ceiling or wall hungto facilitate quickand thoroughcleaning.Nothingshould be
sittingon the floor.Localbylawsand regulationsmustbe consideredwhen
designingand constructingrest-rooms and lockerrooms.
Hand-washingsinks shouldbe wallhungand the wateractivatedwithknee,
thigh, or electronicsensors. Footpedalsare no longer recommended becauseof
the perceivedcleaningdifficultieson the undersideof the pedals. The water
temperatureshould be no greaterthan110 ÎF (43 ÎC). Soapdispensersand paper
towels must be withineasyreach. A coveredtrashreceptacle with a largeopen
mouth is also necessary and should be close to the papertoweldispenser. Do not
install air dryers. Thesehavebeenshown to recirculate contaminatedair and
unless theyare extremely rapidemployees will not spendthe necessarytimein
front of themto dry theirhandsadequately.Snyder(1999)has shownthat the
physical actionof wiping the handsremovesnearly as many microbes as
washingthem,and it givesmoresatisfaction to the employee that theirhandsare
clean. Signsremindingemployeesto washtheirhandsbeforeleavingthe rest-
roommustbe posted in all languagesneeded for all employees to read and heed.
Similar types of hand-washing sinksshould be placed in locationson the
production floor so employeesinspecting or otherwise handling the food
products haveampleaccessto hand-washing facilities. Again,thereshould be
no handcontrols.Usekneeor thigh-operatedor electronicsensor-equipped,
sinks. If electronicsensor unitsare used,the oneswithheavy-duty transformers
should be selectedfor longerlife and to withstand harderuse. If employees wear
smocks or aprons whileon the processingline,a place should be providedto
hangtheseitemspriorto entering the rest-rooms.
If lockers and lockerroomsare providedto the employees, the design of them
must also reflectsanitation.Whetherhalf,quarter, or full lockers, the individual
lockers (full-sized)or the locker stacks(halfor quarterlockers)shouldbe
mounted on legs at least6 inches(150mm)off the floorso there is amplespace
to cleanunderthem.Somefacilities like to mountlockerson a solidbase,but
this is not recommended.Insects will penetrate the spacebetweenthe bottomof
the lockerand the top of the base.Theauthor has seennumerousinstances
where cockroaches havethrivedin the spacebetween the bottomof the locker
and the top of the solidbase.Wherelockers are stackedthe top lockersshould
not haveflat tops. The topsshouldbe pitchedat a minimumof 30Î to prevent
items frombeingplacedon top and forgotten.Lockerrooms shouldbe well
ventilatedand at least part of eachlocker constructed out of a meshmaterial so
they too are well ventilated. Rulesgoverningthe use of lockers suchas cleaning
themout must be postedand followed. Itemsleft in lockersfor a longperiod of
timecan becomesources of contamination and odor.Management needsto play
an activerole in keepinglockerrooms clean.
Break-rooms/lunch-rooms shouldbe equippedwithhard-surfaced chairs and
tablesfor easein cleaning and preventingabsorptionof spilledliquids from
lunches,colddrinks, etc. If vending machines are present these should be
equippedwithrollers to easilypull themawayfromwallsfor easyaccessfor
cleaning.The vendingmachineoperatorsshould be required to cleanthe inside
144 Handbookof hygiene controlin the foodindustry