That time a health inspector shut me down over a dirty band saw blade

Had a surprise visit from the county health inspector last Friday at my shop in Portland. She pointed to a tiny speck of bone dust stuck to the blade guard on my Hobart 4146. Cost me a $150 fine and two hours of lost time while I scrubbed the whole machine down. Anyone else deal with inspectors who seem to look for any excuse to write you up?

2 comments

2 Comments

west.claire29d ago

Drove me nuts when they acted like that speck was a crime scene or something.

richard11029d ago

I actually see it a little different than most folks in here, @west.claire. That speck of bone dust might seem tiny to us but it tells the inspector something about our cleaning habits between deep cleanings. I run a Hobart too and I've learned the hard way that those blade guards are the first thing they check because it's a spot people forget. Most inspectors in Portland are pretty reasonable if you show them you're on top of things, they just have to follow their checklist and a little leftover bone dust is a clear sign the daily sanitation routine needs work.