This competition challenges student teams to solve meaningful hygienic design problems within a defined resource envelope. The scope brief below explains what fits and what doesn't. Use it when crafting your problem statement submission.

Team: 2-5 students

Effort: 3-5 hours per week (total team effort), 8 weeks = ~24-40  for research, testing, analysis, and report writing

Resources: On-campus library, databases, and available labs and equipment only; students may visit plants for observation and data gathering, but the solution must not depend on proprietary equipment, production line access, or restricted-access testing

Deliverables: Written report (18-15 pages) NO physical prototypes, manufactured samples, or capital equipment builds required.

Focused literature review (e.g., survey 8-10 published hygienic design solutions for equipment category X; synthesize best practices and gaps)

Standards compliance analysis (e.g., audit a specific piece of equipment against 3-A SSI standards; document gaps and propose design fixes with drawings)

Data compilation + design concept (e.g., gather sanitation challenge data from plant visit or interviews; propose design concept with sketches and feasibility assessment)

Comparative analysis of existing products (e.g., research and benchmark 4-5 commercial solutions; recommend best option for specific use case with cost-benefit summary)

Laboratory testing or experimentation (requires sample prep, equipment time, data analysis—too much effort for 24-40 hours)

Building a physical prototype or designing a manufacturing process (requires detailed engineering, CAD, material sourcing—beyond part-time student capacity)

Proprietary equipment analysis or modification (students cannot modify or test on manufacturer-protected equipment without agreements in place)

Extended plant visits or production-line research (requires proprietary access beyond what students can negotiate)

Plant sanitation, food service/retail hygiene, or environmental monitoring (outside 3-A SSI's scope—our focus is equipment design standards, not facility operations)

EXAMPLE 1: FEASIBLE 

Problem Statement (condensed):  Identify and benchmark four commercially available heat exchanger designs used in dairy processing. Analyze their compliance with 3-A SSI hygienic design standards. Recommend which design best minimizes dead legs and facilitates clean-in-place operations.

Why it fits: Literature research: Search manufacturer specs and published standards; compile heat exchanger design features (6-8 hours)

Analysis: Create comparison matrix against 3-A standards (dead leg limits, surface finish, accessibility); identify gaps (8-10 hours)

Sketches/drawings: Annotate designs to illustrate compliance or non-compliance (4-5 hours)

Report + presentation: Recommendation with cost-benefit summary (6-7 hours)

Total effort: ~25-30 hours. Achievable with literature and online resources only.

EXAMPLE 2: NOT FEASIBLE 

Problem Statement (condensed):  Conduct laboratory testing on three different surface finishes (electropolished, passivated, raw stainless steel) to measure milk residue adhesion under various pH and temperature conditions. Develop a selection matrix for hygienic surface specifications.

Why it doesn't fit: Sample preparation: Sourcing samples, cleaning, setup would require 8-10 hours

Testing protocol: Running tests across multiple pH/temperature combinations would require 15-20+ hours of hands-on lab time and data analysis

Total Effort:  Exceeds 40 hours; also requires lab access, equipment, materials, and troubleshooting time not realistic for 2-5 students with 3-5 hours/week.

Better framing: "Literature review of published research on surface finish and residue adhesion. Compile findings into a summary table with recommendations for hygienic surface material selection." That fits.