The 15-gallon VT60CR contains critical cleanroom features, such as a unique four-stage filtration system, that allows it to meet cleanroom standards up to and including Class 10.  The water-, rot-, mildew- and corrosion-resistant main filter captures particles down to 1 micron and is covered by an exclusive splash guard to protect against excessive moisture and further extend the life of the HEPA filter. For added protection in the cleanroom environment, the optional ULPA exhaust filter prevents toxic particles from becoming airborne. 

Other features and benefits include: 

• Multiple collection and disposal options,including a polyliner or 5-gallon disposable pail for bulk nuisance or hazardous material.
• Detachable trolley features sturdy polyethylene construction and large, smooth wheels for easy decontamination and added maneuverability.
• Pliable rubber inlet tube is designed to relieve caking and clogging caused by the collection of damp or sticky material. 

For more information on this cleanroom vac and pharmaceutical contamination control,  visit our pharma focus site at  www.pharmaceuticalvacuum.com!

We know that our employees are some of the most talented people! So this year, we divided up our office into teams for the greatest competition ever – Nilfisk’s Got Talent. Teams were given a week to utilize the skills of their teammates and put together a 5 minute act to be performed in front of the whole office! The winning team was chosen by our very own in-house judge, Paul Miller, Vice President and General Manager of Nilfisk-Advance America Inc. Employees not only showed off their Nilfisk and industrial vacuum knowledge but broke out in song and dance and cracked a good joke while doing so!

Other events included:

• Stocking Stuffers: Every morning, employees were surprised with a special treat left by the Nilfisk Santa!
• Santa’s Baby Picture Guessing Game: Curious as to what fellow comrades looked like during their diaper days – Morgantown employees were challenged to match their fellow team members with the correct baby photos.
• Chili Cook-Off: Our talented in-house cooks put their homemade chili on the table for the ultimate office taste test!
• Also, we couldn’t forget our annual employee holiday luncheon and white elephant gift exchange.

Some of our favorite moments from Team Week 2011:

In part two, we’ll look at how manufacturers can minimize risks by implementing best engineering practices and how to choose the best tools for the job. Enjoy! And remember, if you want more detailed info, visit our focus sites www.explosionproof-vacuum.com or www.combustibledustprevention.com.

Tim Lucero, New England Region

Tim joined the Nilfisk team in late July and  is already supporting customers in the New England region with their dust and debris challenges. Tim holds a B. S. Degree in Business Administration from SUNY Brockport and has a strong background in Industrial Tool Sales. He was honorably discharged, having served in the USMC and is also a former Empire State Games Gold Medalist in Judo!  Tim resides in New York with his wife and 2 children. Tim can be reached on his cell phone @ 315-416-9213 or by email,  Timothy.Lucero@nilfisk.com

Jason Gaskill, Northwest

Jason joined us in late August and will be supporting the states of Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana. Jason comes to Nilfisk with an impressive background and is currently pursuing a degree in Operations Management from the Oregon Institute of Technology in Portland. Jason is a lifelong resident of Oregon and takes full advantage of what the Pacific NW has to offer, including mountain biking, camping, kayaking, and hiking. Jason can be reached by phone at 206-683-7720 or email,  Jason.Gaskill@nilfisk.com.

Podcast: Combustible Dust: Manufacturers’ Dirty Little Secret, Part 1

As the lights come back on and the waters recede, here are some hurricane clean-up tips.

• Run your generator outside; exhaust fumes contain carbon monoxide which can be deadly.
• Check your foundation, roof and chimney for cracks. Leave the house if you suspect something may collapse.
• If appliances are wet, turn off the electricity source to the house. Unplug appliances and let them dry. Have a professional check appliances and the electrical system before restoring power.
• If pipes are damaged, turn off the main water valve. Check with local authorities before using the water — it may be contaminated.
• Pump out wells and have the water tested by authorities before drinking.
• Basement walls can collapse if the room is pumped out too quickly. Remove only about a third of the water per day. Nilfisk ALTO’s Attix 19 FloodSucker Vacuum is a unique sump pump vacuum that quickly and simultaneously collects and discharges water. Check with your nearest Nilfisk ALTO distributor for details.
• Remove wet wallpaper and saturated drywall; it is a breeding ground for mold.

Nilfisk Eliminator II wet/dry vacuum

• Use wet/dry vacuum cleaners to collect small amounts of water; HEPA filter vacuums should be used in any areas where mold is suspected (when removing drywall). We recommend the Nilfisk Eliminator I and Nilfisk Eliminator II or the Nilfisk ALTO Attix 30 HEPA and Nilfisk ALTO Attix 50 HEPA.
• Disinfect anything with bleach or other household disinfectant that may have been touched by raw sewage or floodwaters.
• Ask a contractor or building inspector to check for mold damage after a flood.
• Take pictures of damage, record your cleanup costs and call your insurance company.

The FSMA requires registered food and feed facilities to evaluate the food safety hazards that could affect food and feed they manufacture, process, pack, or hold and to identify and implement preventive controls to address those hazards. The agency opened the docket to solicit specific recommendations from stakeholders on what preventive control measures are appropriate, and any other pertinent information and recommendations, including measures that are workable for small businesses.

The FDA is required to issue guidance with respect to hazard analysis and preventive controls, and information submitted to the docket will be considered in the development of that guidance.

As a stakeholder serving food and feed facilities, Nilfisk Industrial Vacuums found it appropriate and necessary to submit our public comments regarding preventative control measures, as they apply to proper housekeeping. The following is our official public comment.  

August, 2011 

Re: Public Comment for Preventive Controls for Registered Human Food and Animal Food/Feed Facilities: Docket No. FDA-2011-N-0238 

We appreciate the opportunity to submit our comments regarding the FDA’s Food Safety Modernization Act, as it relates to Preventative Controls for Registered Human Food and Animal Food/Feed Facilities. As a leading provider of HEPA filter industrial vacuum cleaners for more than 50 years, Nilfisk Industrial Vacuums is highly aware of the challenges and concerns today’s food manufacturers face as they attempt to produce a high-quality product, free from contamination, while simultaneously meeting government and industry guidelines. Our Product Manager and Application Engineer regularly field questions from customers looking to us for advice on how to efficiently and cost-effectively keep their plants clean through the use of industrial vacuum cleaners. While we enjoy these calls and do our best to advise our customers, Nilfisk Industrial Vacuums is not a regulatory authority; we can only provide information as it pertains to our products, and therefore see the need for well-defined preventative control guidelines that address housekeeping best practices within food manufacturing facilities. We hope you’ll take our below recommendations into consideration. 

COMMENTS:

The below general comments are in regards to these points, as specified in section II of Docket No. FDA-2011-N-0238

• Implementing process controls
• Implementing sanitation controls
• Allergen control (human food) including…procedures and practices to prevent the unintentional incorporation of a major food allergen into a food by cross contact during manufacturing, processing and holding food.
• Preventative control approaches and practices that are practical for small and very small businesses to implement 

From transferring and preparing ingredients, to mixing, baking, and packaging, food manufacturing facilities often generate large amounts of dust throughout the manufacturing process. If not collected at the source by a vacuum cleaner integrated into the processing system, the dust quickly settles on floors, machinery, hard-to-reach, and overhead areas. This dust is a breeding ground for insects, rodents and many different types of bacteria. For this reason, it is critical that food manufacturers implement a comprehensive maintenance plan that keeps dust levels at a minimum. Currently, food facilities use many different tools for keeping dust at bay, and while some may work well, there are definite advantages offered by certified HEPA filtered  industrial vacuum cleaners that the other methods lack. For this reason, we encourage the FDA to better define best housekeeping practices, and to consider the following:

•          While mops, brooms, and compressed air all have their place in maintenance plans, these methods often leave particles of dust and debris behind. Actually, compressed air only moves dust from one place to another; it does nothing to eliminate the dust.  Also, mops and brooms promote growth of bacteria and can easily spread bacteria and pathogens to many areas of a facility. Industrial vacuum cleaners equipped with multi-stage filtration, including a certified HEPA filter, trap and retain collected materials, without distributing it back into the atmosphere.

•          In addition to general maintenance, specialized industrial vacuum cleaners can be utilized for source capture to collect dust at the point of generation before it can accumulate in various areas of the plant. This can also improve allergen control, by containing dust (ie. peanut dust) at the source before it can spread to other processes.

•          Housekeeping should be as easy and ergonomic as possible (lightweight and user-friendly)

•          Industrial vacuum cleaners can be equipped with food grade hose and accessories customized for the food industry, such as those for overhead cleaning and hot oven cleaning.

•          Currently there is no homogenous color coding system for the food industry. Manufacturers create their own coding system (eg. blue wall brushes for cleaning allergen production lines). We recommend the creation and implementation of a standard color coding system in the food industry in order to decrease cross contact of allergens and bacteria.

•          Not all industrial vacuums are equal.

•          The food industry should use industrial vacuums equipped with High Efficiency Particulate Air Filters (HEPA) that at a minimum remove 99.97% of particles, down to and including 0.3 microns. These filters should be tested and approved by a private testing body.

•          High quality HEPA filter industrial vacuum cleaners are often available in stainless steel. Stainless steel vacuums won’t chip like painted vacuums (another possible source of contamination) and are easy to clean.

•          Currently, many manufacturers use “shop-style” vacuums in some capacity. While these may be adequate to collect dust, they are often known for their short lifespan, which often cost manufacturers more in the long run through replacement costs. (See supporting document for ROI analysis)

•          Also, shop-style vacuums should NOT be used to collect hazardous dust, such as flour and grain (reference OSHA’s Combustible Dust NEP). Using these vacuums to collect combustible dust can cause a fire/explosion due to their plastic construction, exposed motors and tendency to overheat.  

SUPPORTING MATERIALS

Please view the attached supporting materials:

- Published Article: Survey Says: Clean for Safety and Profitability

- Published Article:Left in the Dust: Industrial Vacuum Cleaners Outperform Mops, Brooms, Shop-style Vacuums

- Case Study: McDonald’s Bun Facility Finds Vacuum Worthy of High-Tech Operation

-Video Case Study: Harris Woolf Almonds Receive AIB Recognition with the use of an Industrial Vacuum Cleaner 

Sincerely,

Paul R. Miller 

Vice President & General Manager

Nilfisk-Advance America, Inc.

1. Dust wipe testing and clearance requirements are not required. The clearance verification process taught in the RRP course stays.

2. Exterior work; Vertical containment must be used when affected surfaces are within 10 feet of the property line. The containment can be set up as close as possible to the disturbed surface so long as all debris are contained in the work area. For example vertical containment can be set up 5 feet from the disturbed surface.

Interior work; Vertical containment from floor to ceiling. Certified Renovators do not have to place the minimum 6 feet of plastic on interior floors. The vertical containment can be set up as close as possible to the disturbed surface so long as all debris are contained in the work area. For example vertical containment can be set up 3 feet from the disturbed surface.

3. Certified Renovators are allowed to collect a paint chip sample and send it to a recognized laboratory for analysis in lieu of using a test kit.

4. Records to be kept on file for five years instead of the former three year requirement.

5. Minimum penalty for states and Tribal programs of $5,000.

6. HEPA vacuums EPA has decided to promulgate the requirement that HEPA vacuums be operated in accordance with manufacturer’s instructions, but not the requirement that compliant vacuums be rated at a MERV value of 17 or higher. More details coming soon!