For Immediate Service
800-864-7717
For Immediate Service
800-864-7717Nov
20
2019
Commercial Refrigeration / Food and Beverage Equipment runs the nation’s restaurant industry, though if you’ve ever spent any extended time in the back of a kitchen, you understand the kind of abuse this equipment can endure on a day-to-day basis. It's more important than ever to keep your kitchen performing without any costly mishaps.
It’s no secret that coolers and freezers need to be built like tanks to withstand the rigors of such a fast-paced industry, especially during the busiest times of the year. At the same time, restaurants understandably want to squeeze every ounce of life they can out of their coolers, freezers, fryers and ovens to save costs.
That said, simply using equipment longer isn’t a viable solution in itself. The equipment also has to perform well, especially when the stakes are highest in the busiest of times.
If those cost-saving measures include a negligence of regular maintenance, a number of things can go wrong. Here are the issues that arise when Commercial Refrigeration / Food and Beverage Equipment doesn’t get the love it deserves and and how you can plan for top equipment performance even during the busiest seasons.
When Cooler Heads Don’t Prevail, Your Cooler Fails
Coolers and freezers are the most commonly repaired Commercial Refrigeration / Food and Beverage Equipment. This makes sense considering they’re the centerpiece of every major kitchen and usually located on the cookline for convenient access. Thousands of dollars of food inventory is kept in the cooler every day, so keeping coolers functioning properly is about more than just meeting federal health department regulations; it’s about preserving valuable inventory and keeping customers healthy.
When regular maintenance is neglected, coolers and freezers break down and may not maintain proper temperatures (the health department requires a temperature of less than 40 degrees Fahrenheit). In a rush to get the items they need, restaurant staffs will scramble to open doors and kick them shut, and this only becomes a bigger trend during busy peak seasons. After years of aggressive abuse by staff, the structural integrity of the cooler could be compromised and result in poor temperature regulation. If the cooler is on or near the cookline, there is additional risk that grease released into the air will land on the condenser coils, preventing an efficient transfer of heat and shortening the life of the condenser (the primary cooling component of the cooler).
If a cooler breakdown occurs because of a condenser malfunction or proper temperature cannot be maintained, restaurants will often have to front not only the costs of replacement or emergency repair, but potentially the replacement of thousands of dollars in perishable goods.
Here’s what a typical monthly inspection would include to prevent such an event:
Rolling the Dice or Playing It Safe
If a cooler is well-maintained, restaurants can expect a lifespan of 10-12 years. If maintenance becomes an afterthought, that cooler lifespan is cut to 4-5 years. It's important to consider replacements and/or more thorough maintenance checks if your equipment is nearing the end of its expected life before the big season.
For some restaurateurs, chancing a slightly longer lifespan for their cooler with occasional emergency maintenance seemingly outweighs the benefits of scheduled maintenance. On the other hand, regularly scheduled maintenance can reduce the need for one-off emergency maintenance jobs by 70 percent, which saves restaurants the inevitably higher long-term costs of an exclusive reliance on emergency services.
Keep in mind that if you must use an emergency maintenance service, they must be immediately responsive in order to potentially salvage any perishable goods in the cooler. You need to have a go-to first-responder in mind before an equipment failure occurs. In any case, scheduled maintenance reduces the chances you’ll be placed in an emergency predicament in the first place.
Sometimes rolling the dice pays off, but usually it doesn’t, especially when you need your equipment most.
Don’t Settle for Less-Efficient Coolers
In an attempt to potentially salvage some extra savings, restaurants will often resort to investing as little as possible on their cooler replacements. Initially, the savings between the most efficient coolers and a run-of-the-mill cooler can be up to $6,000.
Unfortunately, not only are baseline coolers going to immediately drain those savings with higher energy costs, they also have shorter lifespans and will require more emergency maintenance while they’re still operational.
Scheduled maintenance is not only more cost-efficient than emergency maintenance, but it can reduce breakdowns by as much as 70 percent. If the goal for your facility is to get the most life possible out of your Commercial Refrigeration / Food and Beverage Equipment as possible, only scheduled maintenance makes the goal realistically feasible.
Remember, when equipment is properly maintained, you can expect these benefits:
When equipment isn’t maintained...well, now you know.
Related: Best Practices for Ice Machine Planned Maintenance
Related: Too Many Fire Drills? How to Prevent Constant Reactionary Maintenance
Categories: Blog
TDIndustries is a premier facilities services and mechanical construction company. Founded in 1946, we are well-positioned to exceed customers’ expectations on any project regardless of size, complexity, within budget and on time.