Automating Hock Cutters Can Improve Sanitation, Reduce Ergonomic Injuries
Hock cutters can ease the burden of the meat industry on two fronts that continue to grow in importance.
No one has to talk to the industry about sanitation.
From a Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point proposal to USDA's zero-tolerance policy, sanitation is an issue processors live with every day.
The evolution of hock cutters-from manual to automatic-fits in nicely with the continual upgrading of plant sanitation.
Hock cutter evolution also ties in with the meat industry's continual battle against carpal tunnel syndrome and other ergonomic illnesses.
By taking a hock cutter out of an employees' hands, processors can significantly reduce lost workdays because of injury.
"Kill floors are becoming more and more automated; that is just the evolution of meat plants," one hock cutter supplier notes. "That is not good news for plant workers, but it means streamlined production, which leads to safer products and better profits because of improved processes. The automation of hock cutters ties in with that evolution."
As with other aspects of the kill floor, the difference between manual and automatic hock cutters for processors depends on the number of animals slaughtered.
But suppliers note that they believe manual hock cutters will completely disappear from the kill floor within a decade.
The transformation from manual hock cutter to automatic hock cutter is part of the overall move toward automating the entire kill floor.
"We want to automate the entire kill floor, but we have to do it one step at a time," a hock cutter supplier notes. "Automatic hock cutters are here to stay."
Here is a look at how automatic hock cutters help the meat industry on issues of sanitation and ergonomic illnesses.
Sanitation
Plant employees were responsible for cleaning a manual hock cutter, either after each shift or after each time the tool was used.
But human beings will sometimes be human beings and employees could forget about cleaning the hock cutter because they were assigned to another task or because of a particularly busy time on the line.
By not cleaning the hock cutter, the possibility exists that bacterial contamination could be transferred from one slaughtered animal to another.
There is no such possibility with automatic hock cutters.
That is because when an automatic hock cutter stops, it automatically cleans itself. And the tool cannot be turned on again until it completes its self-cleanup.
"Given the increased attention to safety and food-borne pathogens, an automatic-sanitizing tool really catches the eye of [packers]," a supplier notes. "Because of [USDA's] attention to zero tolerance [for contamination on carcasses], this is a big help."
Ergonomics
Meat packing plants are the consistent leader in the incidence of carpal tunnel syndrome, a leading ergonomic illness, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The cost of ergonomics can be staggering to any company, no matter what the size. It can cost between $20 million $50 million a year in workers' compensation and other medical costs, as well as a loss of productivity time.
A manual hock cutter is an unyielding tool that puts a strain on the wrists and arms of an employee.
The manager of a kill floor at a Monfort Inc. plant in Nebraska agrees that implementing automated hock cutters will help alleviate ergonomic illnesses, something the meat industry continually strives for.
"It just takes a dangerous tool out of the hands of an employee and allows a machine to do the work," he says. "There is also a great deal of labor savings and it allows workers to concentrate on other jobs in the plant."
A hock cutter supplier points out: "It's just good business; it not only saves the company money, but it also saves the employee from serious injury."
There is a downside for employees. Automatic hock cutters can eliminate jobs on the kill floor.
"Of course, cutting down on labor will leave some employees without jobs," a supplier notes. "But on the other hand, automatic hock cutters take a dangerous cutting tool out a person's hands."