MODERN WAREWASHING AND FOOD WASTE SYSTEM FOR A FORWARD-LOOKING HOSPITAL

When it comes to choosing new technology, it’s important to think about tomorrow, not just today. That’s the guiding principle at the Zentrum für Psychiatrie (ZfP) Reichenau, a psychiatric hospital in the southern German town of Reichenau. By identifying durable, energy-efficient solutions that offer long-term benefits, it seeks to further its mission of gradually building a sustainable, future-proof organisation. It was this mindset that drove the development of its new dishwashing area.

The kitchen at ZfP Reichenau serves several hundred meals a day, which means dishes from its canteen and wards need to be washed, sorted and put back into circulation as quickly as possible. It offers a perfect example of how a smoothly functioning  dishwashing area  can pay dividends to the organisation as a whole. Located near the shores of Lake Constance, ZfP Reichenau is a major centre of adult psychiatry on the southern edge of the federal state of Baden-Württemberg. Spread across an extensive campus, it treats around 600 to 650 patients a day, with some 1,000 staff running a carefully coordinated mix of therapy, care and organisational logistics. The psychiatric hospital essentially operates like a small village, encompassing not only wards and treatment areas, but also its own laundry, a bakery, workshops – and a kitchen.

This was the challenge ZfP Reichenau ultimately found itself facing. The kitchen's old steam-powered warewashing system had provided years of reliable service. But it eventually became clear that the technology could no longer keep pace with the demands of a modern kitchen.

“Our old dishwashing line finally gave up the ghost," says Jochen Reutter, operations director at ZfP Reichenau. “So we had to decide how we wanted to move forward."

That question sparked much more than a simple like-for-like replacement. The team took the opportunity to rethink its entire setup from the ground up. The public tender they drew up for the new equipment emphasised not just performance, durability and capacity, but also energy efficiency, hygiene standards and a staff-friendly working environment.

For its new warewashing area, ZfP Reichenau opted for a MEIKO solution that seamlessly brings together multiple processes. The setup includes a M-iQ flight type dishwashing machine, a food waste management system featuring the  BioMaster® Flex, and a pot washer for larger items like pots and baking trays. In practice, the whole workflow runs like clockwork. When carts of dirty dishes and trays return to the  wash-up area from the canteen and the wards, they are unloaded and any food waste is disposed of directly via the  BioMaster® Flex infeed station. All the  washware  are then washed in the M-iQ. "A quick rinse, and then all the ware goes straight through the machine and comes out sparkling clean at the other end," says Hayashi, describing how it works. It shows how important reliable technology is to keeping the kitchen running smoothly, especially when every day is a work day. 

Perhaps the most striking transformation is the way the kitchen handles food waste. Previously, the scraps were collected in bins that had to be kept in cold storage until they could be disposed of. But today, the entire process happens at the touch of a button: food waste is fed straight into the system in the  dishwashing area  and piped to collection tanks in the basement. As well as being more hygienic, this approach cuts down on unnecessary trips and generally makes life easier for staff. "It also ensures we meet the requirements set by current hygiene standards," says Reutter. A further benefit is that staff have far less direct contact with the food waste itself.

As well as scoring highly from a technical point of view, the new system has also transformed the working environment. It used to take four or five people to run things, but now the whole process can be handled with one or two fewer people. What's more, the room stays much cooler, the equipment is easier to use, and the ergonomics are significantly better. "Feedback from the team has been overwhelmingly positive," says Reutter. 

The new setup has also reduced the consumption of water, energy and chemicals, cutting the use of resources while also easing the pressure on day-to-day operations. At ZfP Reichenau, this is part of a much broader shift in which sustainable processes are increasingly taking centre stage. Talk to Jochen Reutter about technology, and it quickly becomes clear that these kinds of considerations are factored into the decision-making process right from the start.

For Reutter, one thing is certain: modernising the dishwashing area has resulted in far more than just a technical upgrade. "Normally, you might refer to it as Warewashing 2.0," he says. "But I'd say this is more like Warewashing 6.0! It really is a quantum leap in technology."