Hygienically safe processes
Although we focus on the technical side, we do see the bigger picture. What happens alongside the machine?
What should reprocessing look like ideally in this environment?
Where are the hidden risks to hygiene?
The MEIKO hygiene loop
The MEIKO hygiene loop plots out a possible workflow for a cleaning process
– Regardless of the object to be cleaned
– Inclusive of recommended actions and structural recommendations
The process it illustrates can be used for dishes, bedpans or urine bottles, for example, kidney dishes or BA masks. There is no limit to the number of times it can be repeated.
The result is always the same: hygienically safe washware that can be reused without hesitation.
The basic principle is always the same, aiming to avoid contamination and break chains of infection: keeping clean away from unclean at all times.
The MEIKO hygiene loop is a generalised process. The details of each process will of course vary depending on what is being reprocessed.
>> Warewashing process for dishes, cutlery and glasses
>> Cleaning process for care utensils (bedpans, urine bottles etc.)
>> Cleaning process for personal protective equipment (BA masks, etc.)
At the planning stage, this means:
- Unclean or black area =
collection point for dirty washware - Clean or white area =
collection point for reprocessed washware - Spatial separation between areas before and after cleaning, ideally of a structural nature in the form of a partition wall
- Transportation routes for clean and unclean washware must not intersect
In application, this means:
- Clean hand = for the cleaned washware and the surrounding environment (e.g. door handles)
- No contact with soiled washware
- Gloves optional
- Unclean hand = for soiled washware
- No contact with reprocessed washware and the surrounding environment
- Gloves important
