The slaughter day: planning, pace, team, from the arrival of the crates to the packed product
A slaughterhouse is not judged by its equipment but by its day: at what time the first chicken enters the cone, at what time the last carcass goes below 4 °C, how many people waited in front of a full plucker or an empty table. This lesson builds the typical day of a unit of 400 chickens with 6 people: the hour by hour, the pace of each station, the station that slows the whole line (the bottleneck), the distribution of the team and the sheets filled in as you go. By the end, you will know how to write the schedule of your own session and say, before starting, at what time it will finish.
15 min read · 5-question quiz at the end
By Abdul Hussein ChoumanFounder of NEXTEKCI · Agnibilékrou hatchery since 2006This lesson is part of Slaughterhouse and processing specialisation. It opens to every registered student, from free registration. Levels 1 to 5 and the tracks remain readable by everyone.
A slaughterhouse is not judged by its equipment but by its day: at what time the first chicken enters the cone, at what time the last carcass goes below 4 °C, how many people waited in front of a full plucker or an empty table. This lesson builds the typical day of a unit of 400 chickens with 6 people: the hour by hour, the pace of each station, the station that slows the whole line (the bottleneck), the distribution of the team and the sheets filled in as you go. By the end, you will know how to write the schedule of your own session and say, before starting, at what time it will finish.
- ✓Draw up the hour-by-hour schedule of a slaughter day of 400 chickens, from the day before to the end-of-session cleaning
- ✓Calculate the pace of each station, spot the bottleneck and balance the team accordingly
- ✓Distribute 6 people over the stations while respecting the dirty zone / clean zone separation
- ✓Keep the three documents of the day: lot sheet, pace sheet, temperature register
- The day before: everything that is not done in the morning
- Pace: the slowest station rules
- The team: 6 people, 6 roles, two zones
- Hour by hour: the typical day of 400 chickens
- The three documents of the day
- Going further
- •The day before: fast 8 to 12 h checked, ice (450 to 600 kg for 400 chickens), water, energy, scalder, knives, labels, order book.
- •Pace = chickens per hour of a station; the line moves at the rhythm of the slowest (bottleneck), almost always evisceration: 25 to 40 per person per hour; 6 people → 90 an hour → 400 chickens in 4 h 30.
- •Team by zone: bleeder and plucker operator in the dirty zone; 2 eviscerators and 1 packer (who eviscerates for the first 45 minutes) in the clean zone; manager who inspects, measures and records; going down to the dirty zone is possible, never back up without washing, apron and knife changed.
- •Typical day: crates at 5:15, first cone at 6:00, cruising from 7:00 to 10:30, last carcass in iced water at 11:00, below 4 °C around 11:45, cleaning until 13:00; you do not slaughter in full heat with a tired team.
- •Three documents during the session: lot sheet (traceability), pace sheet (bottleneck, stoppages, scalder), temperature register (cold chain); day summary in three lines.