No matter the machinery, regular maintenance ensures efficient operation. This could be heavy-duty equipment for lifting materials or manufacturing equipment along an assembly line. There’s also a matter of the interior cleanliness of your processing systems. It is extremely important food processing plants remain as clean as possible.
An E Coli outbreak can shut down a plant for weeks and sicken hundreds. And, as Covid has shown, it can get much worse than that. The larger the processing facility, the harder it is to keep it disinfected. But now is not the time to be cutting corners – food and pharmaceutical processors have strict guidelines for a reason.
While day-to-day surfaces and activities need to be monitored by your crews, regularly scheduled cleaning services are a must to keep your processing systems running smoothly. There is no one cleaning solution for food and beverage, pharmaceutical, and other delicate processing equipment
When it’s time for cleaning the interior surfaces of your equipment, Storee Construction will make sure all specific local and federal regulations are met and exceeded. In situations where clean in place (CIP) systems are regularly needed, we incorporate automated systems. At this point, cleaning becomes part of the day-to-day tasks.
What are Industrial Clean in Place (CIP) Services?
No matter if you’re processing food, manufacturing medical equipment, or building components for industrial machinery, running a clean operation keeps your crews working efficiently. Storee Construction clean in place procedures will ensure your equipment is well maintained and your product pristine.
There are two methods for industrial cleaning: Clean In Place (CIP) and Clean Out of Place (COP). For COP cleaning, equipment must be disassembled and moved for cleaning. CIP cleaning means your machinery stays put. This method cuts the amount of downtime and is usually performed when productivity is already low (late night/early morning).
Storee Construction tailors every cleaning to industry standards. Cleaning food handling stations is a much different process than sanitizing or sterilizing the interior workings of a processing line. Storee has the experience – and resources – to take care of either situation.
CIP Cycle Times
However, CIP usually refers to the interior sanitary processing of enclosed equipment. Clean in place systems are relatively standard, although there are some allowances for different industries. To ensure properly clean processing, the following steps need to be followed.
Pre-Rinse: Injecting purified or potable water into the system. By removing debris and other liquids in the line, the interior surfaces will be rinsed effectively. This will also test the flow path in case there are other issues. If obstructions are putting extra strain on adjacent equipment, such as heat exchangers, the overall process is affected.
Cleaning: A caustic solution is run through the line and re-circulated. This is the main disinfecting stage.
Rinsing: Another round of rinsing with clean water to remove the remaining solution.
Acid Wash: Used to remove residue and any mineral deposits that may be left behind.
Final Rinse: Removing the acid wash and other cleaning solutions.
Air Injection: Removes any remaining moisture that could affect the product.
Work With Experienced Professionals
There are several ways Storee Construction helps keep your processing systems clean without sacrificing productivity. Our industrial team will work with you to review your process, design CIP solutions, and then implement the system. As we stated before, these systems can be automated or run manually.
With more than five decades of experience in the commercial, industrial, and manufacturing industries, Storee Construction is uniquely positioned to help efficiencies throughout your facility. In addition to CIP and COP abilities, we retrofit ventilation systems, upgrade electrical panels and automation, and even rearrange facility floor space for increased efficiency.
If you’re looking for more effective CIP solutions, a plant design, or looking to build a modern facility, let us know. Storee Construction has worked all over the Midwest and we look forward to working with you.
