Washing area
Dishwashing is the term used for picking up dirty dishes, glasses, cutlery, pots and pans and scraping, rinsing, sanitizing and drying them. It is by far the most essential and least exciting part of the food service business. Whether washing dishes by hand or machine, or a combination of both, it’s a tricky job with high temperatures, high humidity, and slippery floors that requires constant caution. For the restaurant owner, this is also one of the most expensive areas to operate. Labor (and high turnover), utilities, and equipment are expensive, and breakages can account for 10 to 15 percent of dishware expenses. Cost isn’t the only reason why Dishwashing is of great importance.
It simply has a direct impact on public health. Done wrong, you jeopardize your business on a daily basis. For now, let’s cover how transportation and laundering affect laundry room size and location. First, the dirty dishes have to get there. Some restaurants have buses or waiters that take the dishes directly to the washing area; others try to save a few steps by stacking dishes in bus tubs on carts located throughout the dining area and taking them to wash only when the cart is full. (The largest mobile carts, which can carry a minimum of a dozen large, oval serving trays, are nicknamed “Queen Marys.”) Quick-service and cafeteria-style restaurants may choose to have customers clear their own tables, depositing waste and trays in receptacles near the doors as they leave.
Emphasis should be placed on designing a system to ensure that each plate, cup or fork has its own flow pattern, so it goes in and out of service quickly and efficiently. A short, smooth flow pattern from the dining area to the serving area will keep breakage to a minimum and reduce labor expense. You’ll need to find the shortest route that minimizes the natural noise and rattle of the dishes operating, and also keeps them out of sight of guests as much as possible. In institutional settings, the sink should be placed in the flow pattern of departing guests, so as not to interfere with arriving guests. A conveyor belt or the placement of walls or partitions can minimize contact with the sights and sounds of the set area.
Dishes must be scraped and stacked when they arrive in the washing region. Sometimes scraping and stacking may be the responsibility of the bus workers or the servers bringing the dishes. This method is recognized as decoy and allows dishwashers to focus on rinsing dishes and loading them into the machines. No matter who scrapes, you better figure out where the scrapes will end up. A trash can with a plastic bag? A garbage disposal? Glasses and cutlery have specific sanitary needs. As used cutlery is removed from a table, it should be immediately placed in a soaking solution, either in a sink or bus tub. When heading to the dishwasher, cutlery should be placed, face up, in round, perforated containers, much like you’re familiar with from home dishwashers. The glasses and cups are placed upside down on special racks, not the normal plate racks with the plates.
If glasses are used, such as tall wine or water glasses, there are specific racks with higher individual compartments to avoid breaking the glass bases. There must be enough space for the storage of these specialized containers, both full and empty. Neither cutlery nor glassware should be towel dried when removed from the dishwasher. Instead, place silverware on large absorbent towels and sort as they dry; allow glasses to air dry before removing from racks. Again, this requires space. Most restaurants store their glasses on the shelves until they are used again, which saves storage space and time. There are numerous ways to organize the laundry room. In most cases, you’ll place your equipment in a straight line, in an L shape, or perhaps in a hollow square, with the equipment forming the sides of the square and the employees standing inside.
When determining the size of your plate area, consider the size of the dining room. Remember that each person served will generate six to eight dirty dishes. Calculate how many full plate racks your dishwasher can process in one hour. Finally, keep in mind that the best dish rooms run, on average, at 70 percent efficiency. Within the pan area, scraping, spraying, lifting and carrying means increased labor costs and the possibility of a disaster unless specific attention is paid to safety. Non-slip floors and proper drainage are musts. City ordinances typically also specify lighting requirements (70 to 100 foot-candles of brightness) and govern the ventilation schedule.
Dishwashing machines generate so much heat and humidity that adequate ventilation is essential for employee comfort; As a bonus, it also helps clean dishes dry faster. Acoustic wall and ceiling tiles are important in this area, to prevent noise from the dish room from spilling over into the dining room. An additional element that must be chosen carefully may be the type of door that connects the washing area with the rest of the installation. Double swing doors are not a great idea here, for the same reason we discourage them between the kitchen and back areas, unless each door is installed to swing in only one direction, there are at least two feet between the doors, and each door is clearly labeled “ENTRY” and “OUT”.