Drew Tudor, the Sanitation Manager at TruFoodMfg, is responsible for ensuring a clean, food-safe production environment for all facilities. For nearly four years, Drew has done everything he can to ensure the company's manufacturing lines meet cleanliness standards set by the FDA, as well as internal standards and certification body standards. Which is not an easy task.
More about TruFoodMfg: TruFoodMfg is a contract manufacturer of snack food products with two facilities based in Pittsburgh, PA. Each facility works 24 hours a day over three shifts, and the Sanitation Manager needed to find a way to maintain a food-safe environment working with a large group of temporary employees. YULEYS® became part of the solution.
The captive shoe policy
As part of his program to ensure sanitary conditions at TruFoodMfg’s manufacturing facilities, Drew developed a “captive shoe” policy. This policy dictates that before people go into the production area, they change into shoes that are only in the plant. (They’re literally held “captive” at the site.) The purpose of this policy is to prevent anyone from bringing outside contaminants into the food production environment by way of their shoes.
The captive shoe policy works well for company employees, who get their own pair of shoes to keep at the plant. However, TruFoodMfg also works with a large temporary labor force, and it’s not financially feasible to buy every temporary employee their own shoes.
Drew needed to come up with a solution.
The problem with rubber overboots
For the first year after implementing the captive shoe policy, Drew tried using rubber overboots for his temporary workforce, but these created a number of problems. For one, they were hard to put on. They also wore out quickly. After six to eight months of use on the abrasive floors at TruFoodMfg’s facilities, the rubber overboots would begin to develop holes in the bottom
Overboots with holes in the bottom do not prevent contaminants from getting into a clean area. Additionally, when the tread starts to wear down, rubber overboots lose much of their grip properties. Fortunately, Drew discovered YULEYS® at the Baltimore Food Safety Summit. He then worked with HexArmor® to replace the rubber overboots with YULEYS®.
Now, each TruFoodMfg facility has a rack of YULEYS® in the locker rooms. Temp employees come in wearing their own shoes, find a pair of YULEYS® in their size, step in, and go to work.
The YULEYS® solution
TruFoodMfg has been using YULEYS® for about two months, and it’s going well. Not only do they prevent contaminants from being tracked into the food manufacturing environment, but they’re also more durable than rubber overboots. Employees find them easy to slip on and off, so they’re much less of a burden to put on before work.
YULEYS® are also easy to wash, which is essential for use in a food manufacturing environment. Every week, they are cleaned in a big tub and washed with detergent. Then the YULEYS® are sanitized and dried. For TruFoodMfg, YULEYS® has been a good answer. They’re very effective in helping ensure cleanliness and a high level of productivity, and the company expects them to continue to work well into the future.
About YULEYS®
The YULEYS® Clean Step System is a reusable shoe cover that allows workers to enter clean environments without removing their dirty footwear. An alternative to disposable booties or rubber overboots, YULEYS® fits quickly and conveniently over safety footwear to prevent contaminants from getting into sanitized environments. YULEYS® are easy to use, with a hands-free design that allows you to slip them on and off without bending over.
- Made of industrial-grade SEBS rubber
- Hands-free on-and-off
- Heel-lock system
- Flexible design
- Reduces effects on landfills
- Patent Pending
Once on, the patent-pending design incorporates a heel-lock system that keeps them firmly on your feet. The slip-reducing tread keeps your feet firmly on the ground as you stride confidently into a clean environment to do your work.
YULEYS® are made with high-quality, industrial-grade rubber and built for heavy use. If they ever need to be replaced, they can be recycled, so they’re an environmentally friendly way to keep contaminants out of clean spaces.
Learn more about YULEYS® by HexArmor®
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