October 6, 2020 - Shepherd Filters

The word “cleaning” often assumes hiring a kitchen canopy cleaning company to remove grease build-up from within the kitchen exhaust system. This is a critical routine process that cannot be bypassed, yet there are many ways restaurant facility professionals can ensure that staff in-house also do their part to help reduce the risk of grease fires too! Although inspections for grease build-up at specified intervals tend to be contracted out, restaurant employees can be trained to inspect parts of the kitchen exhaust system. Management would of course be responsible for enforcing this expectation, which encourages employees to routinely: 1 – Remove kitchen grease filters and check for damage and grease build-up(if clogged significantly, clean in-house or check when filter exchange service is due to replace)2 – Look inside the hood and plenum to check the levels of grease build-up3 – Clean any grease-laden tracks/gutters These are three very simple, yet effective steps in the monthly fire protection program of your commercial kitchen that does not require hiring an outside contractor. In a nutshell, duties that restaurant employees can oversee themselves pretty much encompass the Australian Standards Table 13.4.1.16 below:Developing a training program to educate staff on how to inspect these parts of the kitchen exhaust system a great way to achieve this goal. New employees should be trained, and current employees would undertake an annual refresher on how to perform inspections, report damage, and carry out a basic clean down if/when required. The “entire” kitchen exhaust system (remaining components being ducting, fans, and rooftop) is another story, however. Areas that are hard to see (or reach) and require more than just a “little” elbow grease should be taken care of by trained, qualified, certified, and trustworthy contractors. If the kitchen exhaust system is heavily contaminated grease build-up during a scheduled inspection, management must then arrange routine kitchen canopy cleaning to be performed. Once completed, the kitchen canopy cleaning company should provide a written report to the owner of the system. It should detail: The amount of grease build-upAny maintenance or repairs neededAny areas that were inaccessible or not cleaned should be marked out (and appropriate suggestions to create access should be made). Photos within the report provided by the kitchen canopy cleaning contractor should be visually cross-checked. Why? Because it is ultimately the owner/manager’s responsibility to ensure that the kitchen exhaust system is properly maintained and grease build-up has been fully removed in order to avoid fines, penalties, and even shut down orders from regulatory authorities (health & safety inspectors). Yet there is good news for those seeking to minimise the need for cumbersome and (often) expensive kitchen canopy cleaning practices. By switching to the Shepherd Filters solution, cafes and restaurants of all shapes and sizes can now tackle grease build-up quickly, safely and easily. Shepherd Filters stop up to an impressive 98% of airborne grease right there at the filter, so the kitchen exhaust system will automatically stay cleaner for longer. Routine kitchen canopy cleaning reduces down to nothing more than a quick and low-cost mini spot inspection that is performed by your preferred contractor. Shepherd Filters eliminate the guesswork as to when filters need cleaning as they change in colour: Staff in-house will know when it’s time to change our disposable kitchen grease filters (a 60-odd second task) to ensure that the metal filters stay clean, which all but eliminates the need for filter cleaning altogether! To find out if the Shepherd Filters solution is right for your business, contact us today for a no-obligation quote! Click here or more on other fire safety initiatives that foodservice businesses should apply.

Kitchen Canopy Inspections Should Be Put On The Menu