PLANT DESIGN.
DESCRIPTION OF PLANTS -- PLANT NO. 1 -- PLANT NO. 2 -- PLANT NO. 3
-- PLANT NO. 4 -- TYPE OF PLANT -- LOADING FACILITIES -- PRODUCING
DEPARTMENT -- ABBATOIR BUILDING -- RENDERING BUILDING -- LIVE STOCK
-- ICING DEPARTMENT -- COOLER BUILDING -- PORK HOUSE -- MANUFACTURING
BUILDING -- SALT SPACES -- POWER DEPARTMENT -- GRAVITY SYSTEM --
HOW TO BUILD -- FIREPROOF DESIGN -- ADVANTAGES -- SLOW BURNING
CONSTRUCTION -- APPROVAL OF PLANS.
=Description of Plants.=--This chapter is devoted to a description of
several types of plants.
=Plant No. 1.=--A moderate sized beef, mutton, and pork producing plant
capable of slaughtering six hundred cattle, fifteen hundred sheep
and fifteen hundred hogs daily, and taking care of the products of
manufacture resulting therefrom. This design was developed upon the
principle of gravity for movement of products with as little use of
elevators as possible; the avoidance of excessive use of mechanical
conveyors and contrivances; the grouping of buildings intended for
hot or cold temperatures; economy of operation, and for minimum car
movement.
_Loading Facilities._--The general arrangement provides for wagon and
dray loading facilities fronting the main thoroughfare. The garage and
office are at the left and right sides of the court. Three tracks are
situated between the two groups of buildings to take care of the car
loading. Usually the refrigerated products are loaded upon the east
track, and non-refrigerated products, such as hides and bones, and the
oleo department products, upon the west track. The intermediate track
is used for the storing of cars. By use of the connecting platform
at the south end either kind of cars can be loaded on either track. A
separate non-interfering railroad spur is provided for unloading coal,
and cotton seed oil, and for loading tallow, while a distinct track is
provided for loading cars of dry salt meats from the pork warehouse.
[Illustration: FIG. 5.--PLANT NO. 1, MODERATE SIZE PACKING HOUSE.]
_Producing Department_--The abattoir is made the center of
distribution, with the refrigerated buildings and departments directly
communicative, situated nearby. The rendering and manufacturing
departments--users of steam and power--are grouped near to the abattoir
and to the power plant, while the buildings requiring refrigeration
are grouped together and isolated from the manufacturing buildings.
The stock pens connected with the plant are to the left of the
manufacturing groups, but are not shown on the plan.
_Abattoir Building_--This building, six stories high, is given over to
the following uses: Fourth floor, slaughtering; third floor, treatment,
separation and cooking of by-products and manufacture of casings;
second floor, oleo oil manufacturing; first floor, oleo oil storage,
and shipping purposes; basement and sub-basement, storage of tallow and
curing of hides.
[Illustration: FIG. 6.--EXTERIOR VIEW BEEF, SHEEP AND PORK PLANT.]
_Rendering Building_--Divided into two sections and separated by
partitions, one side is used for the refining of cotton seed oil and
the manufacture of edible tallows; the other side for cooking blood
and rendering inedible tallows. The floors are used as follows:
Second floor, level with viscera separating floor in abattoir, from
whence raw stock is trucked to the filling floor without requiring
use of elevators for filling of tanks; first floor, tank bodies and
receptacles for collection of tallow. The skimming vats to which the
tank residue, after drawing off the tallows, is passed, are level with
this floor, enabling the separation and floating of the tallow and
its collection; basement for press room, and sub-basement for drying
tankage. The tank water to be evaporated is collected and passed to a
separate building for treatment and evaporation.
_Live Stock_--The live stock pens are situated to the left of the
rendering department extending north of the oil storage tanks from
which position leads an incline, delivering the live stock into an
elevated storage pen covering the area between the rendering house and
the abattoir, and over the dressing room.
_Icing Department_--Facilities for manufacturing ice for cooling cars
are provided in the space directly north of the abattoir building. The
three railroad tracks between the two groups of buildings are covered
with a protecting shed, and from the bottom member of the trusses are
suspended trolley rails for handling buckets of ice to be dumped into
the tanks of the refrigerator cars.
_Cooler Building_--The dressed beef, mutton and pork is transferred
via bridge with chain conveyors, carrying the carcasses from the
slaughtering house floor to the cooling rooms situated upon the third
floor of the cooler building. From this floor the carcasses are
conveyed for storage purposes to the second and first floor, and from
there they are passed to the cutting room, city sales department, or
cars. The basement and sub-basement are used for curing beef and pork
joints. The fourth floor of this building is set aside for freezing
products which, after being frozen, are shipped for storage to other
premises owned by the same company.
[Illustration: FIG. 7.--SECTIONAL VIEW INDICATING LEVELS AND
COMPARATIVE LEVELS OF DEPARTMENT FLOORS.]
_Pork House_--The fourth floor of the pork house is utilized for
chilling hogs; the third for cutting them, and all floors below for
curing purposes. Note, the arrangement whereby the pork house and the
cooler building are each connected with the team-loading platform and
also closely arranged for car loading.
_Manufacturing Building_--A manufacturing building given over to the
production of sausage, smoked meats, lard and the packing and shipping
of same is immediately north of the cooler and pork buildings, and
connected thereto at all floors where necessary. The city shipping
department has its allotted space on the ground floor of the cooler
building and the products finished in the manufacturing building move
south toward the team loading platforms.
_Salt Spaces, etc._--In this instance, but which rarely occurs, the
city’s main sewer system is located at a deep level, which affords
proper drainage and permitted the construction of two cellars. There
are, therefore, two stories practically under ground. This is a decided
advantage from the standpoint of radiation exposure, and it also
affords an opportunity to provide salt storage and cooperage stowing
spaces on two levels adjacent to the railroad tracks. It further
provides a means for securing a connecting tunnel below the track
level, thus providing facilities for a perfect interchange from all
cellar departments. Of equal consequence is the opportunity to pass all
pipes for water, steam and refrigeration, power and lighting wires, as
well as products, from one department to another. This makes for a low
upkeep cost, little exposure, less radiation and greatly reduces the
annual upkeep.
_Power Department_--The boilers were placed on a floor level with the
basement. The coal pocket into which coal is dropped extends to the
sub-basement level, providing a comparatively large coal storage. At
the sub-basement level are the ash collecting bins. From this level are
provided elevators of the continuous bucket type for raising the coal
and ashes to tanks provided for storage, from which the coal and ashes
gravitate to the furnaces and disposal cars respectively.
The engine foundations extend to the sub-basement level, with the main
engine situated upon the basement level. The pumps are located in part
on the lower level. All pipes and wires leading to the operating
department are carried through the sub-basement, permitting the
arrangement of all exhaust and steam piping beneath the engine room
floor.
_Gravity System_--Attention is called to the fact that in the rendering
department, for example, the products in their steps of manufacture
are handled by gravity entirely until the finished dried fertilizer
is produced, which has to be elevated to the ground level for car
shipment, or for wagon delivery. The same features are true of the
abattoir, hides and tallow in casks only, requiring the use of
elevators for shipment.
[Illustration: FIG. 8.--PLANT NO. 2, GROUND PLAN FOR COUNTRY PACKING
HOUSE.]
=Plant No. 2.=--This plant was designed for a country point where the
shipping by local freight cars or the city delivery was quite limited;
where the major part of the product would be shipped by car, and
where provision was made for quite an extensive growth. The capacity
as designed being four hundred hogs and fifty cattle daily, with a
complementary quantity of calves and sheep.
_Loading Facilities_--Again the three railways are provided for
convenience in loading and for facilitating switching and icing.
[Illustration: FIG. 9.--PLANT NO. 2, SECTION THROUGH SLAUGHTERING AND
RENDERING BUILDING.]
[Illustration: FIG. 10.--PLANT NO. 2, SECTION THROUGH MANUFACTURING
BUILDING.]
[Illustration: FIG. 11.--PLANT NO. 2, SECTION THROUGH COOLER BUILDING.]
_Producing Department_--In this plant the slaughter of hogs is the
predominant business. The hog killing department was consequently
designed amply large and for a growth to upwards of fifteen hundred
hogs daily, while the rendering department provides for additional
tanking facilities to be added as required. In this building, near to
the source of production is placed a small air blast type of meat and
leaf lard cooling space.
_Rendering Department_--Owing to abattoir being isolated it was
possible to set aside a portion of the building for the rendering
department, and make the construction comply with the sanitary
requirements as to light, air and ventilation. These features are
illustrated by the sectional views.
_Live Stock_--The live stock receiving pens for cars and wagons are
located on the ground as shown on plans, and a long ramp is arranged
for the slow driving of hogs. Again, all products are passed downward
in the process of manufacture.
_Icing Department_--Facilities are provided for harvesting ice from a
stream situated north of the premises. The railroad tracks extend to
the ice storage houses where facilities are provided for icing cars.
_Pork Building_--Advantage was taken of the relative grouping and the
space available to provide an open air hanging or drying room for
hogs at a level of the killing floor and hog chill rooms. The hogs
pass through this space on their way to the cooler. The pork building
is arranged with chilling rooms on the upper floor and curing rooms
beneath on all floors to and including the basement.
_Manufacturing Building_--Adjacent to the cooler building, space is
provided for the making of sausage, cutting hogs, and trimming of
sausage meat, processing of meats for smoking, packing and shipping.
_Power Department_--This is a minor matter since the electric current
is purchased from a municipal lighting corporation, and the plant being
in a cold climate, advantage is taken of these conditions.
Note that in this plant every department except the killing department,
which was made as large a unit as appeared to be necessary, may be
extended without in any manner disturbing the relative situation of the
departments. The uses of the several floors are shown in the sectional
drawings.
=Plant No. 3.=--Type of plant. The diagram (Fig. 12) is illustrative
of a small local plant situated in a southwestern city, and built
principally for a local mixed business. The plant will properly
take care of one hundred hogs and fifty cattle daily, the necessary
by-products and the manufacturing departments, therefor. An ice
business is operated in conjunction with this plant. The buildings are
chiefly two stories in height. The plan and sectional drawings are
sufficiently explicit to require no description.
[Illustration: FIG. 12.--PLANT NO. 3, GROUND PLAN OF SMALL LOCAL
PACKING HOUSE.]
=Plant No. 4.=--The accompanying vignette and ground plan are
illustrative of an alongside deep water export plant. The photograph
of front view illustrates the loading facilities which show ramps
or inclines upon which conveyors are operated. These endless chains
convey beef in quarter to the wharf at right angles thereto, where it
is picked off the rail by ship’s tackle and lowered into the ship’s
chambers.
Discussing the plant arrangement, note the position of the slaughter
house with relation to the coolers and trace the movement of the
products to the coolers, rendering, wool house. Also the further
movement of the products to shipment. Particular attention is called
to the arrows indicating the direction of growth of every department
without disarranging the first intention as to movement, and minimizing
the labor on the extended plant.
[Illustration: FIG. 13.--PLANT NO. 4, SHOWING DEEP WATER EXPORT PLANT.]
The steam producing department is in close proximity to the steam
using buildings, viz: Power Department, Rendering House, Fertilizer
and Slaughter House. Preference being given over electricity or
refrigeration which can be transmitted longer distances at less loss.
=How to Build.=--The question of design being settled the next
matter of importance is the one involving the materials to be used
in construction. That becomes a matter of investment and permanent
size or location of the buildings. Fireproof buildings are desirable
on account of low cost of upkeep and a lower insurance rate. They
are permanent in every way, but the difficult question is that of
modifying, provided changes become necessary.
[Illustration: FIG. 14.--PLANT NO. 4, GROUND PLAN FOR EXPORT PACKING
HOUSE.]
=Fireproof Design.=--If decision is made for a fireproof building,
re-inforced concrete is the first suggestion owing to its universal
use as a building material, but there are several points to be given
serious consideration before reaching a decision. One of these points
being how to insulate so as to prevent losses. This matter will be
taken up in a subsequent chapter describing a cold storage warehouse of
eminent design. It is one of great importance.
=Advantages of Fireproof Construction.=--The fireproof buildings have
naturally a very great advantage in permanence from a standpoint of
cost of upkeep and insurance charges, and from the greater loss of a
cessation of business incident to destruction by fire. In most plants
there are sufficient departments of such staple character so unlikely
to be changed that it appears judicious to make them fireproof.
=Slow Burning Construction.=--Many people are quite content with
buildings of moderate height of slow burning construction; otherwise,
a modified type of “mill construction” and with the use of sprinkler
systems which minimize the insurance costs.
=Approval of Plans.=--There are many points in building construction
to take care of in the matter of design, to meet the requirements of
the insurance interests and local city building department regulations,
which in the main coincide. Before entering into a contract to
construct, it is well to have the drawings approved by the insurance
boards and the city inspection bureau. It obviates expensive changes
and additions. To build in such a manner as to bring the insurance
rates to a minimum is certainly desirable. It is an advantage, too,
to have the plant divided so that in case of fire the spread of the
flames can be retarded and the fire confined to the building where it
originated, or if some of the buildings are burned the balance can be
saved. Fires invariably represent, to a well managed business, a far
greater loss than is collectible on the insurance policies.