Having a piece of kit go down is every chef’s worst nightmare, but not failure to comply with regulations could be an even bigger risk for your kitchen.
Planned preventative care, regular maintenance and gas safety checks can help you to avoid unnecessary downtime, maximise performance and ensure safety and compliance.
The benefits of preventative maintenance
Quite simply, it’s a false economy to wait until something goes wrong, with the expense of calling out an engineer every time you have a problem far exceeding the costs of regular care.
Not only does preventive maintenance cost less than repairing or replacing broken equipment, you can also factor it into your monthly cashflow, so you never receive any nasty surprises.
For example, take a refrigeration malfunction; not only can this result in a huge repair bill, but it also brings the additional cost of having to discard your valuable stock. And that’s something all commercial kitchen operators want to avoid.
Avoid downtime
By routinely servicing your professional kitchen equipment, there is less chance of it breaking down when you need it most, helping you to avoid the financial implications of downtime to your business and your reputation.
Save money with energy savings
Regular essential maintenance not only saves you money when things go wrong, but it can also deliver cost-savings to your business on a daily basis.
In fact, a study examining the consumption of electricity in the commercial kitchen found that poor levels of care significantly contribute to excessive energy use in refrigerators, while in some cases maintenance can deliver electricity savings of up to 45%.
Keep compliant
Adequate maintenance is essential to help meet the requirements of the Food Safety Act, and to ensure your cooking, hot holding, and chilling equipment is working correctly and won’t let you down.
There are more than a million cases of food poisoning every year in the UK, but when it comes to the health of your customers, ignorance is not an adequate defence.
Properly maintained professional kitchen equipment can help make sure you meet your obligations, reducing your exposure to risk, and protecting your hard-earned reputation.
Keeping your kitchen maintained
Start by creating an inventory of all your essential kitchen equipment. Then, set out what needs to happen when a repair is required, including who is in charge of handling it and who else needs to know. Consider where you track this information, and whether you need to hire an engineer to make repairs.
You also need to set up a preventive and routine maintenance programme. To do this, you must instill good to day-to-day practices in your commercial kitchen to help your employees look after your equipment properly.
Not only will regular care help prolong the lifespan of your equipment, but it will also help to ensure that any warranties remain valid. Next, be sure to shop around to find a suitable maintenance package which meets the various needs of each of your items during their lifetime.
Rental vs outright purchase
It’s also worth considering whether renting makes more sense than purchasing outright – particularly if this includes a regular maintenance package to keep your kit in top-notch condition.
In a commercial kitchen, keeping your kitchen equipment in optimum working order is not just important for ensuring food quality and consistency, it is business critical. As such, ensuring you have the right kitchen equipment in place, and that it is looked after correctly is essential.
By putting aside a set amount each month to cover the costs of regular maintenance, you can save your business money, keep compliant, and be sure to avoid product downtime. Ultimately, letting you get on with what you do best – cooking consistently high-quality food.
Are you considering upgrading your catering equipment to help improve hygiene standards and protect your valuable reputation? JLA Total Care offers consistent monthly payments, engineer support and brand-new equipment as part of the package.
Gas Safety Checks
All commercial gas appliances must be checked every 12 months by a Gas Safe registered engineer in line with the manufacturer’s guidance.
Skipping these checks risks penalties or prosecution and can put staff, guests, residents, pupils, patients or visitors at risk of carbon monoxide poisoning. To stay compliant, make sure your kitchen, laundry room and boiler room equipment is inspected regularly.
The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 requires annual checks, and the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 state that all gas work must be carried out by a licensed provider.
Catering equipment service contracts
Catering equipment service contracts means you are covered when equipment fails in a commercial kitchen, a quick fix is crucial to reduce downtime. Because breakdowns are unpredictable, having the right support in place ensures issues are dealt with promptly and disruption is minimised.
Peace of mind
You have access to support when needed, backed by scheduled maintenance that can help prevent faults.
A one-stop shop
Our service covers every aspect of commercial kitchen maintenance, including compliance, safety and hygiene checks.
Legal compliance
All operators must carry out annual safety checks on gas appliances and ensure extraction systems remain in safe working condition.
Canopy cleaning
Extractor units in commercial kitchens must meet HVAC TR19 and fire safety standards, so regular canopy cleaning is essential.
Your canopy hood removes heat, fumes and particles from your equipment, so professional cleaning and preventative maintenance help it perform effectively and safely.
Contact the experts
Our team of experts can help you to keep your kitchen safe, efficient and compliant with legislation. Get in touch today to see how we can help your business.
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