There is a lot to think about in the food and drink industry such as making your warehouse ‘food grade’, but what is a food grade warehouse?
A food grade warehouse is the correct handling and storage of food products in a facility which has met strict hygiene and food safety standards. Whether your warehouse is ambient, refrigerated or frozen, maintaining these strict standards is paramount to ensure the safety of your staff and customers.
The 4 c’s
One way to ensure your food safety is up to standard is by following the 4 c’s:
Cleaning- Keeping on top of cleaning work surfaces and personal hygiene, floors and walls should also be easy to clean and disinfect.
Cooking- Ensure your food is cooked to the correct temperature.
Chilling- Make sure any chilled food is kept below 8ºc, your fridges should be kept between 0ºc and 5ºc
Cross contamination- Ensure that there is no dust, dirt or any chipped paint from floors or walls. Ensure workers are aware of what PPE is required to stop further contamination and are aware of personal hygiene standards such as handwashing.
Traditional Signage Methods
Safety signage is key to ensure safety in a warehouse, particularly for food safety. Whether you need to make workers aware of PPE and hygiene regulations, create loading bays, or wayfinding signage, ensuring your health and safety signs are visible is very important.
Warehouses usually opt for painted floor markings or traditional signs such as pvc or metal for their health and safety signs. But in the food and drink industry this can cause food safety issues.
Painted Floor Markings: Painted floor markings are often used for areas such as loading bays, zebra crossings and forklift safety. Having to keep your floor spotless, along with everyday use, can cause this paint to chip and fade, which not only leads to low visibility but could also contaminate your product.
Traditional Signage: Traditional signage in food warehouses would usually be used for PPE requirements, handwashing facilities, and warning workers of hazards. These are particularly important as if PPE and hygiene requirements aren’t met it can lead to contamination of products. These signs are usually relatively small, which could lead to them being missed by workers and missing crucial practices.
Introduction to Projected Signage
Projected signage is an innovative technology that utilises LED gobo projectors to display safety signage and warehouse floor markings. At Projected Image, we supply top of the range indoor and outdoor projectors along with in-house manufactured safety signage which can be fully customised to your needs.
Benefits of Projected Signage
Projected warehouse safety signage offers several advantages in comparison to traditional signs and painted floor markings, particularly in food warehouses.
-Unlike painted floor markings that can chip and contaminate your product, projected signs don’t chip or fade, even with regular scrubbing of floors.
-Government regulations state that chilled food must be stored below 8ºc, with the optimal temperature being between 0-5ºc. Our durable gobo projectors can withstand temperatures between -20ºc and 50ºc, making them ideal for a range of conditions, including chilled storage areas. The IP65 rated drivers and IP62 rated projectors also mean they are weatherproof and moisture doesn’t affect your safety signs.
-Projected signs are clear and consistent health and safety signs that do not degrade and fade with frequent foot and vehicular traffic, reducing the need for frequent maintenance and replacements.
-Our health and safety signs are also highly adaptable with gobos easily switched out to reflect new guidelines and food safety protocols. If you need to adapt your warehouse layout, you can simply move the gobo projector, without having to repaint floor markings.
-With our custom perspex lens covers, our gobo projectors alleviate any worries about glass chipping and contaminating your product.
-Improved visibility of safety signs ensures your workers do not become ‘sign blind’ and health and safety signs, such as PPE requirements and handwashing facilities, do not go unnoticed.
-Your virtual signage can be fully customised for your business and any specific needs, whether you need branded signs for company policies or specific health and safety signage.
Projected Signage at Major Food Manufacturers
An increasing number of food manufacturers are implementing projected signage into their warehouses to improve safety. Dunbia, a leading food manufacturer, implemented projected signage for their handwashing stations, as “a culture of food safety & quality is of great importance” they wanted to ensure this signage would not go unnoticed and that all hygiene requirements are adhered to.
Since the implementation of their warehouse safety signage system, Dunbia have noticed an increase in “signage visibility and awareness in factory premises” and have the reassurance that staff are not going ‘sign blind’, ensuring that they follow health and safety protocols.
Why Choose Projected Image?
With over 25 years of experience in gobo projection, at Projected Image we pride ourselves on providing the highest quality projections. With our team of projection experts making all of your safety signage in-house, we ensure each safety sign will be crisp and clear.
Making the switch to projected health and safety signs has never been easier-simply get in touch with our team of projection experts with your signage and floor marking requirements, and we can put together a bespoke signage solution suited to you.