In practice: choose a cleaning system that suits a food company
The purchase of a cleaning system - or Open Plant Cleaning (OPC) system - is not a daily cost for business owners. So it is no surprise that you may be lacking knowledge in this area. However, most entrepreneurs do have some ideas when they are about to buy such a system. Nevertheless, good advice is also indispensable. Because you naturally want the best cleaning system for your business, within your budget.
The practical case below shows you how decisive proper, professional advice can be when purchasing a cleaning system.
Ideas for an Open Plant Cleaning (OPC) system
Entrepreneur X has taken the decision to purchase a cleaning system. He thought that he would be able to clean his production hall using a high-pressure pump with a working pressure of 40 bar. This is a decentralised system in which the chemical (the cleaning agent) is stored in separate jerry cans on the shop floor and no use is made of a central storage facility for the chemical or a central network of pipes. He presented his idea to the specialist, who asked the following questions, among others, and then provided appropriate advice:
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How dirty is the production area?
Answer: ‘Not too bad, actually. We clean extensively on a daily basis, so there are no dried-on or stubborn residual products.’
Advice: a working pressure of 40 bar is not required for this degree of soiling. 20 bar is more than enough.
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Do you have an existing production area or is there a new building?
Answer: ‘We are fitting out a new building.’
Advice: In new buildings, a centralised system is preferable to decentralised cleaning. In new buildings, it is relatively easy to lay a network of pipes and create a central space.
The most important advantages of centralised cleaning over decentralized cleaning:
- Increased safety: no concentrated chemicals on the shop floor.
- More efficient chemical consumption: the concentration of detergent in the pipes is more constant and coordinated exactly to the required quantity. So you never use too much.
- Safer working: there is no need to carry jerry cans and no chemical residues are thrown away.
- You pay less environmental tax: decentralised jerry cans on the shop floor mean more chemical waste and therefore higher waste costs.
Best choice for an Open Plant Cleaning (OPC) system
With the above arguments, the specialist showed the entrepreneur that it is more sensible to choose a centralised cleaning system than a decentralized one. In his specific situation, it is not only safer and more efficient, but also a better investment because it proved easy to integrate the system into the new building, allowing an ideal OPC system to be realised in this way.
Testing your ideas
Are you looking to purchase a cleaning system? Then always present your ideas to one of our specialists, so that you are guaranteed the right choice. For more information about the issues that matter when purchasing a cleaning system, please also download the white paper ‘The right choice for a cleaning system or crate washer’.