Back to the hygiene basics

"The cause of insufficient hygiene is basically a management problem", says Gert Visscher, Director/Owner of Eco2Clean. "There is often not enough focus on this from the operational management." He advises the management to regularly visit the production area during the cleaning activities. A whole world of perspectives will open up for them.

'Do you know what actually happens during the cleaning?'

"We cannot explain this often enough. Improving the cleaning process, and with that the quality of the hygiene, is not the sole responsibility of the cleaning staff, but also of the production staff and those of the quality service and technical support services", says Mr Visscher of Eco2Clean, which supplies cleaning and disinfectant products to companies and advises and supports them when they have questions about hygiene and cleaning. Visscher gives a few examples: "To make sure that a cleaning team can do its work properly, the technical support staff need to fix malfunctioning or defective machines as soon as possible when this has been reported. The production staff have to ensure that there is no packaging or other materials lying around the production areas that can hinder the cleaning process and, when necessary, they need to dismantle machines and remove most of the soiling beforehand. This will allow the cleaning team to do its job effectively. When the management does not have a clear view on the mutual connection between these departments, how can it manage and steer its staff in this respect as well?

True on paper

Visscher also concludes that the results from audits by the NVWA and external auditors are often not a sound indication of the level of hygiene. "These audits usually take place during the day, between nine and five o'clock. But you can only get a proper insight into the actual level of hygiene when there is no production going on and after the cleaning team has left. That is why we try to plan the audits that we carry out for our clients during the evening or in the weekend. The management, therefore, has to make sure that it doesn't just rely on the reports they see. We advise them to pay a visit to the production area when there is no production or cleaning process going on. It will be much more reliable to assess the quality of the cleaning under those circumstances."

Tour of the production area

A tour around the production area at the time that the cleaners are working, will also have another added value. "When people ask us to give advice about cleaning, our hygiene advisers will be present during the evening or night when the cleaning staff are working. It is a rarity to find a manager who takes the trouble to make a tour during those hours." A missed opportunity, as it will give a host of information", says Visscher. "It is on the production floor where it becomes clear whether established work methods can be executed in practice. The cleaners know what they do and will often offer good solutions for the bottlenecks that will always be found. And the manager will have a much better perceptive of the issues that the cleaning staff have to deal with. A win-win situation."

Consultation structure

When the management is open for this advice, practice shows that it will offer a huge added value. “As the production, cleaning, and technical support departments continuously consult with each other, possible bottlenecks are identified quickly and on the spot. Thanks to a direct communication between all parties involved, these issues can be solved as quickly as possible. Another condition is that all responsible parties within production, cleaning, quality service, and the technical support department are always present. During these periodical meetings, the frequent analyses are discussed and agreements are made about improvements that need to be implemented. This prevents miscommunication and ambiguities.

Interaction

“Our firm belief that cleaning is not a standalone activity made us decide to enter into a far-reaching collaboration with cleaning companies", Visscher adds. “An important condition for this is that interaction will grow between the production location, the cleaning company, and Eco2Clean. During the start-up of a new location where our products are used, our sales and cleaning advisers will always be present during the night when the cleaning takes place. It all has to happen on the work floor; it is good to be present. Possible start-up problems will be dealt with immediately and during the consultation, everyone will know what we are talking about. This form of collaboration always allows us to discuss the most efficient structure of the cleaning process, making sure that the common goal and the costs and quality of the cleaning are in line with each other and that the hygiene is guaranteed.

www.eco2clean.nl