Brigham Young University - Case Study

Customer Profile:

Deemed as one of the most environmentally responsible university campuses in North America by the United States Bureau of Reclamation, Brigham Young University (BYU) was established in 1875 and resides in Provo, Utah. The campus covers more than 635 acres, including more than 8 million square feet of building space, 17 miles of roads, 62 miles of sidewalk, 196 acres of parking and 320 acres of maintained landscape. This size and complexity have required the university to address significant challenges, particularly in the area of waste management. Efforts to meet these challenges culminated in a campus-wide recycling program to manage waste, including compost material made up of cafeteria food waste.

A typical day for BYU’s Foodservice Director Dean Wright consists of serving 30,000 meals to 32,000 students. Due to increased student demand for a more mature and eclectic dining experience than the traditional meal plan, the campus boasts two cafeterias, plus 22 satellite operations that offer conveniences such as a sports café, a New York-style deli, a food court and even a full-service grocery store.

“We’re seeing payback on the foodservice sustainability effort in three to seven years. With most college and university buildings expected to last in excess of 20 to 30 years, that represents a significant return on investment.”
Dean Wright, Foodservice Director, Brigham Young University

Challenge:

BYU faces pressure to maintain its sustainable reputation without compromising service or succumbing to the hazardous conditions of the desert. In addition, BYU competes for workers with off-campus employers and extracurricular activities.

In order to satisfy sustainability demands, prevent water shortages, and increase productivity the university had to invest in energy-efficient and water-efficient food equipment.

Solution:

Objective: Reduce water and energy usage as well as waste throughout campus foodservice units.

Hobart Products Involved:

• Hobart’s FT900 Dual-Rinse Flight-Type Warewasher is engineered to reduce water consumption and energy use while maintaining all NSF standards for cleaning and sanitizing. The warewasher’s Opti-Rinse™ feature uses 50 percent less water but generates larger water droplets, resulting in more efficient heat transfer.
• Hobart’s C-Line Conveyor Warewasher has a number of features that increases productivity and saves energy. Its deep tank is designed to maintain water temp-erature and save energy while the door-actuated drain closures help save labor, water and detergent. In addition, the fixed intake screen keeps debris out of the pump, reducing downtime.
• Hobart’s AM-Select Warewasher addresses core issues such as cost of ownership, productivity, and food safety. Designed to use less water (only .74 gallons per rack) than any other door-type warewasher, the AM-Select’s versatility can handle anything from a delicate glass or a grimy pot. The AM-Select is NSF Certified and is equipped with a patented 70°F-rise Sense-A-Temp™ booster heater.
• Hobart’s WastePro™ Pulper compacts solid waste in a semi-dry pulp, reducing waste volume by up to 88 percent. It addresses pressing environmental and ecological concerns while dramatically reducing waste costs.

“Reliability is paramount. If our foodservice equipment goes offline, it can have a significant impact on our sustainability efforts. We select equipment synonymous with reliability. Downtime can’t become an issue.”
Dean Wright

Results:

Save Water and Energy: BYU’s dish room alone now includes three flight-types (FT900s), three Hobart C-Line conveyor warewashers and one Hobart AM-Select, with another one on the way. Hobart’s Opti-Rinse technology allowed BYU to clean its ware, save on water usage and reduce energy costs. This technology especially helped the university conserve water in the interest of preventing water shortages due to the college being in the desert.

Less Waste: Because the foodservice operation eschews disposables in favor of warewashing, BYU placed four WastePro pulpers in its dish room where the machines pulp everything but plastic. As a result, the university has reduced volume to landfill by more than 15,000 pounds per month, which saves on both hauling and labor costs. Improvements in the management of cafeteria food waste save the university more than $30,000 a year in water and sewer costs. In addition, the WastePro has improved sanitary conditions.

Ease of Use and Improved Productivity: By Hobart keeping the operator interfaces simple, training time was reduced, which enabled new hires to be productive immediately. In addition, Hobart’s WastePro not only reduced waste, but also increased employee productivity because less time was spent replacing trash-can liners. Additionally, Hobart’s warewashers allowed employees to spend 10 percent more time serving students instead of washing dishes.

Return on Investment: In less than seven years, BYU has already noticed a payback from utilizing sustainable food equipment. With the ENERGY STAR® warewashers, the university has seen a payback in less than three years and the equipment continues to result in a saving once the initial payback was made. The WastePro pulpers led to a payback in less than seven years due to the savings on tipping fees from a reduced amount of waste being sent to the landfill. With most college and university buildings expected to last in excess of 20 to 30 years, that amount represents a significant return on investment.

Hobart is the world leader in commercial food equipment and service for the foodservice and food retail industries. Hobart manufactures products for warewashing and waste handling; food preparation; baking; cooking; weighing, wrapping and labeling systems; and Traulsen refrigeration. Hobart equipment is supported by a national network of nearly 1,700 factory-trained service technicians and 200 locations across the United States. To learn more about Hobart, visit www.hobartcorp.com.

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