SAFETY DEVELOPMENT FUND
“Controlling the Risks of
Work in Poultry
Processing”
A joint-venture between the National Union of Workers
and the Victorian Chicken Meat Council
Funded by WorkSafe Victoria
Manual Handling
Solutions in
Poultry Processing
Acknowledgements:
The author of this Guidance Material wishes to gratefully acknowledge the
assistance provided by many people throughout the Safety Development Fund:
“Controlling the Risks of Work in Poultry Processing Project”. In particular the
author would like to extend special thanks to the following for their continued
support and contribution:
• All the members of the Poultry Occupational Health and Safety Group;
• The Victorian Chicken Meat Council;
• The National Union of Workers;
• WorkSafe Victoria; and
• Also, special thanks to the Poultry companies who have participated in the
Project by allowing access to their sites, and their solutions, which are
published in this Guide. Without such cooperation this document would not
have been possible.
Background to Guidance Material
The Victorian Poultry Industry processes approximately 450,000 birds daily,
producing products including chicken, duck, turkey, squab and guinea fowl, and
employing approximately 3000 workers.
Following a marked increase in the number of injuries to workers in the Poultry
Industry the Victorian Chicken Meat Council and National Union Workers initiated
the SDF Project.
This Guidance Material is one of the central outcomes of the Project.
Belinda Jacobi – Project Officer
Live Bird Receival Area
Preparing trailers for unloading
There are many work-related hazards in the Live Bird
Receival Area. The unloading and loading of trailers from
holding sheds requires the movement of trailers on
gravel/concrete and in some cases the surface may be
uneven. Other environmental issues, such as the weather,
can also present additional hazards.
High Risk
Activity:
Preparing trailers for
unloading
Action/Hazard:
Movement of trailers with
forklift and pedestrian
interaction within site
Intermediate
Competent trained driver
Forklifts fitted with flashing lights
Forklifts fitted with reverse beepers
Competent trained operators
Mobile plant that incorporates
ergonomic design features
Motorised winder
Lowering and raising
trailer stabilisers
Manual handling,
●>Twice per minute
●Very fast movements
●Slips, trips, falls
Low Risk
Physical separation of pedestrians
and forklifts/mobile plant
For example: raised walkways,
gates, amco railing
Raised walkway allowing safe
passage for pedestrians
Pre-start inspection
Periodical re-training
Prime mover fitted with reverse
beepers
Prime mover fitted with hydraulic
turntable
Preventative maintenance checks
Removal of excess waste
Fixed ladders/platforms for trailer
ascent and descent
Unloading Crates from Pallets/Modules
Birds are transported from farms in crates/draws on pallets
or modules to the production facility. Although this is
effective for transportation, unloading crates/draws is
manual labour intensive. Operators may need to fully bend
when they reach the bottom of the pallet/module and lift
crates onto a conveyor. The crates/draws are heavy, with
the weight varying depending on the size of the birds.
High Risk
Activity:
Lifting crates/draws
manually from below
knees
Action/Hazard:
●Bending the back
more than 20 degrees
●Twisting the back
more than 20 degrees
●Lifting or lowering
Lifting crates/draws
to or from above
shoulders
●Lifting and lowering or
carrying heavy loads
●More than 2 hours
over whole shift
●Pushing, pulling or
dragging
Pulling crates from
draws
Re-loading of
crates/draws back
onto pallets/modules
●Pushing, pulling or
dragging
Washing
pallets/modules
manually
●Bending the back
more than 20 degrees
Slips, trips and falls
Intermediate
Low Risk
Using mechanical lifting aids enables
crates/draws to be lifted at waist
height
Eg: Scissors Lift
Fully-automated system for crate
delivery to hanging area/room
Partially automated system for
delivery of full crates/draws from
pallets or modules
Fully-automated system for washing
modules and crate/draws and
re-loading empty crates/draws back
onto pallets/modules
Adequate drainage for water to avoid
pooling
Removal of excess waste
Rotation system to other tasks that
use different muscle groups
Hanging Live Birds
Live birds are transported prior to hanging in
crates/draws on pallet/modules. Retrieving the birds
for hanging requires the operator to repeatedly bend
and twist in order to remove them from the
crates/draws. The operator then hangs the birds feetfirst in the shackles.
.
High Risk
Activity:
Reaching downwards
into crates/draws to
retrieve birds
Reaching forward to
place bird onto shackle
line/chain
Action/Hazard:
Repetitive Manual
Handling
●>Twice per minute
●More than 2 hours over
the whole shift
●Excessive bending of
the wrist
●Holding supporting or
restraining any object,
person or animal
●Reaching forwards or
sideways more than
30cm from the body
Intermediate
Minimise crate/draw delivery
conveyor height
Low Risk
Automated system that has no
crates/draws
Minimise the distances that the
operator has to reach to the
shackle line/chain
Unable to access birds
directly
Open crates/draws without lids
Rotation system to other tasks that
use different muscle groups
Operators are required
to hang birds to the
line/chain speed. These
speeds vary and are set
as per production
requirements. These
can be as low as 10 but
as high as 160 birds per
minute for seven
hangers on small birds.
Prolonged standing while
hanging birds
Anti-fatigue matting
Hanging birds in humid
and high temperature
conditions
Change production start time on
hot days
Air-conditioning to alleviate heat
strain for operators
Wearing Personnel Protective
Equipment (PPE)
Dust, dirt and feathers in
hanging areas
Fixed hours for hanging birds eg:
five-hour maximum per day
Air-conditioning with individual
control points
Automated dust extraction system
Back Up Killer
Birds are stunned before entering the automatic kill
machine but an operator is still required to cut any birds
that have been missed by the killer. Most workplaces
have darkened this area using blue or red lighting in an
effort to soothe birds.
High Risk
Activity:
Prolonged standing
Action/Hazard:
Repetitive manual
handling when
cutting birds
Repetitive manual
handling
●>Twice per minute
●More than 2 hours
over the whole shift
Using knife to make
manual incisions
Cuts, lacerations and
burns (hot water)
Re-positioning onelegged birds into
shackles
Entanglement in the
line/chain
Intermediate
Low Risk
Anti-fatigue matting
Cuts should be performed at mid chest height and with minimal
reaching
Install fixed sit/stand stool
Start-up sirens to warn operators of
impending shackle chain/line
movement
Cut-resistant glove to be worn
Gauntlet or arm guard for added
protection
Position steriliser with overflow for
catchment of excess water
Emergency stop lanyards/buttons
along shackle chain in case of
entanglement
Siren alert for chain startup/movement
Fixed guarding surrounding
automatic killer blade
Emergency stop with brake for
automatic killer blade
Evisceration Area
Machine Setting
The Evisceration Area generally has wet flooring and can
be noisy due to plant and equipment. Machine setting
changes occur due to flock size variables.
High Risk
Activity:
Changing machine
settings to suit bird
sizes
Action/Hazard:
●Entanglement,
entrapment, shearing,
Intermediate
Low Risk
Fixed guarding for evisceration
machinery and offal harvesting
equipment
Automate evisceration equipment
Adjustment controls to be housed
external to plant guarding
Interlocks to be fitted to removable
guarding
Physical separation to house
evisceration equipment
Start-up sirens to warn operators of
impending shackle chain/line
movement
Anti-fatigue matting
Emergency stop lanyards/buttons
along shackle chain/line and plant in
case of entanglement
Non-slip flooring
Minimise forward/high reaching by
operators by reducing distance
between operators and shackle lines
Retrieving birds that
have fallen from
shackle line
●Floor surface, slips,
trips, falls
Non-slip surfacing
Preventing water from pooling on
floors
Waste pipe directed to drain
Ice Transfer
Ice is used for chilling. It is transferred into spin chillers to
keep the water temperature down for the purpose of
keeping product temperatures below 4 degrees.
High Risk
Activity:
Bagged ice is
manually emptied
directly into spin
chillers
Manually directing
ice to screw
conveyor/auger by
shovelling, raking
Action/Hazard:
Manual Handling
● Bending the back
more than 20 degrees
● Reaching forwards or
sideways more than
30cm from the body
● Awkward postures
●Lifting or lowering
● Bending the back
more than 20 degrees
Entanglement,
entrapment, shearing
Intermediate
Low Risk
Install conveyor/chutes to direct ice
into spin chillers, trolleys
Automated screw/auger conveyors
which transfers ice directly into spin
chillers
Eliminate spin chillers using air chill to
keep birds at required temperatures
Guard exposed auger
House operator externally and
enable direct ice to auger
Re-Hanging
After birds exit the spin chiller the product is re-hung to the
weighline. It is then inspected for grading. It is then
distributed throughout the packing areas in accordance
with product specifications.
High Risk
Activity
Hanging birds from
conveyor to air chill
or weighline
Inspection and
grading
Action/Hazard:
Repetitive manual
handling
●>Twice per minute
●More than 2 hours
over the whole shift
●Excessive bending of
the wrist
●Reaching forwards or
sideways more than
30cm from the body
Prolonged standing
(all of the above applicable to
both tasks)
Intermediate
Low Risk
Diverter bars to push product
towards operator
Presenting product to operators with
minimal reaching
Minimise reaches by reducing the
distance between conveyor and
weighline.
Reduce width of conveyor to
minimise forward reaches
Rotation system to other tasks that
use different muscle groups
Anti- fatigue matting
Adjustable height stands
Bagging Wholebirds
Wholebirds birds are visually inspected and graded by
operators for quality assurance. These birds are then
packaged into bags, clipped closed and placed into
boxes.
High Risk
Activity:
Reaching into bins to
retrieve birds
Placing bagged birds
into boxes/crates
Placing packed
boxes or crates onto
pallets
Action/Hazard:
Repetitive Manual Handling
●>Twice per minute
●>More than 2 hours over the
whole shift
●Excessive bending of the wrist
● Bending the back more than
20 degrees
●Twisting the back more 20
degrees
●Reaching forwards or sideways
more than 30cm from the body
●Reaching forwards or sideways
more than 30cm from the body
● Bending the back more than
20 degrees
●Reaching forwards or sideways
more than 30cm from the body
●Lifting or lowering
Intermediate
Pushing birds into hand-bagger
chute. The chute helps gravity to
slide the bird into the bag.
Minimise forward reaches by
having bird bins angled to gravity
feed birds to operator
Minimise reaches with heightadjustable workstations
Low Risk
A pneumatic ram pushes birds
through chute and into bag. This
eliminates forceful pushing. Birds
are then required to be manually
clipped/tied.
Fully-automated bagging machines
allow bird to be bagged and
clipped/tied
Installation of conveyors or lifting
aids
Conveyors with angled slides
adjacent to eliminate lifting tubs
onto conveyors
Rotation system to other tasks
that use different muscle groups
Cut Up Portions
Birds are cut into pieces to for a variety of products. These
are packed as trayed and bulk products such as breasts,
wings, drumsticks and thighs. They are also cut into
pieces in order to facilitate the de-boning of product.
High Risk
Activity
Handsaw operation
to manually section
bird
Action/Hazard:
Manual Handling
● Bending the back
more than 20 degrees
● Reaching forwards or
sideways more than
30cm from the body
Retrieving product
to be cut up
Repetitive manual
handling
●>Twice per minute
●More than 2 hours
over the whole shift
●Excessive bending of
the wrist
Intermediate
Low Risk
Fully-automated portion cutting
systems
Fully-trained operator
Fully-fenced or guarded area to
eliminate pedestrian access
Operating Handsaw
●Cuts, lacerations and
burns
●Entanglement,
entrapment, shearing
A warning device is installed to
indicate when the saw is on and
running, eg a red light.
The use of personal protective
equipment such as chain mesh
gloves (combined with rubber and
cotton suited to individual
preference), safety glasses, hearing
protection, non-slip footwear
Physically separated from other
areas of the process by using
barricades, fencing or similar
methods of 'distraction isolation'
Emergency stop fitted within easy
reach for operator Eg: Knee height
A blade brake and/or an interlocked
pressure mat in front of the cut-up
saw.
Breast Fillet De-Boning
This task is completed in a number of ways. Some
companies de-bone barrels directly onto tables without
cones, using static cones, with moving cone lines, and on
moving shackle lines.
When skinless breast fillets are required the barrel skin is
removed before the fillet is boned.
High Risk
Activity
Pulling skin from
carcass
Action/Hazard:
Repetitive Manual
Handling
●>Twice per minute
●More than 2 hours
over the whole shift
●Pushing, pulling or
dragging
●Excessive bending of
the wrist
Intermediate
Low Risk
Automated de-skinning machine
Adjustable table, workstation
heights
Height stands where necessary
Ergonomically designed workstation
with adjustable height and reach
spans
(all of the above is applicable to
these tasks)
Cutting fillets from
the barrel
Cuts and lacerations
Lowering shackle line to minimise
reaches
Mesh gloves to be worn when
using knife
Appropriate sharp knives for the
task.
Knife sharpening facilities
Remove damaged knifes from
service
Inspection and
trimming
Diverter bars to push product closer to
employees
Slip, Trips, Falls
Emptying waste
tubs/crates
●Lifting and lowering or
carrying heavy loads
●Bending the back
more than 20 degrees
Rotation system to other tasks that
use different muscle groups
Periodical housekeeping to remove
excess skin and fat from flooring
Non-slip footwear
Two persons to lift tubs/crates
A footrest bar in front of operators to
allow posture shift
Maximum hours of boning Eg: 4
Conveyors to remove skin, trimming
waste, carcasses
Lifting aids