What Are the Biggest Problems With Poultry Shears?

Using low-quality poultry shears on your production line often leads to a wide range of problems that contribute to lowered productivity, increased injuries, and decreased profits. 

Choosing the right shears might initially seem a bit confusing. After all, most of them look very similar on paper.  It’s only when your workers start to use the shears do the benefits of high-quality ones manifest themselves. 

The feel, use, and cutting ability all play an essential role in ensuring bigger yields, increased efficiency, and a longer lifespan. Read on to learn more about problems with poultry processing shears and how Wolff shears can help solve them.

1. Need to Frequently Replace

The average lifespan of a pair of poultry shears can range anywhere from two to six weeks. Those seemingly low numbers drop considerably when using shears made from inferior metal or ones that have design flaws.

Production lines often have 20 to 200 shears on the floor at any given time. Using poor-quality shears means extra downtime for the workers and a never-ending cycle of buying new ones. Any initial cost savings quickly fades away.

Thanks to the high-quality components, Wolff shears last far longer than the competition, and this longer lifespan decreases the amount of downtime and annual costs.

2. Ergonomic Issues (Carpal Tunnel)

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) performed a Health Hazard Evaluation at a poultry processing plant in Maryland. 

They found that workers exposed to cold temperatures and highly repetitive tasks had an increased risk of carpal tunnel syndrome, a debilitating medical condition. 

Injured poultry workers contribute significantly to an increased worker’s compensation claims rate—at an exceptionally high cost to the employer.

Poor-quality shears force poultry processing plant workers to use their hands in a non-ergonomic manner for their entire shift. Not only do injury rates start to increase, but production tends to slow down as workers' hands and wrists start to hurt after a while.

Wolff poultry processing shears have ergonomic handles that make workers more efficient at their jobs while decreasing the strain on their hands and wrists.

3. Maintenance and Sharpening

Poor maintenance and lack of good sharpening practices dramatically shorten the lifespan of poultry shears. Sharpening tools, such as the Twice As Sharp® Scissors Sharpener, make sharpening fast, easy, and precise. 

4. Not Made With Food Grade Materials

Cheap shears are often made with non-food grade materials, leading to chemicals and other unsafe components potentially leaching out of the shears and into the poultry. 

Even the tiniest drop of excess lubrication oil found on poor-quality shears can result in massive product recalls. 

Wolff poultry shears are chemically bonded, and this helps prevent bacteria growth and seepage. 

The High Cost of Using Low-Quality Poultry Processing Shears

While it might seem like there’s an initial cost saving by using cheaper poultry processing shears, their negative effects tend to add up quickly:

• Production downtime
• Lower yields
• Increased workers comp claims
• Higher operating costs
• Decreased productivity
• An overall increased cost of ownership
• Possibly higher turnover
• Recalls

Wolff Poultry Processing Shears

Wolff makes high-quality poultry processing shears that will add tremendous value to your processing line while helping to improve profits. 

Click below to start exploring our high-quality products and discover the Wolff advantage!