6 Ways to Effectively Maintain a Cold Room

Food processing industries, pharmaceuticals, and supermarkets rely on the efficiency of their cold rooms daily to provide their customers with the best user experience. However, if this equipment experiences a breakdown, they will suffer a drastic decrease in profit due to the interruption in workflow. We cannot underestimate the power of planned maintenance, as it remains one of the leading factors in the effectiveness of the refrigeration system.

What Could Possibly Make A Cold Room Break Down?

If you have ever wondered what could possibly make a cold storage facility breakdown, then read on for some answers.

The top causes of cold room storage breakdown include:

1. Excessive moisture in the cold room environment

2. Poorly maintained refrigeration equipment

3. The presence of contaminants such as mold, bacteria or fungi

4. Lack of sufficient ventilation and warm air exchange, among other factors.

How Does Planned Maintenance Contribute To The Efficiency Of My Cold Room?

In order to ensure that the equipment remains in good condition, it is important that you have a regular maintenance program in place. It will help you to save money on repairs or replacements and also allow you to identify potential problems before they become large-scale problems that require costly repairs or replacement.

The best way to start a maintenance program is by keeping track of what needs to be done. A daily checklist can help you remember all of the items that need immediate attention. Each day, you should inspect your cold room storage for any signs of wear and tear. Once you identify these issues, make sure that they are fixed right away.

For example, if there are holes in the walls or ceiling of your cold room storage, patch them immediately. If mold is growing on the floor, replace it with fresh wood flooring. This will prevent moisture from building up and causing damage over time due to rotting wood or debris collecting underneath it.

What Are The 6 Ways To Effectively Maintain Your Cold Room?

1. Optimize Energy Consumption

Optimizing energy usage and monitoring refrigeration equipment in your storage facilities has become critical to lowering costs while enhancing food safety and operating efficiency.

Anytime you experience fluctuating temperatures, food decaying faster than usual, or a spike in your electricity bills, you have a faulty electrical connection. You can prevent this by monitoring your digital thermostat and recording every day to check for temperature swings. A few degrees of variation here and there is okay, but abnormal fluctuations indicate that you need professional electrical engineering service.

2. Manage Emergency Repairs Quickly

Learn to fix emergency repairs as soon as possible. Get a multi-skilled site team that can handle emergency repairs and has the experience to get the job done immediately, without delay. Emergency repairs may be simple or complex, from modifying insulated panel walling to replacing a broken door hinge, repairing a track, or replacing a strip curtain. In the case of an emergency, an experienced and accredited supplier is the right choice.

3. Proactively Examine The Integrity Of Major Parts

Today’s consumers are demanding. A business break due to a cold room breakdown can massively disrupt your business, impact the bottom line and damage your brand.

Planned preventative maintenance should include a full audit and thermographic scanning to verify insulation integrity, compressor, condenser, and evaporator efficiencies, etc. Record the results of these audits and scans; so that you can accurately identify and replace any worn parts before they fail. It is often the most cost-effective way of preventing disruption to a business while ensuring optimal efficiency and minimizing running costs.

4. Refit And Renovate To Improve Thermal Efficiency

A redesign and refit might improve the thermal efficiency of your cold storage. Conduct a review to determine whether the existing cold room space is optimum; check for failing doors; or old, inefficient structures compromising the energy efficiency .

In a cold room, a refit is economically better than a repair because it generates a rapid ROI due to improved energy consumption. Hence, a specialist supplier can plan and deliver an improved thermal efficiency project to suit your needs and budget.

5. Clean Daily

Clean your cold room daily to avoid a long-term buildup of dirt. However, some cleaning may require engineers and technicians trained in catering-level food hygiene standards. You should frequently call suppliers to provide specialist services for hygiene-safe environments. Such services may include cleaning and sanitizing complete interiors, including walls and high ceiling-mounted plants.

6. Only Use A Manufacturer With A Proven Track Record

Selecting a manufacturer with a proven track record is essential. Qualified manufacturers will exhibit effective health and safety management practices, including continuous improvement programs with key performance indicators. It is best to have in-house design and manufacturing capabilities that produce tailored panels, doors, and trim; repairs are sometimes time-consuming, but this ensures prompt and easy production of customized parts.

Conclusion

Overall, proper maintenance is critical to keeping your cold room storage operating at maximum efficiency. Those who neglect the maintenance of their cold room or cold storage unit are likely to damage the integrity of these units, which can make them ineffective and costly to operate.

If you need a professional HVAC/R company to help you maintain, build, or install a cold storage facility, then you should talk to us at Ofin Global.