Assistance with the configuration of the cleaning and disinfection confirmation function

Machine hygiene is of great importance in every industry segment. In some – especially in the food, medical and pharmaceutical industries – its role is growing to the rank of absolute necessity. Effective and easy confirmation of the completion of processes related to washing and disinfection becomes the basis.  CMMS  comes to the rescue – the system allows you to create a transparent, automated environment for planning, implementing and describing all steps of cleaning devices. How to configure the functions of confirming washing and disinfection in CMMS?

The Importance of Confirming Cleaning and Disinfection

In some industries, product contact with machine surfaces can directly impact the safety of the end customer. This means that any shortcoming in cleaning and disinfection procedures can lead to costly consequences. The consequences can range from product recalls to the risk of contamination. How to deal with this? Standard approaches, based on paper tables or simple spreadsheets, often prove insufficient.

With traditional methods, data may be entered with delay or incomplete, and access to documentation may be delayed – especially in emergency situations. The audit process also becomes more time-consuming, because it must necessarily include verification of manual records. How to solve this? The best choice is automatic solutions. From the UR perspective, confirmation of task completion should not look like stamping a document, but an element of autonomous maintenance. Operators should initiate and document cleaning work, while CMMS should automatically verify and archive the results of activities.

Configuring washing procedures in CMMS

How to manage hygiene in CMMS? The first step is to create precise procedures. These will be the basis for creating work orders. In practice, it is worth taking care of the following elements:

1. Detailed description of the process. Each stage of cleaning or disinfection should be a separate action. The description must include, among others, the agents used, temperature parameters, contact time of the preparations with the surface and methods of mechanical removal of contamination.
2. Approval criteria. Control points play an important role here. This could be, for example, measuring the pH of a disinfection solution or collecting data from ATP indicators. CMMS allows you to mark these criteria as mandatory fields in the work completion form.
3. Scheduling. Procedures can be spread out over time according to frequency. Some will take place cyclically (e.g. daily, weekly), and others – after a specified number of machine operating hours. When the appropriate date comes, the system automatically generates an order and assigns it to operators or teams.

Washing and disinfection – automatic generation of orders

After implementing the procedures, the CMMS starts “working for us”. The scheduling mechanism ensures that the operator receives a notification a few days before the planned wash, and on the day of the task – a work order with a detailed description of the steps to be performed.

The mobile interface also comes in handy, allowing easy monitoring of activities. Operation from a smartphone or tablet allows, among other things, scanning QR labels on machines, which connect not only to device data, but also to work orders. At this point, one click is enough to confirm the completion of the activity. This functionality eliminates the need to manually document tasks and minimizes the risk of omitting important activities.

Registration of confirmations and proofs of execution

In the context of hygiene, the verifiability of work is an important issue. CMMS is also a great support in this field. The system can serve as a reliable archive of evidence of each stage of cleaning and disinfection. In addition to the confirmation itself, you can also attach photos before and after, upload measurement files or fill out a form describing the work performed.

This data then goes directly to the device card. This makes it easy to prove compliance with standards during an audit or external inspection. CMMS also allows you to generate summary reports, adapted to the requirements of regulators or to company standards.

Hygiene and autonomous UR

What else is worth knowing about washing and disinfection in UR? It is worth paying attention to the concept of autonomous maintenance –  Autonomous Maintenance . The basic assumption here is the involvement of operators in basic maintenance activities. These also include washing and disinfection.

CMMS supports the autonomous maintenance model through simple, intuitive operation, which helps in independent recording of performed tasks, as well as through reminders about deadlines. Another important issue is the possibility of escalation. When confirmation is not entered within a specified time, the system informs the superiors or the maintenance team. Thanks to this, employees become responsible for the condition of machines and act as the first line of defense against the degradation of the work environment. All this allows, among other things, early detection of irregularities and quick response to problems.

Benefits of implementing the confirmation function in CMMS

Why is it worth taking care of confirming cleaning and disinfection in CMMS? This approach gives measurable effects. One of them is easier compliance with standards and regulations. Standards such as HACCP, GMP or ISO 22000 define specific guidelines on this topic, which can be verified during audits. An additional advantage is cost optimization. Although CMMS implementation is in theory an additional cost, it can be used to gain greater predictability of operations, which in turn translates into better inventory management and more efficient work planning.

In addition, you can count on an increase in production quality. Regular, documented equipment cleaning minimizes the risk of contamination, while maintaining the repeatability of process parameters. It is also worth noting the greater involvement of the production team. Autonomous confirmation of task completion increases the responsibility of operators, contributing to a better UR culture. Thanks to this, activities in this field are more efficient, safer and more certain.

Process validation – the foundation of hygiene

Effective confirmation of cleaning and disinfection processes is the basis for the operation of plants with high hygiene standards. All you need is the appropriate configuration of functions in the CMMS system – such as QRmaint. This allows you to create an automatic mechanism for generating orders, register evidence and ensure real responsibility of operators. This approach translates into full compliance with regulations, reduced operating costs and increased reliability of devices.