24/7 cleaning audit hub critical for food industry

An industrial cleaning company has been recognised in the Australian Financial Review’s BOSS 100 Most Innovative Companies in Australia and New Zealand list resulting from recent investments towards a real-time auditing hub.

Cleaning Edge Solutions, which operates in Victoria, NSW and WA, supports food production compliance and auditing by delivering real-time reporting to stakeholders. Its online training system is designed so cleaners are not using outdated processes in their work removing inefficiencies in their clients’ business models.

Cleaning Edge Solutions Managing Director Clayburn Figredo said when weighing the pros and cons of having a professional cleaning service for food processing cleaning, the cleaning and sanitation of the premises should be considered an investment rather than an expense.

“Non-compliance with national standards could result in harsh penalties and sometimes litigation, resulting in temporary or permanent closure. Of course, this also results in irreparable damage to brand and customer loyalty,” he said.

“That’s why we developed an online platform to provide details of all cleaning processes to our food industry clients. From training and protocols, to checklists and verifications, to timesheets and meeting minutes — at any time of the day, they can audit any site or individual in real time at the tap of a few keys.”

In food manufacturing, where any deficiency in cleaning could mean non-compliance, Figredo said non-compliance could cost a company lucrative contracts or even its licence to export to overseas markets.

“To ensure an impeccable service, we wanted a rigorous system to track all our cleaning processes each day and be completely transparent — that’s more than 200 staff across multiple states,” he said.

“If you’re a cleaning company, you clean. That’s expected. But to deliver consistent, high-quality service, particularly in high-risk enterprises such as food and health care, it’s critical to be precise and accountable.”

A chicken processing company, which is one of Cleaning Edge Solutions’ clients, agrees.

The company’s quality assurance and compliance manager said regular internal and external food safety audits can be time-consuming and labour-intensive.

“We used to have stacks of files and paperwork to go through to complete an audit. Sometimes after hours of investigation, one crucial form still couldn’t be located because someone probably didn’t fill it in in the first place,” the client said.

“Innovation is driving efficiency; where something that previously took hours or even days, it is now being completed in 15 minutes. I can select what I want to audit or who I want to audit, and I can look deeper into details on what training they’ve done and how they’re performing.”

Image credit: ©stock.adobe.com/au/littlewolf1989