Abstract:
This project aimed to investigate and evaluate the possibility of fire accident from the foodprocessing
industry at the SMEs level. The fire-preventive measures and guidelines were proposed for this industry
category by using the information from an SMEs-level salad dressing and dessert filling manufacturer as
the case study. By applying the fire-ignition components from the Fire Triangle Theory, the blaze is possibly
derived from 3 causes: 1) from fuel or raw materials in production process; 2) heat, spark, or electrical appliances;
and 3) worker's habits. Potential area for fire initiation and its severity could be indentifled by using survey data
and scoring technique. Guidelines for fire prevention consist of 3 step: 1) site survey for risky areas and inspection
of existing electrical appliance, fire-alarm and extinguisher devices; 2) installation and preparation of the basic
fire-protection devices including fire-alarms, fire-preventive and fire-suppression equipments; 3) personnel
training to increase workers' awareness and understanding which can lower the fire risk derived from worker's
habits and reduce the possible loss or damage. These guidelines can also be applied to other food-processing
factories as well as to other SMEs industries with similar activities.