Older and Wiser: One of Washington, D.C.'s Oldest Hospitals Retires Equipment in Favor of Water-Efficient Alternatives
Replacing outdated equipment is one of the easiest ways to become more energy and water efficient. Providence Hospital in Washington, D.C., understands this firsthand. The hospital was looking for a way to increase efficiency and reduce costs in its foodservice operation. Management planned to retire outdated and inefficient foodservice equipment, replacing them with more energy-efficient models.
Providence Hospital is the oldest continuously operating hospital in Washington, D.C. First established in 1861, it's now a 400-bed hospital with long-term care and behavioral health rehabilitation facilities. Foodservice at the hospital consists of a main cafeteria and a coffee bar as well as a café. There are also several resident dining rooms at the hospital's long-term care facility.
Many Goals in Mind
Providence Hospital's director of food and nutrition, Beth Yesford, wanted to install new equipment that would not only increase efficiency and reduce water and energy use, but would also improve performance and productivity. She explored several equipment options before selecting Hobart.
"Hobart manufactures dependable equipment. We knew they would get the job done," she says.
Yesford replaced the hospital's existing warewasher and pulper with Hobart's FT900 Dual-Rinse Flight-Type Warewasher and WastePro™ Pulper. She also installed Hobart's UW50 Utensil and Pan Washer. Each piece of equipment is specifically designed to improve productivity while being energy and water efficient.
Hobart's FT900 Dual-Rinse Flight-Type Warewasher is engineered to reduce water use and energy consumption while maintaining all NSF standards for cleaning and sanitizing. The warewasher's Opti-Rinse™ system uses 50 percent less water but generates larger water droplets, resulting in more efficient heat transfer.
The WastePro pulper compacts solid waste into a semi-dry pulp, reducing waste volume by up to 88 percent. It addresses pressing environmental and ecological concerns while reducing waste costs. The UW50 utensil and pan washer is built to handle the toughest baked-on food soil and dirt in less time and uses only 2.1 gallons of water per cycle.
Far-Reaching Benefits
Providence Hospital exceeded its initial goals, and the benefits were experienced well beyond the foodservice operation. The hospital reduced its energy and water use and costs, lessened its impact on the environment, cut waste, reduced labor and improved productivity.
The FT900 warewasher uses 50 percent less rinse water than the hospital's previous warewasher. This new machine not only saves on water costs, but also reduces the amount of chemicals needed for each cycle, which reduces the amount of chemical agents entering the wastewater system. Providence Hospital also cut waste by 80 percent. Prior to using the WastePro pulper, foodservice staff was discarding 10 to 12 bags of garbage per meal; now they discard two.
In addition to the energy and environmental benefits, the new equipment also reduces labor costs and improves productivity. The hospital experienced a 33 percent saving in labor as a result of using the FT900 and UW50. Prior to using the Hobart equipment, Providence staff spent 12 hours a day cleaning dishes. Now it takes only eight hours. Moreover, foodservice staff no longer has to sort items on trays to determine what can be placed in the pulper and what must be thrown away. Now the entire tray contents are discarded into the pulper, and sorting tray contents is a thing of the past.
The equipment upgrades have also provided for a better work environment. Since the FT900 is well insulated, less heat escapes into the dish room. Such insulation improves machine performance and makes the dish room a more comfortable work environment.
Hobart also provided a less measurable benefit—confidence that the new foodservice equipment would perform flawlessly.
"Just knowing we are using Hobart equipment provides me with a feeling of confidence—confidence that the equipment will last and perform when we need it," says Yesford. "I can't think of a higher compliment."
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