Automated Handwashing Systems

Improving consistency in hand hygiene

Hand hygiene is one of the most important controls in food manufacturing. Most manufacturers have documented procedures, training programmes and decent washing facilities in place but getting a consistent standard of handwashing - in terms of participation and of hygienic result - out of that set-up is another matter because the result depends so heavily on the person doing it.

A sink or wash station gives employees the opportunity to wash their hands correctly but it doesn't guarantee they will. Technique, wash duration and compliance vary from one employee to the next and from one shift to the next.

The real challenge for hygiene managers at companies under growing food safety, audit and production pressure is getting a consistent process that delivers consistent results.

Hand hygiene is both a cleaning and a sanitising process

At SNP, we usually talk about cleaning systems in terms of Sinner's Circle and sanitising systems in terms of the four elements needed for effective sanitisation.

Hand hygiene sits across both. Dirt, grease and other contamination need to come off the skin before sanitising chemistry can get to work on whatever microorganisms are left. The wash first then sanitise logic that applies to tanks, conveyors and processing equipment applies to hands.

Hand hygiene combines both processes. In many respects, effective hand hygiene can be viewed as the point where cleaning and sanitising overlap. Before pathogens can be reduced to safe levels, dirt, grease and other contamination must first be removed from the skin surface. Only then can sanitising chemistry come into effective contact with any remaining microorganisms.

As a result, many of the same principles that apply to cleaning tanks, conveyors and processing equipment also apply to hand hygiene.

The Four Elements of Effective Hand Hygiene

Surface preparation
Effective sanitising starts with effective cleaning. Oils, grease and other residues shield microorganisms and reduce how well sanitising agents can work. If hands aren't cleaned properly first, getting the pathogen reduction you need becomes much harder.

Coverage
Every part of the hand needs treating – fingertips, nail beds, thumbs, the backs of hands. These are the areas most often missed in manual handwashing and anywhere the process doesn't reach stays a potential source of contamination.

Dosing
Hygiene chemistry needs to be dosed correctly. Too little and it won't do the job properly; too much and you're just burning through chemical unnecessarily and adding cost.

Dwell time
Contact time matters. The chemistry needs to stay on the skin long enough to do its job – cut it short and effectiveness drops, drag it out and you lose productivity. It's a balance, same as most sanitising steps.

Case Studies

The challenge of consistency

The theory behind good hand hygiene is well understood. Hands must be cleaned thoroughly, the hygiene solution must be effective and reach every surface at the correct concentration and it must remain in contact with the skin for long enough to reduce pathogens effectively. Ensuring all this consistently, shift after shift, employee after employee, is the hard part.

In conversations with our customers, it's a theme that comes up again and again: inconsistent technique, reliance on individual behaviour, the burden on supervisors to keep monitoring it, rising employee numbers, ongoing training and having something to show an auditor.

The real issue is compliance

Manufacturers don't care about wash technique or duration for its own sake. What they do care about is compliance. Manufacturers work within tight regulatory, customer and audit frameworks e.g. Brand Reputation Compliance Global Standards (BRCGS), customer standards, retailer expectations and internal quality systems.

Hygiene managers need confidence that every required handwash is both completed AND effective. Proving that an employee visited a wash station is not enough. The wash itself must deliver the coverage, chemical dosing and contact time needed to reduce contamination.

True compliance requires a controlled, verified process that delivers an effective wash every time as well as evidence that the process has been completed.

Of course, compliance is not the final benefit to companies. Its value is the commercial and operational risks it helps the business control:

Reduced financial risk from contamination
Effective, consistent handwashing lowers the likelihood of contaminated products, rejected batches, production stoppages, withdrawals and recalls — protecting revenue and avoiding the direct costs these events carry.

Protected existing contracts and stronger position for new business
Verifiable hygiene controls help satisfy customer and retailer requirements, safeguard approved-supplier status, and provide stronger evidence when pursuing new contracts — turning hygiene compliance into a commercial advantage rather than just a cost of doing business.

Reduced audit preparation and administration time
Digital hygiene records replace manual paperwork, so evidence is ready to retrieve in minutes rather than hours, cutting the staff time spent preparing for and managing audits.

Fewer non-conformities and corrective actions
A controlled, traceable process makes compliance easy to demonstrate, lowering the risk of audit findings and eliminating the follow-up work each finding creates.

Less time spent on supervision and compliance management
Automating the wash cycle and logging every completed wash frees managers from observing technique, checking records and chasing up inconsistent practice, time that can go back into running the business.

Production keeps moving, with no lost output
Fast, standardised handwashing gets employees into production areas without queues or delayed shift starts, protecting throughput and labour efficiency.

Brand reputation and customer confidence protected
Fewer hygiene failures means fewer incidents that could damage the trust and reputation the business has built around food safety and product quality, safeguarding customer relationships and market position.

From Behavioural Control to Process Control

With traditional handwashing procedures, all the effort goes towards behavioural control. Automated handwashing systems take a different approach, controlling the wash cycle itself: coverage is standardised, chemical application is controlled and the wash duration is fixed. Hand hygiene becomes a process control issue - with a system that delivers the same result every time and cuts down or eliminates the variation between users and shifts compliance follows.

Automated handwashing machines, such as the CleanTech® range from Meritech, are built around this idea of process consistency. The machines are simple to use and can be used at entry points, production transitions e.g. between raw and ready-to-eat (RTE) zones and in other high-risk zones to create consistent sanitation checkpoints.

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As well as delivering consistency, benefits of Meritech systems include:

Proven pathogen reduction
A controlled and validated cycle removes more than 99% of harmful pathogens, providing the hygienic outcome behind the compliance record.

Verifiable compliance
Time-stamped digital records provide evidence of completed hygiene events, supporting audits and reducing reliance on paper-based monitoring.

Faster movement into production
A validated wash is completed in 12 seconds, helping reduce queues and delays during busy shift changes.

Straightforward maintenance
Field-serviceable components can be maintained using common tools, allowing internal teams to complete many repairs quickly and reduce dependence on external technicians.

Since 1988 Meritech has performed 50+ lab studies to test the efficacy of its automatic handwashing stations.

Source: Meritech. For more information and videos, click here.

How do Meritech handwashing systems work?

Meritech CleanTech® range includes compact single-user handwashing stations up to larger multi-user hygiene entry systems with footwear sanitising and compliance monitoring built in.

The models all work in the same way. Users insert their hands into the machine up to their forearms. Then , 40 nozzles - 20 in each hand hole - provide a pressurised spray which rotates around the hands 23 times. The total wash time is 12 seconds: 2 seconds with a potable water rinse, 4 seconds of hygiene solution and then 6 more seconds of potable rinse.

CleanTech® systems perform genuine cleaning and sanitising, removing particles and contaminants, including allergens and salt. It is worth nothing they should not be treated as a replacement for heavy-soil removal e.g. heavy mud, grease or oil, paint, material trapped under fingernails and jewellery-related contamination.

The controlled wash cycle gives every user complete hand coverage, consistent chemical application and a fixed wash duration, standardising the process and taking the variation out of manual handwashing.

Meritech equipment is constructed from industrial-grade, reinforced stainless steel and built to withstand high-pressure washdowns and corrosive chemicals, maximising uptime and long-term reliability.

Chemicals/chemistry

Purpose-developed hand-hygiene chemistry
CleanTech systems use Meritech’s proprietary hand-hygiene solution. The formulations combine cleaning surfactants, antimicrobial ingredients and moisturisers to remove physical contamination, reduce harmful pathogens and protect skin during frequent washing. Because the equipment, chemical formulation and wash cycle have been developed and tested together, every cycle delivers controlled dosing and repeatable performance.