Planned Preventative Maintenance: Why it’s Essential for Commercial Kitchens
Planned Preventative Maintenance: Why it’s Essential for Commercial Kitchens
Planned preventative maintenance (PPM) is at the core of any successful commercial kitchen. Getting ahead of an issue before it turns into something more serious is vital for keeping commercial catering equipment running safely and efficiently. PPM schedules also reduce the risk of downtime and costly repairs, allowing you to continue providing excellent, unbroken service- something we know is priceless for multi-site commercial kitchen operators.
Read on for insight from our experienced engineers on how to implement planned preventative maintenance activities in your catering operation.
Why is PPM Important in Commercial Kitchens?
Whether you’ve got kitchens across several sites of a national hotel chain or a select few schools, it’s imperative they’re consistently up and running when needed. The cost of faulty catering equipment stretches to more than just your bottom line – it impacts the overall running of the kitchen and the satisfaction of the customers it serves.
Impact of PPM on Commercial Kitchen Equipment
The ability to spot issues with commercial catering equipment and remedy them before they turn into more complex issues is fundamental to long-lasting and cost-effective equipment. Don’t just take our word for it – the stats surrounding PPM speak for themselves:
- Up to 11% more energy is needed to power a commercial refrigeration cabinet with a split door seal
- Electricity usage savings of between 45% and 70% could be made by improving ‘poor’ kitchen equipment maintenance
- Air intake systems that run continuously on maximum power can increase energy consumption by up to 40%, which is costly to both your business and the environment.
What to Include in a Planned Preventative Maintenance Schedule
You can see why planned preventative maintenance needs to take top priority, and not just for keeping commercial kitchen equipment operating safely. Catering environments are busy, with numerous activities happening at any one time. It can be easy to forget when a brand new but faulty oven was installed, or a fridge gasket broke, which is where PPM also plays an integral role.
Commercial kitchen maintenance schedules should include an asset register encompassing all details about a piece of equipment, from its installation date and maintenance guidelines to warranty timeframes and charges. When you’ve got the full picture, you’re better positioned to make the most informed and proactive decisions to keep assets running effectively.
Commercial Kitchen Maintenance and Compliance
So, what happens if you choose to ignore PPM? Firstly, you’re at risk of being non-compliant with several long-standing health and safety (H&S) regulations.
All commercial kitchens using gas-powered equipment are under a legal obligation to be inspected by a Gas Safe Registered engineer annually. Once that inspection is complete and the equipment is deemed in safe working order, you’ll receive a valid Gas Safety Certificate, along with the reassurance that you are complying with Gas Safety Regulations across your setting.
There’s also new and changing legislation which impacts commercial kitchen equipment that you should be aware of and look to include in your PPM schedules. For instance, F-gas Regulation (EU) 2024/573. This came into effect in the EU in March 2024, with the intention of phasing out fluorinated greenhouse gases used across systems from air conditioning to refrigeration. Though it’s not in play in the UK yet, with the exception of Northern Ireland, it signifies a significant legislative change that commercial kitchen equipment managers should have on their radar when making decisions surrounding the usage and maintenance of fluorinated greenhouse gas systems.
Importance of Ventilation in Commercial Kitchens
On this note, make sure you take a read of our new guide: How to Maintain Commercial Kitchen Ventilation. It’s got everything you need to know to ensure your kitchen has adequate ventilation to keep staff and guests happy and healthy, including:
- Ventilation installation
- Best ventilation cleaning practice
- PPM for ventilation systems
Benefits of Commercial Kitchens PPM Schedules
Below are three of the most significant reasons that planned preventative maintenance is such a non-negotiable.
1. Reduces the Chance and Cost of Downtime
Downtime of any piece of commercial kitchen equipment disrupts the efficiency of the entire team, from chefs and kitchen porters to the servers responsible for getting dishes out to diners on time.
“For multi-site operators, a faulty asset in one kitchen should flag that the same asset in another kitchen could have a similar issue, too. By proactively scheduling maintenance on that piece of equipment, you’re able to identify the potential for the same issue at other sites before they turn into something bigger.” [Richard Buller, Technical Director]
2. Reduces Accident Risk to Keep Employees Safe
Ensuring that equipment is properly maintained helps to keep it safe for your employees to use. Improperly maintained equipment can cause potentially injurious accidents such as fires and electrocution.
Take a look at our Guide to Commercial Kitchen Health and Safety for everything you need to know about these laws, such as the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.
3. Promotes More Informed Budgeting
The more information you gather during planned commercial kitchen maintenance activities, the more informed your wider commercial catering service becomes.
“The more data you have surrounding timeframes and seasonalities of faults and issues, the more accurate predicting things like equipment failures becomes. With PPM, the idea is that it doesn’t get to this stage. So, use this insight to book servicing and maintenance in good time – and ensure your budget accounts for any forecasted works.” [Richard Buller, Technical Director]
One example of this is seasonality around when certain pieces of commercial kitchen equipment are more prone to failure. For example, refrigerators are more likely to break down in summer due to working harder in the heat, so scheduling PPM for refrigerators is recommended right before summer.
How to Set Up a PPM Schedule
Planned preventative maintenance is at the core of all successful multi-site kitchen operators, and we’re here to help you put it in place. A quick call with one of our experts will give you all the information you need to get a PPM schedule for your commercial kitchen equipment up and running. Feel the benefits across your catering sites in no time by getting in touch.
