Interview with Marie-Hélène DUNAND, a nurse at YOPLAIT CANDIA

The hygiene and safety culture is paramount for the food processing company YOPLAIT CANDIA

Yoplait, Candia, 2 companies specialising in processing and packing dairy products, employ 600 individuals at their production site.

Hygiene and safety are core concerns

Hygiene and safety culture is logically fundamental to a sector in which the standards (safety of individuals, combating bacteria...) require constant watchfulness and ability to anticipate.

"I am part of the safety prevention group. Every week, we meet with the heads of department and deal with the topics in which we need progress .../... noise has often been considered the number 1 risk owing to the number of employees exposed. This involves practically everybody. It can be estimated that 450 individuals are constantly exposed to noise. Each time a machine is installed, the technician will measure the noise emitted in order to estimate the impact on the place of work. We achieve 100 dB for example in the pasteurisation department. In the workshops where the production lines are situated, we reach more than 80 dB, a constant high level of noise like a loud background noise .../... the noisiest machines are the conveyors (product transfer lines), the compressors and pistols. "

The partnership with COTRAL Laboratory

With regard to hearing protections, COTRAL Laboratory have been equipping the persons exposed to noise since 1994. “I instigated implementation of the protections at both sites by performing tests on 5 individuals on each occasion. Furthermore, I was assisted in my approach by the MSA, which granted me a subsidy for introduction of the equipment.

With regard to information about the risks associated with noise, I have media in the waiting room. The occupational physician raises awareness among the personnel concerning wearing of the protections during each new examination.

The advantage of Cotral Premium, lies in their comfort and the fact that the wearer is not isolated. Formerly, the employees wore helmets. They were heavy, uncomfortable due to the heat in the workshops and impractical; some had their helmets get caught on the pipes! The mechanics and maintenance staff did not protect themselves, since they needed to hear the machines operate in order to tell whether the rates were correct. "

The special hearing protections for the food processing industry

Given the increasingly drastic industrial standards in the sector, COTRAL Laboratory have been incorporating specific features in its personalised hearing protections for 10 years now, resulting in an exclusive solution for the sector (a cord specific to the food processing industry, an electromagnetic bead and a PVC clip). M-H. DUNAND is taking advantage of the laboratory's renewal campaigns to equip the personnel with COTRAL Premium option Agro.

“It has become a habit now; the laboratory provides me the list of the equipped individuals, I register those who need some and add those who have lost their protections. The new model has met with approval. The employees are satisfied. Some are even "addicted" to them. For them, 8 days without seems a long time if their pair has gone to  after-sales. I send in the impressions or the protections and I receive a reply within a reasonable period. "

Hygiene and maintenance of the hearing protections are essential

In addition to the specific features of the COTRAL Premium food processing option hearing protections, the sector emphasises the needs for an antimicrobial and antibacterial solution in a field where hygiene occupies a forefront position.

"The employees maintain their protections. I hand out  Cleanil wipes and tubes when they need them. The automatic habit of cleaning them in our profession in which hygiene is so important is not a problem; it is a matter of culture. "