Kivelä Hospital
Substantial savings year on year thanks to M-iQ flight type dishwashing machine
“Before M-iQ I experienced many sick leaves in one unit because the employees cut their hands on the sharp edges in a new machine."
Palmia is a company owned by city of Helsinki and it provides the catering service to Kivelä Hospital. The unit employs 21 workers and serves 1400 at mealtimes.
Minna Väkiparta is Nutrition Manager: “I have worked more than 15 years as a Manager in an institutional kitchen and I’ve seen lots of different dishwashing machines. M-iQ is one of the most user friendly machines and the employees have learned to use it very quickly. The control panel is very untroubled and gives much information about daily routines.
“Before M-iQ I experienced many sick leaves in one unit because the employees cut their hands on the sharp edges in a new machine. This problem has not occurred with MEIKO at all. The new machine has a positive influence on the working environment because of the silent use and small amounts of steam in the air. We have managed well without a separate steam hood, that we used to have. The removal of the steam hood gave more space and tidiness as the hood picked up much dirt."
The job has become more hygienic.
“The yearly water saving with M-iQ is approximately 208,780 litre, providing €208 savings per year (1 m3 cost about €1,00). Wastewater cost is about €1,5/1 m3, so this also saves €312,00; in total €520 savings in a year (2013 figures). We handle approximately 80 food transport boxes every day. Thanks to the M-iQ it is now possible to wash these 80 boxes in about in 30 minutes."
“We have saved lots of working hours and water also in pre-rinsing dishes. Before we had to wash all remaining food from the dishes very carefully and now it is enough to remove only the bigger leftovers. This stage of the process used to be very hard for the employee because of the heat and humidity; no longer."
“The job has become more hygienic. Because of the colour coding in the new machine I now can trust that all parts are removed and cleaned carefully. This helps us to achieve a good outcome and is positive for the dishwasher’s condition. It is easy to teach new employees how to wash the machine. The surfaces in the machine are easy to keep clean. We wash the exterior with microfiber fabrics.”
