaned properly and customer did not know what the pulsing sequence needed to be or when they needed to be pulsed.

Solution:

We coordinated with the chemical supply company to step through each CIP circuit step-by-step on each of the customers 12 CIP systems and verify if the valves were pulsing properly and for sufficient durations to clean the valve body properly. Corrections were made to the pulsing sequences and verified that there is enough flow to clean the entire area of the valve. Also with this we created CIP pin charts to document the sequences.

Results:

Many of the valves in the customers system were not pulsing or not pulsing long enough to clean the valve body properly. The customer realized a dramatic drop in bacteria counts after the changes.  The chemical usage and CIP times were also reduced or left un-changed.

Kelly Treml  – Project Coordinator/ Master Electrician