Asked to introduce a Blades (Knives) policy into the company

C

cochranemurray

#1
I've been asked to introduce a blades policy into the company. It would include a register for control of knives etc used to open packaging in case parts of the blade breaks off and needs to be accounted for. Are there any standard procedures and rules for this type of thing? I've read through various "sharps" procedures, but they mainly concentrate on the effects of syringe needles and scalpels if they are not properly discarded.
 
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SteelMaiden

Super Moderator
Super Moderator
#2
Wow, you have to account for broken box cutters? That is interesting. We have a policy for sharps, as you say. But that is only for medical waste/blood borne pathogen control. Interesting question, I look forward to hearing if this is something used widely in the world.
 
T

tarheels4 - 2007

#3
You might consider a simple process such is used for gloves that are washed. The tool crib would be the point of control. When the knife dulls or is broken, the user returns what is left to the crib for a new one.
 

Al Rosen

Staff member
Super Moderator
#4
cochranemurray said:
I've been asked to introduce a blades policy into the company. It would include a register for control of knives etc used to open packaging in case parts of the blade breaks off and needs to be accounted for. Are there any standard procedures and rules for this type of thing? I've read through various "sharps" procedures, but they mainly concentrate on the effects of syringe needles and scalpels if they are not properly discarded.
Are you talking about something like accounting for surgical sponges during a medical procedure, so that none are left inside the patient.
 
C

cochranemurray

#5
It is more to do with accounting for pieces of metal blade i.e. box cutters which may break off when in use opening packaging. How to control the issue of blades and what to do when the blade is noted to be missing a part. It was raised during an audit. Although we specialise in medical devices, we may diversify to blisterpacking items which are designated as food. The company who wish to subcontract the work to us suggested that it would be necessary to implement a blades policy. We had considered an online metal detector, but I feel that inspection of the blades during use might be more proactive.
 

Al Rosen

Staff member
Super Moderator
#6
cochranemurray said:
It is more to do with accounting for pieces of metal blade i.e. box cutters which may break off when in use opening packaging. How to control the issue of blades and what to do when the blade is noted to be missing a part. It was raised during an audit. Although we specialise in medical devices, we may diversify to blisterpacking items which are designated as food. The company who wish to subcontract the work to us suggested that it would be necessary to implement a blades policy. We had considered an online metal detector, but I feel that inspection of the blades during use might be more proactive.
Does this company do some of this work and do they have a procedure you can look at? Would you like this thread moved to the FDA, Food and Drug Forum? You might find someone in that forum familiar with this.
 

Wes Bucey

Quite Involved in Discussions
#7
cochranemurray said:
It is more to do with accounting for pieces of metal blade i.e. box cutters which may break off when in use opening packaging. How to control the issue of blades and what to do when the blade is noted to be missing a part. It was raised during an audit. Although we specialise in medical devices, we may diversify to blisterpacking items which are designated as food. The company who wish to subcontract the work to us suggested that it would be necessary to implement a blades policy. We had considered an online metal detector, but I feel that inspection of the blades during use might be more proactive.
I see the situation now. The primary worry is contaminating product with the broken blade pieces. Instead of counting surgical sponges, the analogy would be to examine each surgical sponge to assure no shreds may have broken off to remain in the patient.

For the record, I find this to be a praiseworthy endeavor.

The examination of blades after each shift not only has to be conclusive that no parts are missing, but each blade has to be tracked to shipments on which it was used for traceability to examine product (an examination limited to only suspect shipments because of traceability, thereby saving potential costs), in the event a blade is discovered to be damaged.

Part of the procedure has to include empowerment for blade user to halt process when he discovers a broken blade, limiting the number of packages/products to be examined.

The process for examining packages has to be balanced with economics. Can product be damaged by Xrays? Will magnetic detectors be sensitive enough to detect metal shards and not so powerful to damage software or RFID devices? Is it cheaper to just pull suspect shipment aside and examine by hand? That is, if a blade only breaks once a year, is it cost-effective to have expensive detectors on standby?
 
B

Bill Pflanz

#8
Someone I know is in the packaging business and had the following comments on your blade problem.

Metal detectors cannot see through cans or metaized films. Use them up stream of these operations.

A broken blade point may not show up in product for days, months, or years. Pieces may become buried in conveyors or may adhere to any tacky surface. < 1gram and < 1mm can cause lots of trouble.

Base your plan upon a failure modes effects analysis. Use pareto to prioritize the actions.

Look for ways to minimize the number of blades in the operation. Additionally, use only the most robust blades to minimize failures. Ban cheap disposables especially the notched or beak point blades. Perhaps heavy shears or wheel type blades would be good alternatives to box cutters. Pull tabs, pull strings, perforations, adhesives can all be altered to minimize cutting.

Make blades that could fail or be lost control points. If you know when you used the blade you know when the contamination occured.

Create and deploy procedures for actions cased by lost or broken blades based on FMEA.
 
R

rogerheffington

#9
May I ask: are you using the blades as part of an automated system? or is this a manual procedure/process?
 
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