Top Tips on the Use of ipads in Food Production Areas

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1 Top Tips on the Use of ipads in Food Production Areas Executive Summary: Mobile computing devices such as ipad s and other Tablet based computers are now being adopted by Food Manufacturers. We are already seeing a mixed reaction with one camp extolling the virtues of these portable devices and another seeking to prevent their use in food production areas because of food safety concerns. This paper takes an objective look at the issues and attempts to put the risks forward from a food safety perspective and put this in context of the potential benefits to be gained. Ultimately a practical food safety approach including risk assessment of the situation before and after deployment of mobile devices into food production rooms is required and we will outline the main issues. Mobile devices are here to stay and their application will play an important role in productivity, food safety and overall operational efficiency so it is important to be aware of what they can deliver. We will look at what the BRC Global Food Standard 6 has to say on this issue and offer practical tips on keeping food safe.

2 The Argument Against ipad s Whenever anything new that has the potential to improve things we hear those who are very risk averse making a loud case for not embracing change. The advent of ipads and other Tablet Computers and their application in food production and safety has brought out a negative reaction in some quarters. Comments like ipads are banned from use in food production and preparation areas and ipads spread germs and pathogens in food areas are being voiced. Add to this ipads have a glass screen, it s just not allowed and progress is halted almost before it starts. Is this really the truth? Will ipads really cause mass outbreaks of food poisoning and shatter into a million pieces contaminating food with glass? When you think about these statements it really hits home that an overreaction like this has the potential to hold back progress. In order to have a sensible assessment of the so called dangers posed by ipad s and other tablet computers we need to look at the whole picture in the light of the facts. To do that we should understand the benefits, potential pitfalls, risks, controls and procedures that need to be in place for any food safety issue. We should therefore apply these principles to the use of mobile devices in food processing areas. The Benefits of ipad s ipad s and other Tablet computers are a huge step forward in taking computing power with you in a way that is truly mobile, usable and engaging. They offer the opportunity to consume information in real time, to capture data, generate alerts and improve communication and collaboration. ipads save time, assist with training and can be used by almost anyone. In a food manufacturing context this means that tablet style computers have the potential to: 1. Reduce the amount of form filling required by production, quality and cleaning staff

3 The Benefits of ipad s (continued) 2. Allow Audits to be semi-automated by automatically raising non-conformances and assigning them in real time to relevant staff for action 3. Access document and training information for staff on the shop floor, saving time by eliminating the need to find and sit down in front of a PC 4. Generate and receive alerts on critical issues related to food safety or production 5. Improve communication between departments, staff members and even customers and suppliers 6. Overall to make the business safer, more productive, responsive, engaging and collaborative With benefits like these who wouldn t want to look at adopting mobile computing solutions to increase the operation efficiency and safety of a food business? An Evidence Approach to Food Safety Food safety is an evidence based discipline. It s all about where the risk comes from and what we can do to eliminate or control these risks and then proving it is effective. Think of personal hygiene for example, it s a set of procedures and controls that prevent cross contamination between people and food. These are proven best practices that have demonstrated time and again that they are effective in controlling food safety. Similarly, pest control is about prevention of safe haven and food sources for pests that could cause contamination, again evidence based. Good food premises design, temperature controls and supplier approval processes are all part of Good manufacturing Practice (GMP) that ensure the prerequisites for food safety are in place and have a demonstrable effect on food safety. Add to this the HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points) system which is mandated for all food manufacturers and is also an evidence based approach to proving food is safe for human consumption. HACCP is designed to focus on all the things that

4 An Evidence Approach to Food Safety (continued) the GMP or prerequisite programmes don t cover. Its main deliverable is a list of Critical Control Points that are identified and monitored in order to prove food is safe and provide early warning of a trend towards a loss of control. Given this best practice and evidential approach to food safety endemic in the food safety industry it makes sense to apply this framework to the use of new technologies such as ipad s and Tablet Computers in food preparation areas. So how do we go about this? Top Tips on Use of ipads and Table Computers Here are my top tips on the use of ipads and Tablet Computers in food preparation areas: 1. Risk Management of Mobile Devices the main risks that ipads present are: a. Glass contamination of food due to glass breakage - They have a glass screen and glass, being hard to detect in food, may present a hazard if it is broken, damaged or shatters b. Cross Contamination from contaminated screen and device body Modern mobile devices are touch based, i.e. there is no keyboard so the main input method is to touch the screen using your fingers. This presents a risk of cross contamination from a dirty screen or from dirty hands. Looking at these two new risks identified in the context of the existing risks they might be replacing, e.g. clipboard, paper and pen we can start to get some

5 Top Tips on Use of ipads and Table Computers (continued) context. We are replacing three items with one and thereby eliminate or reduce the risks of: Pen tops and parts of pens getting into food Cross contamination from the pen to hands (after hand washing then using an unclean pen) how many people disinfect their pens on entry into food rooms? Pieces of paper in production rooms Clipboards and the cross contamination opportunity they provide when unclean By using mobile devices we eliminate 4 risks and introduce only 2 so in fact we have less to manage. In addition the smooth glass surface of a tablet computer and its plastic body is easy to clean and disinfect with an alcohol disinfectant wipe. Therefore, provided hands are washed properly, and the ipad is disinfected with an alcohol based wipe we can control the cross contamination issues fairly easily and simply. What of the risks of glass in food rooms that the tablet computer introduces? The glass on many of these devices is usually a toughened form of glass called Gorilla Glass ( ) a touch, scratch, antishatter and extremely hard to break type of glass. A list of devices that feature Gorilla Glass can be found here ( Interestingly, ipads are not on this list at the time of writing; the excellent ASUS eeepad Transformer however does feature Gorilla Glass. In either case a protective film can be applied to many glass screens for mobile devices and this prevents and controls any risk of glass shatter contamination. It is important to get a protective covering designed to work with touch screens as standard anti-shatter films may render the device useless. These facts, together

6 Top Tips on Use of ipads and Table Computers (continued) with the evidence that there has never been any major cases of contamination of glass in food product from ipads, tablet devices or even smart phones in food rooms, suggests that it is very unlikely that contamination from the glass screen on a mobile device would cause a problem. 2. A Food Safety Management Approach to Mobile Device Use If we are going to use such devices in food rooms and food preparation areas then we need to take account of them in our Food Safety Management Systems. Indeed this is the approach advocated by all major food safety standards institutions and bodies. For example BRC (British Retail Consortium) Global Food Standard 6 states in clause Glass or other brittle materials shall be excluded or protected against breakage in areas where open products are handled or there is a risk of product contamination. What this tells us is that we must either exclude or protect where there is a risk of product contamination. Common sense and a risk based approach such as the one outlined earlier mean that we can easily integrate the use of such devices into the food safety management system. Some easy practical measures include: Adding the ipad or Tablet device to the Glass Register Ensure it has an anti-shatter / protective film on the glass surface Write and implement a procedure on the use of such devices, e.g. o The device must be on the Glass Register and checked in and out and its condition noted on check in and check out of the food room to see if there is any damage to the glass screen or body of the device o Identify food production areas where there may be a risk of contamination if the screen on the device where to be broken o The device must be disinfected with an approved alcohol disinfectant wipe before being admitted to the food preparation area and before washing hands

7 Top Tips on Use of ipads and Table Computers (continued) Ensure staff using such devices are trained in the new procedures and that records are kept 3. Potential Application of Mobile Devices ipads and other mobile devices are excellent tools for capture and consumption of information leading to real time savings and efficiencies. For a relatively small investment there can be significant return on investment in terms of time, productivity, early warning intervention and overall standards of quality and safety. Apps for these devices are generally highly focused on one or two tasks and the time to market for development of such Apps is usually very fast (months instead of years). This makes the whole area one of rapid application development that yields quick returns and a rapidly evolving application ecosystem. Typical applications already include: Document and procedure access Audit Internal, supplier and third party Production monitoring CCP monitoring Alerts Reports Shop floor training and instruction Process monitoring Delivery monitoring Traceability systems General collaboration and sharing tools Overall there is much potential for the use of mobile applications and their impact is likely to be significant in improving operational efficiency, quality and food safety. What s Next for Mobile devices in food Production? We must remember that we have only had mobile applications for a few short years and therefore we are just at the start of the mobile revolution so there are likely to be many hardware and software developments in the coming months and years. This means it is going to be important to stay up to speed with what your software and hardware suppliers are developing so you can take best advantage of these new tools.

8 I recommend you talk with your key software suppliers and ask them about their mobile strategy and how this can help you deliver a safer, higher quality product whilst at the same time improving efficiency and saving time. About Jim Flynn and Gael Ltd: Jim Flynn is Innovations Manager and a Food Safety Consultant at Gael Ltd. He has 20 years experience as a Food Safety Consultant and is the author of numerous food safety systems including HACCP Now. At Gael he has been instrumental in driving the adoption and design of mobile technology for their Food Safety and Quality Management system, Q-Pulse, and continues to influence the food industry through his work on HACCP and food safety. Contact: jimf@gaelquality.com for more information. Contact details: If you require any further information on the above subject or have any comments please contact us to discuss further: Website: info@gaelquality.com Tel:

9 Gael Ltd. Orion House, S. E. Technology Park, East Kilbride, Scotland. G75 0RD t: f: e: w: Q-Pulse is a registered trademark of Gael Products Ltd. All rights reserved worldwide. Copyright 2012 Gael Products Ltd.