ISS provides ‘total facilities management’ to the head office of O2 UK, a leading digital communications company. The site in Bath Road, Slough can accommodate up to 2,500 staff and the service provided by ISS includes catering, building and grounds maintenance and cleaning.
“As you might expect, ISS has a very thorough procurement process when it came to replacing our dishwashing system,” explains ISS General Manager, Food and Hospitality, Richard Bond. “The previous machine was only six years old but had become unreliable, with oil contamination of the heat pump system mostly to blame for an increasing number of breakdowns. In total we obtained and compared four quotes from different suppliers. We cater for around 1000 covers at lunchtimes and this situation coincided with a change to a new kitchen equipment maintenance provider, Airedale Technical Services. It was they who recommended meiko. The other three quotes were also for German manufactured equipment. Each supplier interpreted the brief differently, but the key criteria were to provide an increased capacity, while using minimal energy, chemicals and water."
"MEIKO demonstrated that their machine was equal to, if not better than, any of the other solutions quoted."
“My concern was that I was unfamiliar with MEIKO and I did not know the quality of their machines. As it happens, MEIKO’s UK HQ is in the same locality and a visit there allowed me to touch and feel the quality of the machines, which was much better than I thought. The MEIKO solution also offered the improvements in efficiency and productivity which I expected. It also cost £10,000 less than the cheapest of the other three quotes! Six months after we began looking for a new system, we signed off on meiko."
“Airedale won another feather in their cap by resolving a long-term problem with our tray clearing carousel. The previous maintenance supplier had struggled to keep it going but Airedale realised it needed specialist attention and recommended that the original manufacturer be called into to give the carousel a thorough service and it has worked without fault ever since.
Airedale’s engineers are excellent in terms of technical knowledge but they are also ‘pro-active’. We previously had to wait upon deliveries of spare parts, but now we keep a stock on site. The service is better and so are the results and in the long term it is saving us money."
“I was also very impressed with the technical services and project management support provided on the dishwash installation."
“Lee Slater, Project Manager for Airedale worked in conjunction with MEIKO Technical Services and together they did a very thorough site survey. Everything was considered as they walked the route into the building and into the final destination. As a result, the installation went very quickly and very smoothly because they had taken the time to look at it properly in the first place.”
UPster K-M280 rack transport dishwasher, providing up to 210 racks per hour capacity. This model features integral heat recovery as standard, which means that these machines are ideal for tight spaces, low ceilings, refurbishments or new builds because direct overhead ventilation ducting is not usually required, only general room ventilation, providing that suitable air changes are available within the wash-up area. This potentially saves a small fortune in ventilation costs.
Dishwashing systems require daily manual cleaning to maintain wash quality and to ensure good hygiene.
A simple but clever development by MEIKO is the colour coding of key components on their rack transport and flight dishwashers, which helps kitchen porters and cleaning staff easily identify which items require manual cleaning daily.
Colour coding also makes staff training much easier for managers and chefs. Kitchen staff, no matter which language is spoken in the kitchen, can clearly understand which elements of the dishwasher require removal, such as wash arms and filters, thereby reducing the time it takes to clean the machine and ensuring a more thorough job.
Hinged doors on the main wash zone also provide better access for cleaning and maintenance and are also easier to open than the conventional side panels on rack transport dishwashers, which may be too heavy or too tall for some staff.
