Planning the Engineering Design of a Food Processing Facility

Introduction

Engineering design and construction of a food processing facility requires a great deal of planning. Information must be collected from many sources and combined into documents that are simple to read and share with others. Planning sessions should not involve persons that represent all aspects of facility activity. Examples are production, maintenance, supervision, sales, accounting, receiving, warehousing, distribution, human resources, management, engineering, research and development, key suppliers (products and services), government agencies, and consultants. Consultants include engineers, lawyers, insurance providers, and other specialists that may not be regularly employed by the company. For large projects, it is recommended to hold scheduled planning sessions at a convenient location that is free from distractions. It is often desirable to obtain and unrelated, third party to lead and moderate planning sessions in order to retain objectivity and purpose. An agenda should be drafted for each planning sessions.

 

This fact sheet lists many of the elements to consider when designing food-processing plants. Since each situation is unique, some elements will not apply and some important elements may need to be added. Relevant elements can form the basis for a planning session agenda. Elements listed are not in any particular order of importance and emphasize engineering design (not economics, marketing, logistics and other necessary inputs). Lists of design considerations are given under four headings.

• Facility
• Process
• Product
• Other

The “Other” list contains miscellaneous elements and items that can be classified in multiple categories. Where useful examples and a brief explanation of the desired input are given. For a more detailed explanation of an engineering approach to facility design for food processing, please call the author for a copy of the Oklahoma State University circular E-959, Process Engineering Method for Food and Agricultural Products.

 

Facility

1. Site selection: Identify the best location(s) for the facility, considering the following factors.
   • Economic development assistance – grants or other support offered to new businesses
   • Flexibility
   • Expansion
   • Utilities availability
   • Maintenance
   • Sanitation
   • Access
   • Environmental impact
   • Zoning laws
   • Permit requirements
   • Parking for employees and delivery vehicles
2. Existing or proposed facility size (square feet)
   • Designate size of dedicated areas (storage, cooler, processing, packing, etc.)
   • Provide a plan view of the proposed facilities layout (a scaled drawing is not necessary if dimensions are included)
   • Estimate expansions requirements (show on drawing)
3. Provide a budget estimate for the cost of the facility
4. Utilities: Identify source(s) and cost to provide utility service as shown in table 1. Review the impact of variable demand charges (if any) and limitations on quantity (e.g. BOD of discharge to treatment system). Consider including meters that can record utility usage to provide data for improving operating efficiency.
5. List code and permit requirements (local, state, federal and international)
6. Type of construction (steel frame, concrete, panel, pre-packaged, etc.)
7. Overhead clearance available or required in designated areas (especially processing)
8. Description of access requirements to facility and dimensions of openings
9. Flooring, walls and ceiling in wash down and special use areas
10. Floor drains in wash-down and process areas
11. Type (drop-down, floor, or wall) and number of utilities connections (electric, steam, water, air, etc.) in process areas.
12. Refrigerated storage requirement (square feet or amount of products/materials/pallets) for proper handling, rotation and placement of goods
    • Temperature
    • Raw materials (ingredients)
    • Finished product
    • Rework
    • Long-term storage requirements for seasonal goods
    • Stack height
13. Strategy for grouping separate refrigerated areas to maximize energy efficiency, materials handling requirements, and expansion of needs
14. Ambient temperature storage requirement (square feet or amount of products/materials/pallets)
    • Raw materials (ingredients)
    • Finished product
    • Packaging materials
    • Rework
    • Long-term storage for seasonal products (estimate)
    • Incoming materials inspection and storage
    • Wall clearance and inspection lane requirements
    • Stack height
    • Develop a strategy for grouping separate storage areas to maximize materials handling requirements and expansion needs
15. Employee service facilities requirements
    • Drinking water fountains
    • Toilet and lavatory facilities
    • Change rooms
    • Training or classroom
    • Retiring room
    • First aid
    • Food service
16. All warehousing and storage areas
    • Incoming materials inspection and storage
    • Truck and railcar parking and sanitation facilities
    • Wall clearance and inspection lane requirements
    • Protective guard posts for walls, doors, and equipment
17. Cleaning and Sanitation
    • Layout
    • Materials handling
    • Grease trap location
    • Building exterior
    • Floors and drains
    • Walls and ceilings
    • Ventilation
    • Lighting
    • Pest proofing
    • Surface treatments and coatings
    • Truck and railcar sanitation
    • Wastewater pretreatment
    • Secondary and tertiary wastewater treatment systems
18. Process electrical equipment rating (wash-down, dust proof, explosion proof, etc.)
19. Electrical switchgear and motor control room location
20. Emergency Power: Indicate the amount (square feet or percentage of area) and temperature of refrigerated warehouse or facility area to be protected by an emergency power source, if any.
21. Parking and access
    • Delivery trucks
    • Truck drivers lounge
    • Railcar
    • Employee
    • Special designation (inspector, visitor, customer, etc.)

 

Table 1. Utility source, availability, capacity, fee, and rate

 

Process

1. Describe the value-added products to be processed. An example is provided in table 2. Include future requirements.
2. Process organization and flow
   • Materials flow (product, waste, rework, packaging, ingredients and intermediates) and storage
   • Personnel flow
   • Data collection and manipulation
3. Provide recipes and examples of product/packaging materials if available
4. Regulatory requirements for products (local, state, federal and international)
5. Describe the level of process automation desired for the facility (e.g. manual, semi-automated, or fully automated)
6. Describe the level of packaging automation desired for the facility (e.g. manual, semi-automated, or fully automated)
7. Describe the carton or case requirements for products
8. Describe the image desired for the facility (e.g. state-of-the-are, modern or utility)
9. Provide a budget estimate for capital equipment expense
10. Is used equipment acceptable/desired? If so, state any specific areas in the process where used equipment is unacceptable
11. How will ingredients or raw materials be delivered to the facility (delivery size, pallet or container size, stacking specifications, temperature, frequency, supply capability, and plans for handling)?
12. How will packaging materials be delivered to the facility (delivery size, frequency, pallet dimensions, stacking specifications, case size and plans for handling)?
13. How will finished goods leave the facility (frequency, pallet requirements, wrapping, coding, and handling requirement)?
14. Technology
    • Process equipment
    • Materials handling (pneumatic conveying, bucket elevators, augers, conveyors, gravity slide, etc.)
    • Control systems for process and environment (degree of automation)
    • Quality assurance (in-house systems)
    • Research and development
15. Expansion capability and space availability
16. Flexibility (changeovers, seasonal packs or products, and future upgrades)
17. Reliability of equipment (lifetime requirement)
18. Waste treatment, handling, disposal, and recovery
19. Sanitation standards
    • Housekeeping
    • Raw materials handling and storage
    • Processed and finished product handling and storage
    • Waste handling procedures
    • Current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMPs)
20. Sanitary facilities
    • Cleaning and sanitizing
    • Methods required
    • Systems needed
21. Personnel safety
22. Environmental safety
23. Product and process safety
    • Metal detection
    • Line magnets and strainers
    • cGMPs

 

Table 2. Description of product, production rate and package

 

Product

Describe the value-added products to be processed as shown in table 2. Describe the physical properties of ingredients, intermediate and final product(s) (include or forecast ingredients in future plans). Intermediate products may be important in cases where physical properties of the intermediate are unique when compared to the ingredients and final product. Examples of descriptive terms follow:

 

1. Common name of ingredient, source or specification
2. Density (weight per volume)
3. Corrosive nature
4. Viscosity (indicate temperature or range of temperatures)
5. Sensitivity to air
6. Sensitivity to temperature
7. Sensitivity to moisture
8. Sensitivity to materials (contact)
9. Requirement for agitation or mixing
10. Dustiness
11. Flammability
12. Volatility
13. Reactivity
14. Bridging
15. Abrasive nature
16. Toxicity
17. Freezing point
18. Boiling point
19. Rheology
20. Particle size
21. Stiffness
22. Thermal conductivity
23. Electrical conductivity
24. Specific heat

 

Other design considerations

• Food and Drug Administration, United States Department of Agriculture, or applicable regulations
• Local state and federal permits (construction, business and environmental)
• Local labor groups and labor statistics
• Local cropping practices and soil types
• Local weather patterns
• Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) program
• Test kitchen (product development) requirement
• Research and development laboratory and/or pilot plant
• Seasonal processing requirements
• Softened water requirement
• HVAC system pressure and balance for sanitation, and process and odor control
• Lighting requirements
• Energy and process materials recovery
• Return on investment
• Environmental safety (chemical handling, storage, and disposal)

 

Tim Bowser
FAPC Food Process Engineer