Meiko Raises The Bar With Their New M-iClean H
by Reuben Oh
@ 31 May 2018
Ergonomics, sustainability and quality: those are the key characteristics that warewashing specialist Meiko has redefined with the M-iClean H, a brand-new generation of hood type machines that radically rethinks the nature of dishwashing. "Thanks to our 90 years of industry experience plus our expertise in commercial kitchen technology, our customers know we're a partner they can rely on to come up with genuine innovations. The new M-iClean H is a great example – and feedback from our customers shows that we have once again set a new standard in the industry," says Meiko managing director Dr. Ing. Stefan Scheringer, clearly delighted with the response so far.
First, though, the machine and its automatic hood opening device had to pass some tough endurance tests under laboratory conditions at Meiko: "We ran the M-iClean H through some 1.2 million wash cycles and the corresponding 2.4 million hood movements. At the end of all that the hood lifting device was still working just like the very first day!" says product manager Adam Bindek. This was largely thanks to the development of a new platform for the M-iClean H: "Instead of retrofitting an automatic mechanism to manually-operated machines, we wanted to build a machine that had the automatic hood lifting device as its centrepiece," explains Dr. Ing. Thomas Peukert, who heads up the Meiko design and development department. To make the dishwasher workspace as user-friendly and ergonomic as possible for users, the company also moved the display panel to the side of the hood: "The machine users are standing at the rinse sink, not right in front of the machine. So we made sure people have a clear view of the display panel and can operate the hood at the touch of a fingertip, or even have it programmed to work completely automatically. Our aim is that users don't have to physically exert themselves as much or carry out sequences of movements that are irritating, ergonomically impractical, and not particularly good for their health," Peukert adds.
Here's a short interview with Dr. Stefan Scheringer, managing director of the MEIKO Group, which is headquartered in Offenburg:
Your company has played a key role in the dishwashing industry for no less than 90 years. Doesn't there come a point where dishware is so clean that it can't get any cleaner? And eliminating the use of water and detergent altogether is surely out of the question, so how can you possibly keep improving?
Dr. Scheringer:
Well, to some extent that's true. But remember how Albert Einstein said that if an idea is not absurd at first, then there is no hope for it. So by reaching the point where achieving any more innovations in dishwashing seems absurd, then we are actually paving the way for some really good ideas to emerge!
Your latest innovation is a hood type dishwashing machine that automatically opens and closes. But it's not like this solution didn't already exist, so where's the innovation?
Dr. Scheringer:
SAP founder Hasso Plattner is famous for saying that you don't necessarily have to be the first, it's enough if you simply have something better to offer. Obviously there were already hood type machines that open automatically, including ones from Meiko. But what's new in this case is that we didn't simply install a motor on one of our existing machines. Instead we totally redesigned the entire hood type machine to create a new platform. In a sense you could say that we took the control technology and built a dishwashing machine around it. It wasn't that we were simply motivated to build an automatic machine, it was about creating something that we know works perfectly. And that's why we offer a five year warranty on this new technology.
So what was it that motivated you?
Dr. Scheringer:
What motivates us is taking a broader look at the whole dishwashing process rather than just focusing on the machine. By that I mean looking at the workplace as a whole, people's working environment, the units upstream and downstream from the dishwashing process, and, above all, the people that work within this whole process. That's how you gain meaningful insights that can give rise to a new product.
What did you see when you looked at that whole process more closely?
Dr. Scheringer:
One of our key insights is that the people who operate our machines don't tend to be standing in front of the machine when they use it. But in the past we built our machines as if they did. We've designed the M-iClean H in a way that lets people stay at the sink where they're rinsing things off, because that's where they do a lot of the manual work. But now they can clearly see the status of the machine because we've mounted the display panel on the side of the hood. Another thing is that people working quickly and under time pressure in the wash-up area sometimes just use one hand to open a heavy hood with a wraparound handle. Repeat that one-sided movement thousands of times and you'll not only damage the handle, but also cause an inconceivable amount of damage to people's shoulder joints. One of the things we discovered is that it takes 80 newtons of force to manually open a hood type machine. That's pretty substantial, especially if it's being opened by a woman of a shorter, more slender stature. And just imagine doing that 170 times a day …
Do you think the market is ready for this new concept of hood type machines?
Dr. Scheringer:
The M-iClean H really does mark a break from the standard path being carved out in the industry. That's because we're not just improving how the hood opens, but also asking people to leave behind what they've learnt and what they know works. Even we are throwing out some of the results of our own work and replacing them with a completely new solution. But the fact is that if you just keep focusing on making improvements to a carriage, all you have in the end is a better carriage, not an automobile!
Meiko is celebrating its 90th anniversary this year. What will the developments you've described mean for the years leading up to your 100th anniversary?
Dr. Scheringer:
The concept of an innovative solution provider is pretty much the order of the day in today's machine building industry. And of course that's exactly our focus, too. If you don't learn about your customers' processes, if you don't anticipate the skills that your customer will need to succeed in their market segment, then you'll have a tough time making your business successful in the future! For machine makers like us, that means transforming our infatuation with technology into a genuine and highly attentive focus on our customers. If canteen and catering companies are coming under increasing pressure from workplace risk assessments, then we need to be on top of that and making our contribution to helping our customers tackle that problem. That means fostering a design and engineering process that is oriented towards our business partners and combining it with sales teams that offer professional expertise with a very personal touch.
Without implying that it's over-engineered, surely the M-iClean H can do more than just open the hood automatically?
Dr. Scheringer:
Our engineers have done an incredible job. I can only give a brief summary, but the highlights are stainless steel piping instead of plastic hoses, a special mechanism that keeps the steam inside the hood, waste water heat recovery, a wash cycle that is two-thirds shorter, our own patented drying table that can be attached to the machine, and a water pressure in the spray arm that would send espresso cups flying everywhere if you selected the maximum setting!
Check out the full details on this exciting product @
http://www.meiko-asia.com !
