Automatic & Continuous Ice Machine Disinfection
When new technology is introduced in the food-services industry, we all get excited about how it could improve customer experience, food safety, quality assurance, operational efficiency, and employee satisfaction. In a perfect world, we could make a decision on these factors alone, but we all know that financial realities must also be considered. Any time a new product or service is considered, we quickly evaluate the following factors.
- Initial cost (purchase price)
- Recurring costs (refills, batteries, filters, etc.)
- Utilities costs (water, electricity, etc.)
- Maintenance costs (components and labor)
Using these values, we can make an initial comparison to our current solution. This is especially easy if we are comparing similar systems. The challenge comes when we want to accurately compare the total ROI for significantly different approaches to a challenge such as disinfecting produce or keeping an ice machine clean. Someone once said that when an answer is given there is
- The Truth,
- The Whole Truth, and
- The God’s Honest Truth.
The Truth would typically look at only the initial and recurring costs. A Whole Truth analysis would add in utilities and maintenance costs. These would probably be enough for straight forward replacements. (Picture purchasing a replacement meat slicer.) If however, your were to consider a completely different approach (imagine a robotic meat slicer) there are many more factors to consider. Although the initial cost may be much higher for the robot, you may enjoy benefits such as reduced labor costs, improved consistency, reduced waste, increased service capacity, and even decreased food safety risk. This “God’s Honest Truth” analysis may end up shedding new light on what seemed like a simple decision.
Let’s look at how this approach may help with a decision about utilizing Quail System’s ECO ICE automatic ice machine disinfection system in your kitchens. Here are some questions that you will need to ask yourself:
- How much do you spend each time your machine(s) are cleaned?
- Labor
- Chemicals
- How often do they need to be cleaned?
Multiply these costs to calculate annual cleaning expenses. Next, multiply this number by 5 to get a 5-year total. Based upon the factors above, one of our customers can often recover their initial investment in less than 18 months and sometimes much faster!
Now comes the fun part. What additional ways will a new system impact your finances through:
- Reduced risk?
- Operational efficiency?
- Customer experience?
- Employee satisfaction/retention?
- Brand enhancement/sustainability?
Contact us for a personalized analysis to see if the dollars and cents make sense for your unique circumstances.