Super simple

Cleaning and disinfection is a recurring theme in our magazine. That's no surprise, as it is one of the most important subjects in the food industry. You can easily say it's of vital importance.

You cannot guarantee food safety without a solid hygiene plan and well-trained staff. In order to safeguard it, there are innovations and automated processes. And it's wise to look at innovations in other industries as well. Because why would you reinvent the wheel?

During a network gathering at a business relation, I talked to the director of a company that does maintenance work at locations such as Schiphol Airport. Of course, I cannot name names due to the privacy legislation 😉. But he had a few fun facts that I can share with you.

At Schiphol, for example, it is a rule that a trash bin must be emptied when it is half-full. Not sooner, but certainly not later. How do you organise that? Very simply, by using sensors. The cleaner no longer walks a standard route, but he/she gets a notification on a tablet that sensor 2 in trash bin No. 100 has been activated and that the bin needs to be emptied. This is a lot more efficient and results in a lot less frustration of travellers who cannot get rid of their trash (and just as easily dump it next to the trash bin).

And I'm sure you have visited a toilet where an unsupervised child has used his/her poop to write on the wall. They also found a solution to that. When you leave the toilet area, you press a smiley; happy or not happy. When 5 people have indicated 'unhappy', that particular toilet area is listed at the top of the cleaning schedule.

This is how super simple it can be.

Saskia Stender