In this article, we will share the most effective strategies for cleaning and storing SegriCovers at your Food Production Site.

A welcome alternative to single-use plastic, SegriCovers provide a bespoke and durable solution for equipment protection. From shielding expensive control panels to entire production lines, SegriCovers have helped thousands of sites to reduce risks, cut consumable costs, and boost productivity.

However, as with any new accessory or piece of equipment, there are going to be questions and concerns. After all, the last thing you want is to resolve one issue only to immediately introduce another. With this in mind, we wanted to address the most common queries surrounding SegriCovers – namely the best approach to cleaning and storage.

Throughout this guide, we will be answering the following four questions. There are valuable takeaways in each section; however, if you are short on time, you can use the links below to jump to the solution most relevant to your project.

Contents:

1. How do you clean a SegriCover?

2. What is the best way to store a SegriCover?

3. How do you check the integrity of a SegriCover?

4. How do you get your operatives to engage with SegriCovers?

Cleaning your SegriCovers

Depending on the specific applications carried out at your site, Hygiene Teams will typically conduct a detail clean of machinery before moving on to a general washdown of the surrounding floors, walls, and ceilings.

Before the second stage of this process takes place, it is common for a SegriCover to be used to shield the machinery – pulled over the clean equipment.

As a result, the inside of the cover is unlikely to come into contact with any residue or debris – only touching a surface that is already incredibly clean. Following a risk assessment, you may find that the inside of your SegriCovers do not have to be cleaned all that often.

But what about the exterior of your SegriCovers?

Made from waterproof and moisture-repellent PVC, SegriCovers are designed to withstand not just the wear and tear of factory life, but also the water sprays and cleaning chemicals that are relied upon during washdowns.

Because of this, the exterior of your SegriCover can be cleaned during the washdown process, with any dirt or debris rinsed off onto the factory floor. This should be sufficient unless a particularly stubborn spill or splatter has made its way onto your cover – in which case your team may need to use abrasive detail cleaning equipment to lift the residue.

It is also worth noting that if you do somehow end up with a SegriCover that needs to be cleaned on the inside, one option is to wait for the exterior of the cover to dry before turning it inside out and putting it back on the machine. Then, you can use your washdown equipment to tackle the interior – after all, it is made from the same durable PVC material.

Explore our range of Waterfed Brushes and Water Guns
Discover our range of Detail Cleaning Equipment

Storing your SegriCovers

It is essential that you allow your SegriCover to dry before folding it up for storage. Otherwise, it has the potential to become a harbourage point for bacteria. If you are wondering about the best approach to drying your SegriCovers, there are a number of options to explore.

The most important thing to remember is that you need to be drying your covers off the ground and in a dry environment with plenty of air circulation.

One approach is to hang your SegriCovers on a stainless-steel frame. If you don’t have one available, this could be put together by your engineering team. Another option is to use handles to create a drying rack.

Depending on the size of your SegriCover, a lot of sites have also achieved success drying out their covers in a dedicated drying cabinet.

Once your SegriCover is completely dry, it is ready to be folded and stored away in a clean, safe area of your site e.g. a Hygiene Store Room.

Alternatively – informed by factors such as the risk level of your operation, the size of your SegriCovers, and the suitability of your machines – some sites have added magnetic hooks to the side of their machines and an eyelet to their covers. This has allowed them to hang the SegriCover on the side of its corresponding machine whenever it’s not in use.

Durability and Integrity Checks

As with all the equipment at your site, regular Integrity Checks and Internal Audits will help you to extend the lifespan of your SegriCovers, safeguard the machinery they are protecting, and secure that all important audit compliance.

Fortunately, SegriCovers are incredibly difficult to damage, thanks to the durability of the PVC material paired with the integrity of their design.

As a result, both internal and external inspections should be made easier by the fact that, unlike single-use plastic covers, your SegriCovers are designed to withstand the expected wear-and-tear of a food factory environment. If your covers have been cleaned correctly, this aspect of your operation should be an easy win every time.

Training and Awareness

As a solution with the potential to make life easier for your team, SegriCovers should be a popular addition to your site.

However, if you are going to achieve the optimum levels of engagement, you will need to highlight the wide range of benefits that SegriCovers provide:

  • Instead of making do with a single-use plastic cover that is easy to rip and difficult to hold in place, your team can rely on a heavy-duty PVC cover that reflects the specific measurements of the equipment it protects.
  • Special features such as opening panels and a clear viewing window will allow your team to continue using equipment even when it is protected by a SegriCover.
  • Colour-coding and custom prints can be used to highlight key messages across your site, reducing the risk of food safety incidents.
  • SegriCovers could help your team to achieve their sustainability goals.

Once you have used these benefits to secure the support of your operatives, you will need to drive accountability – making sure your team understand the best approach to using, cleaning, and storing the covers. The different options have been explored in the article above, but will need to be conveyed to your team in a quick, simple, and repeatable manner.

First, you will need to add any specific instructions to your Cleaning Instruction Cards, along with plenty of helpful pictures. You can click here for a guide to ensuring these instructions are as clear as possible.

You should then follow up with regular training sessions and you could even make individual operatives responsible for the care of your SegriCovers – perhaps a team member who is particularly interested in this solution.

Finally, you should consider supporting the roll out of your SegriCovers with Visual Management Solutions. For example, you could include a visual of a SegriCover that has been successfully cleaned and one that requires further attention – reinforcing the message of ‘acceptable’ and ‘unacceptable’ cleaning standards. If you have a dedicated drying area for your SegriCovers, this could also be identified using a bright and colourful sign.

Discover our range of Visual Management Solutions

So there you have it, a comprehensive guide to cleaning, storing, and maintaining the SegriCovers at your food factory. We hope this article has helped to reassure you that if you take care of your SegriCovers – cleaning them effectively and storing them somewhere suitable – they are only going to bring success to your site.

If you have any questions about the information shared in this article,  you can contact us directly on 01473461800 or sales@klipspringer.com. Alternatively, you can fill out the contact form below and one of our friendly team members will be in touch. 

Plus, if you would benefit from further resources relating to the role of SegriCovers at food productions sites, you are welcome to check out the articles linked below:

Five points to consider when selecting a SegriCover
Learn more about the SegriCover ordering process

If you would like further guidance relating to cleaning and storing your SegriCovers, the Klipspringer team would be happy to help. Share your details below to arrange a free consultation.