Innovative Cleaning

This article was originally published on the Cleaning Hygiene Today. 

 

Cleaning a food manufacturing facility may, at the outset, sound like a fairly straightforward process. Cleaning is, after all, a science.

However in planning a cleaning program, care must be taken to properly match particular machinery or types of soil with the correct cleaning methodology and materials, as this can have a significant impact on the quality, speed, and cost of cleaning. Additionally, and often overlooked, the delivery of cleaning must be managed effectively. With the needs of all factories being fluid, changing seasonally or even week-by-week, it’s clear that there is also more than a little art in the science of cleaning.

As the traditional approach to cleaning, the sequential method seems intuitive and follows a simple workflow pattern: Remove debris, rinse surfaces, apply detergent, rinse again and finish with sanitiser. This method seems to be the most logical way of cleaning, everything being done a stage at a time by a group of cleaners all working together, making it easy to supervise and monitor how the clean is progressing. The sequential format is often referred to as ‘legacy cleaning’ – procedures that have always been carried out in the same way as they are seen to work effectively. Is this a case of ‘if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it’ – or is there a more efficient solution?

When cleaning in a convoy, as in the sequential method, a team can only work as fast as the slowest member. In addition, a rigid and highly structured approach such as this can mean a team lacks the flexibility required to respond to short-term needs or crises. Finally, there may be an unintended consequence – it is very easy to find a sequential team cleaning an area of piece of equipment that does not need cleaning, simply because it is on the schedule.

The traditional approach does have many strengths and is indeed the most appropriate option in specific cases; for example when a factory or process shuts down sequentially and each processing area becomes available for cleaning as the product moves through the system. However with extended or continuous production, it is necessary to combine elements of legacy cleaning with a more flexible approach that balances food safety with economy – equipment must be cleaned when necessary, and not before.

Read the full article here to learn more about cluster cleaning and event cleaning. 

As the traditional approach to cleaning, the sequential method seems intuitive and follows a simple workflow pattern: Remove debris, rinse surfaces, apply detergent, rinse again and finish with sanitiser. This method seems to be the most logical way of cleaning, everything being done a stage at a time by a group of cleaners all working together, making it easy to supervise and monitor how the clean is progressing. The sequential format is often referred to as ‘legacy cleaning’ – procedures that have always been carried out in the same way as they are seen to work effectively. Is this a case of ‘if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it’ – or is there a more efficient solution?
When cleaning in a convoy, as in the sequential method, a team can only work as fast as the slowest member. In addition, a rigid and highly structured approach such as this can mean a team lacks the flexibility required to respond to short-term needs or crises. Finally, there may be an unintended consequence – it is very easy to find a sequential team cleaning an area of piece of equipment that does not need cleaning, simply because it is on the schedule.
The traditional approach does have many strengths and is indeed the most appropriate option in specific cases; for example when a factory or process shuts down sequentially and each processing area becomes available for cleaning as the product moves through the system. However with extended or continuous production, it is necessary to combine elements of legacy cleaning with a more flexible approach that balances food safety with economy – equipment must be cleaned when necessary, and not before.
- See more at: http://www.chtdata.com/2013/07/24/the-art-of-innovative-cleaning/#sthash.nIr90cit.dpuf

 

Cleaning a food manufacturing facility may, at the outset, sound like a fairly straightforward process. Cleaning is, after all, a science.
However in planning a cleaning programme, care must be taken to properly match particular machinery or types of soil with the correct cleaning methodology and materials, as this can have a significant impact on the quality, speed, and cost of cleaning. Additionally, and often overlooked, the delivery of cleaning must be managed effectively. With the needs of all factories being fluid, changing seasonally or even week-by-week, it’s clear that there is also more than a little art in the science of cleaning.
- See more at: http://www.chtdata.com/2013/07/24/the-art-of-innovative-cleaning/#sthash.nIr90cit.dpuf

Cleaning a food manufacturing facility may, at the outset, sound like a fairly straightforward process. Cleaning is, after all, a science.
However in planning a cleaning programme, care must be taken to properly match particular machinery or types of soil with the correct cleaning methodology and materials, as this can have a significant impact on the quality, speed, and cost of cleaning. Additionally, and often overlooked, the delivery of cleaning must be managed effectively. With the needs of all factories being fluid, changing seasonally or even week-by-week, it’s clear that there is also more than a little art in the science of cleaning.
- See more at: http://www.chtdata.com/2013/07/24/the-art-of-innovative-cleaning/#sthash.nIr90cit.dpuf