Meat+Poultry - February 2017 - 84

FROM THE CORRAL

Keeping audits real

Jarvis

tested in the shop, but it was having
I am really concerned that audits
many problems at the stunning
and assessments of animal
When writing an SOP for stunner
maintenance, do not write a long
station. When the stunner
welfare or other compliance
book. Below is an outline. Write one
was
tested
in
the
shop
it
issues will turn into
to four sentences for each step.
Are
your
SOPs
had
a
different
air
supply.
bureaucratic evaluations
up
to
date?
The
poor
stunning
at
of paperwork. You need
When updating,
the stun box was caused
to ask yourself, do your
PNEUMATIC STUNNERS:
keep instructions
by
problems with the
binders full of Standard
1. Conduct tests on the test stand.
short.
compressor at the stunning
Operating Procedures
2. Describe daily and weekly
maintenance procedures
stand. It was undersized and
(SOPs) really describe
and verification methods.
had not been serviced. Quality
what you actually do on the
assurance people had forgotten that a
plant floor? Has anybody recently
3. Maintain and inspect
stunner air supply.
looked at the SOPs and then visited the pneumatic stunner has three parts:
plant floor to determine if they describe 1. The stunner
4. Maintain and inspect the
balancer and the trolley it
2. The air compressor
procedures accurately? A shelf full
travels on.
3. The balancer.
of binders may be giving you a false
In many cases, the gun is well
sense of security that you are doing
maintained but the other two parts may
things right, when the reality on the
CARTRIDGE-FIRED STUNNERS:
be neglected. A worn out balancer can
processing floor is different.
1. Tested daily on the test stand.
cause problems with accurate stunning.
Let's look at one example.
2. Describe daily and
weekly maintenance.
One must remember that the balancer
Everybody knows the importance of
good captive bolt stunner maintenance. has two main components that must
3. Follow cartridge storage
procedures to keep
work smoothly. The balancer cable
Most large plants have a test stand to
cartridges dry.
reel must allow the heavy pneumatic
test the stunners to insure that they
stunner to move up and down easily
are well maintained and hitting with
4. Management verification of
these procedures. Make sure
and the trolley on the I-beam must also
sufficient force. An SOP has been
stunners used in the yards
smoothly roll back and forth. At one
written to instruct the maintenance
for non-ambulatory animals
plant I visited, the gun was working
people to test every gun each day. This
receive the same care as the
fine but the trolley did not slide back
is a good SOP, but it does not replace
stunners used at the stun box.
having a knowledgeable person looking and forth easily.
at the stunning operation. I recently
T E M P L E G R A N D I N | m e a t p o u l t r y @ s o s l a n d .c o m
visited a plant where the pneumatic
stunner functioned perfectly when
The Jarvis USSS-1
pneumatic stunner with
variable regulator allows
the operator to adjust the
pressure for plants that process
different types of cattle.

You need to ask yourself, do your binders full of
Standard Operating Procedures really describe
what you actually do on the plant floor?
Rosalie Winard

84

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Meat+Poultry - February 2017

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