Expansion, renovation or construction projects related to agri-food processing are very complex.
Here are the different stages of good planning according to engineer Luc Cusson, associate and vice-president of Business Development at Frare Gallant.
1. Prepare an equipment layout plan, room by room
This crucial step can be carried out by an internal team, but you can always mandate a specialized external firm. The challenge is to prepare a production line layout plan, taking into account objectives such as optimizing production operations and future expansion possibilities.
2. Optimize the overall plant layout plan
Once defined, the functions of each room must be arranged in relation to each other in order to find the most optimal overall plan. This step is also crucial and deserves to follow a series of criteria.
3. Define all design criteria
Once the overall plan of the future building is completed, the best design criteria must be defined:
A – The architecture of the building
Compliance with regulatory standards as well as production operations can guide the choice of different architectural components. The different standards (HACCP, GFSI, CFIA, etc.) require that the materials be hard, smooth and washable!
B – The structure of the building
Although the structural concepts of the entire building must be optimized for economic reasons, it frequently happens in a food processing plant that the position of the columns, for example, is dictated by the location of the equipment.
C – The building’s electricity:
In an agri-food processing plant, a small portion of the electricity consumption is associated with the building. The major part of the consumption is associated with the energy demand of the equipment. The electrical engineer will have to take into account from the beginning of his design the particularities of connecting the latter: position, power, voltage, amperage, etc.
D – The mechanics of the building and processes:
The so-called mechanical portion of the building (ventilation, heating, air conditioning, refrigeration, plumbing, etc.) must directly take into account the production equipment and operations.
E – Fire protection:
The location of the components of the fire protection network will be greatly influenced by the positioning of the equipment parts. It is important to define (with the company’s insurer) the different design criteria in each area of the plant.
The planning and design of an agri-food processing building requires special attention, at all stages of the project.
The turnkey service is an ideal formula for projects whose qualitative and quantitative objectives are clear, measurable and achievable such as a new construction for example. By Martin Beauséjour. To learn more, see the full article.
By Martin Beauséjour.
To learn more, see the full article.
