# How do you maintain the collection belt to reduce cracked eggs? > The collection belt cracks eggs when they knock, drop or change speed abruptly, mostly at transfer points. Maintenance lowers that risk by keeping rollers and guides aligned, joints smooth and speed steady, and by removing broken eggs quickly, since they soil the ones that follow. Regular inspection, recorded by belt section, shows whether the maintenance is working. Updated: 2026-10-09 · URL: https://vigiovo.com/en/resources/collection-belt-maintenance · Português: https://vigiovo.com/recursos/manutencao-da-esteira-de-coleta.md ## Key takeaways - Transfers between belts, drops and sudden speed changes are where an egg is most likely to crack. - Misaligned rollers, open joints and worn guides cause repeated impacts that the operator often does not notice. - A broken egg on the belt soils the eggs that follow, so it should be removed at once. - Maintenance does not replace inspection: a camera sees visible cracks on the shell, not the inside of the egg. ## Which points on the belt crack eggs most often? Eggs crack most often where they take an impact or change direction. In practice, the critical points are transfers between belts, drops from one belt onto the next and speed changes, when one section runs faster or slower than the one after it. These points are risky because of the movement, not because of a single defect. An egg that knocks against a guide edge or lands on another egg can leave the line with a split shell, and nobody sees the exact moment of impact. So maintenance should check every transfer, not only the main belt. ## What signs show that the belt is causing cracks? A belt that is causing cracks usually shows signs before the problem grows. The most useful one is a cluster of cracked eggs always in the same section, which points to a specific spot in the line rather than to the batch or the farm of origin. The signs below are practical observations and should be confirmed with the line running: - Cracked eggs concentrated in one section or transfer. - Rollers that are misaligned, loose or visibly worn. - Raised joints, loose guides or worn guides. - Eggs that bunch up or knock against each other before a transfer. ## How do you maintain the collection belt in practice? Preventive maintenance combines three areas: keeping the belt mechanically aligned, clean and at a steady speed. None of them solves the problem alone, and all three should appear in the line's maintenance plan. - Align rollers and guides, and replace worn parts before they start causing impacts. - Check the transfers with the equipment manufacturer, so the gap and height of each handover match the design. - Reduce sudden speed changes and adjust the handover between sections that run at different rhythms. - Clean the belt surface so that dirt and yolk residue do not catch the egg. - Record each intervention with the date and the section, so you can compare results before and after. ## What should you do when an egg breaks on the belt? Remove the broken egg and any spilled yolk as soon as the problem appears. An egg with a broken shell and broken membranes, a [leaker](https://vigiovo.com/en/resources/glossary#leaker), is unfit for human consumption (RIISPOA, art. 500, VII), and a dirty egg with a broken shell is also unfit (RIISPOA, art. 500, VI). A clean egg with a cracked shell and an intact membrane follows a different path: it goes to industrial processing as quickly as possible (RIISPOA, art. 227). A dirty cracked egg cannot be used to make egg products (RIISPOA, art. 228). Clear the section at the same time as you remove the egg, not at the end of the shift. Spilled yolk can stick to the shells of the eggs that follow and add dirt for grading. For dirty eggs, see [dirty egg grading](https://vigiovo.com/en/resources/dirty-egg-grading). ## How does camera inspection help monitor the belt? The camera shows the belt's result egg by egg. If visible cracks cluster in one section, the problem appears in the records before it appears in the batch. Vigiovo records each egg's decision with the measurements behind it, so you can compare periods before and after a maintenance job. It has one important limit: it sees only the outside of the shell. Hairline cracks, the air cell and the yolk do not show in a surface image, so [candling](https://vigiovo.com/en/resources/glossary#candling) is still needed (RIISPOA, art. 223). More details in [how it works](https://vigiovo.com/en/how-it-works). ## Frequently asked questions ### Does the collection belt crack eggs? It can. Impacts at transfers, drops between belts and sudden speed changes are the situations where an egg is most likely to crack. Misaligned rollers, open joints or worn guides raise that risk. That is why maintenance is part of crack prevention, alongside handling and inspection. ### How often should the belt be inspected? The frequency should be set in the line's own maintenance plan, based on egg volume and the history of cracks by section. The most useful habit is regular inspection with every intervention recorded. If cracks rise in one section, bring that spot's inspection forward. ### Does a camera replace belt maintenance? No. The camera tracks the belt's result and shows where visible cracks appear, but it does not fix the mechanical problem or see inside the egg. It helps prioritize maintenance, while candling remains mandatory in grading (RIISPOA, art. 223). ## Sources - [Decreto nº 9.013/2017 (RIISPOA)](https://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/_ato2015-2018/2017/decreto/d9013.htm), Presidência da República (Brasil) ## Read next - [Dirty and cracked egg KPIs per house](https://vigiovo.com/en/resources/dirty-and-cracked-egg-kpis.md) (Guide, 2026-10-09): How to calculate dirty and cracked egg rates per house, per batch and per day from per-egg records, and how to use the trend to find the cause. - [Training egg grading operators](https://vigiovo.com/en/resources/training-egg-grading-operators.md) (Guide, 2026-10-09): What an egg grading operator needs to know: the RIISPOA steps, Classes A and B, disposal of dirty and cracked eggs and the review of unverified eggs. - [Dirty eggs: what counts as dirty and how to grade them](https://vigiovo.com/en/resources/dirty-egg-grading.md) (Guide, 2026-10-09): When an egg counts as dirty, whether it can be washed, where it goes under Brazilian and EU rules, and how to measure shell dirt with a camera. ## How Vigiovo helps Vigiovo grades eggs on the conveyor as clean, dirty, cracked or unverified, in real time, with deterministic computer vision: every decision comes with the measurements behind it, on an ordinary CPU. https://vigiovo.com/en/how-it-works.md 4 min read.