About the Department

The design issues faced by food manufacturing operations are specific to the food sector. Food plants, in contrast to most other facilities, will be subjected to daily chemical and physical abuse, with the constant possibility of biological contamination. A facility that can be cleaned every day using strong chemical cleaners and sanitizers is necessary to maintain a hygienic processing environment and reduce dangers. The temperature requirements frequently range from below-freezing temperatures for products and spaces to the intense heat of hot processing and cooking. Every time a piece of food product handling equipment moves through the building, there is a chance that the walls and flooring could get damaged. The leader of a food plant must use people skills to resolve a variety of challenges, many of which are conflicting. Quality, both in terms of food safety and in terms of fulfilling the specifications and regulations for the product, is the first of the several difficulties. Another top concern is human safety. Due mostly to repetitive motion injuries that arise when employees must repeat the same operation for extended periods of time, food preparation can be an unexpectedly dangerous profession. A firm cannot exist without a product that is both safe and appealing. Plant management should oppose corporate management's demands for excessive overtime and odd scheduling procedures because these can cause employee fatigue, which in turn can result in accidents. In order to obtain outcomes, a plant manager should demand the right time and resources and be protective of the employees. In order to balance local obligations with business needs, common sense and diplomacy are essential.