Increased Hygiene and Food Security

"Rather than cutting the cleaning team down, the Vikan microfibre system enables us to put the time saved to performing other cleaning tasks. Along with the considerably better equipment, our team feels much more professional and takes greater pride in the work as a result."
Chris Bowen, Site Hygiene Manager at Hovis for Premier Foods

About Hovis Bakery 

Over one million Hovis loaves are produced each week at the Leicester-based Premier Foods plant. Some 200 staff are employed in the 24-hour, 6-and-a-half day week operation on the three bread production lines.

Challenge

Buckets and mops had been traditionally used to clean the floors of the production facility but were proving to be messy, use lots of water and operatives were spending more time walking the length of the premises to fill the mop buckets than actually cleaning.

Cleaning operations are the responsibility of a 16-strong in-house team, and the newly appointed site hygiene manager was keen to identify where time and costs savings could be made in cleaning floor areas and other surfaces. Having previously used and been very satisfied with the Vikan product range, he was keen to trial the Vikan microfibre system at the plant.

Solution

The site survey and closely monitored trials undertaken at the facility by Vikan revealed that not only could 90% of the floor area be cleaned using ultramicrofibre mops and cloths, but the tools offered such flexibility that it was possible to extend efficient and effective cleaning from floors to the walls and ceilings too.

The Vikan system was specifically designed to meet the stringent demand of modern food processing environments. The innovative one-touch button that allows mop heads to be changed easily and without operator hand contact reduces the chance of cross contamination to other surfaces, and from area to area. The ergonomic design of the tool handles also reduces the risk of repetitive strain on muscles and joints.

The Hovis cleaning team was particularly impressed with the Vikan trolley system, which is not only compact and easy to store but can be instantly adjusted to suit the height of the individual operator and so aid ease and speed of use. In addition, as the trolley is stocked with pre-prepared mops and cloths, the lifting of heavy buckets and wringing of mops is eliminated, and operators are able to move swiftly and efficiently between cleaning areas.

Four Vikan trolleys now form the basis of Hovis' cleaning operations, each one with a set of differently colour-coded tools and equipment (microfibre cloths and mops, scrapers and spray bottles) for use in the designated food, non-food, engineering and toilet zones.

Hygiene standards at Hovis have improved dramatically since the introduction of the Vikan microfibre concept. As well as better cleaning performance, the colour-coding means that 'borrowed' or misplaced tools can be spotted immediately and removed from the zone. This is reducing opportunities for cross contamination by microbes or through ingredient transfer across zoned areas, and so increasing both hygiene and food security.

In addition, significant time savings have been achieved as the team no longer waste time filling and refilling buckets, while cost savings on effluent, water, chemicals and materials amount to around £100 per week.