Page 71 - FoodFocusThailand No.206 MAY 2023

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Points to Be Considered in Plant Layout and analysis, creation of flow chart, creation of relationship chart, and
Design for SMEs building layout analysis. These processes help identify points that
Layout and design of a small manufacturing plant need improvement, reduce costs derived from transport of
should take into account possible risks that may affect materials, facilitate easier audit of critical control points (CCPs),
food. The sources of these risks can be physical, ensure standard hygiene, and lower contamination risks.
chemical, or microbiological such as dangerous In Figure 1, the production process chart on the left can be
objects, chemicals used in production process, or used to create the process flow chart on the right, along with the
pathogens. integration of the following symbols:
Designing a facility for micro-enterprises is as
important as for big enterprises. These micro-enterprise
plants should have separately designated areas with
hygiene control. For instance, the raw material reception
area should be separate from that of raw material
preparation. Operational safety measures and plans
must be put in place. Likewise, contamination control
should also be strictly implemented, ranging from
monitoring of waste contamination, contagious Afterwards, the activity relationship chart can be used to
diseases from operation personnel, ventilation in allocate rooms or departments within the manufacturing building.
manufacturing premise, water quality, and surfaces In general, the following closeness rating can be applied: A means
including those in production area and those with direct that it is Absolutely Necessary for pairs of units, rooms, or
contact with food. In addition, hygiene maintenance departments to be as close to each other as possible (with no
measures in production process, such as periodic more than 5 percent of difference in activities); E suggests that
cleaning and disinfection in production areas after the it is Especially Important for pairs of units to have special
end of each production, should be established and relationships (with no more than 10 percent of difference in
implemented. activities); I prescribes that it is important for pairs of units to
Hence, the design and layout of small, GHP-based have important relationships (with no more than 15 percent of
facilities for small or community enterprises should take difference in activities); O refers to the Ordinary relationships
into consideration the following factors; the site between pairs of units (with no more than 20 percent of difference
should not be in an area prone to contamination risks in activities); U means that the relationships between pairs of
such as proximity with contaminated water sources,
disease-carrying animals, and dense pollution.
Some of these high-risk sources are, for instance,
wastewater-processing facilities, organic fertilizer
factories, or garbage-processing and pollution-
generating plants, from which heavy metals may
leak. Food manufacturing facilities should be located in
a place that has good infrastructure, which will
facilitate easier removal of waste from manufacturing
premise through drainage or transport. This will
lead to better hygienic measures and maintenance
routines.
Similar to that of a bigger plant, the layout of a small
manufacturing facility should also use production
process chart and relationship chart. The flow charts of
raw materials, personnel, and other materials from
start to finish should be studied in detail to reduce
cross-contamination, reduce costs on material transport,
and minimize manufacturing lead time. Walls may be
set up to separate non-related departments. Hygiene
can be maintained through the application of
one-directional flow of materials wherever that is
possible or if such solution suits the nature of that
specific enterprise.
Facility Design and Layout Based on Case
Study of Dried-Banana Manufacturing Plant
Based on a small-sized dried banana factory of a
community enterprise, a simple layout is used. The
design follows a standard layout guideline for
manufacturing plants in general. The design processes
include, in respective order, production process

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