Cleanzine: your weekly cleaning and hygiene industry newsletter 18th April 2024 Issue no. 1110

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Hovis bakery uses its loaf and sees it kneads Vikan mopping systems

Over one million Hovis loaves are produced each week at the Leicester based Premier Foods plant. Divided into three bread lines of white, brown and other, some 200 employees operate the 24hour, 6 1/2 day week production line.

Kentucky mops were used to clean the floors of this substantial site until new Site Hygiene Manager, Chris Bowen, was appointed in 2010. The Kentucky mops were messy, used a lot of water and operatives spent more time walking the length of the premises to fill up mop buckets than actually cleaning and five minutes later, the water was soiled again, Chris found.

Taking the cleaning operation in house, Chris wanted to establish the floor areas and other applications which were suitable for ultra microfibre cleaning as well as potential time and cost savings. Having previously used and been very satisfied with the Vikan product range, he was keen to trial the Vikan ErgoClean system

Following a site survey and closely monitored trials by the Vikan team, it became apparent that not only could 90% of the floor area be cleaned by ultra microfibre mops, but the mops also offered flexibility. Walls, he discovered, could be cleaned in less than a minute.

Chris was particularly impressed with the ErgoClean trolley. Not only is it compact and easy to store but it can be instantly adjusted to suit all heights, aiding ease and speed of use. The trolley also contains such useful features as boxes with pre-prepared mops - enabling the operator to move swiftly from one floor area to the other whilst also eliminating the risk of cross contamination. Pre-prepared mops also eliminate lifting and wringing of heavy buckets and mops.

The Vikan ErgoClean ultra microfibre system is designed and developed to be versatile and meet the demands of modern cleaning from floor to ceiling. In addition, one touch cleaning tools also reduce the risk of repetitive strain on muscles and joints.

Four Vikan trolleys, each with their set of different colour coded tools and equipment for food, non food, engineering and toilet areas, now form the basis of Premier Foods' cleaning operation. Tools include ultra microfibre mops and cloths, scrapers and spray bottles.

Significant time savings have been achieved, confirms Chris, as the 16 cleaning staff no longer have to waste time filling and refilling buckets.

"Rather than cutting the cleaning team, the ErgoClean system enables us to maximise the time saved by performing other cleaning tasks," he says. It is estimated that cost savings on effluent, water, chemicals and materials probably amount to around £100 per week.

Probably of greatest importance is the fact that hygiene standards at Premier Foods have improved dramatically thanks to Vikan ErgoClean and its hygiene system. Chris confirms: "With considerably better equipment, our cleaning team feel much more professional and take greater pride in their work."

T: 01793 716760
E: [email protected]
W: www.vikan.co.uk

14th July 2011