How To Maximise Sluice Room Performance And ROI
Cut Costs With A Strategic Approach
Sluice rooms are the front line defence against infections (HCAIs) in care homes. But buying the right sluice equipment and getting optimum performance from it requires a strategic approach.
Balancing sluice room performance and costs should never mean compromising – not when safety is at stake. There is also the matter of CQC ratings.
Refurbishing sluice rooms, replacing machines, or creating new facilities should be part of an all-encompassing strategy that maximises machine reliability and minimises expenditure.
That means factoring in costs for the whole operational life of the equipment, not just the initial purchase price and ad hoc repairs. Think about the lifetime cost of running each machine.
This strategic approach means working with a world-class manufacturer – such as DDC Dolphin – that can:
• Recommend the best bedpan washer disinfectors and medical pulp macerators for your requirements.
• Customise machine software to reduce energy consumption and improve performance.
• Offer complete sluice room builds and refurbishments, including hospital-grade flooring and wall cladding – replacing older materials that could pose an infection risk.
• Provide robust 304 and 316 stainless steel sluice room furniture for easier cleaning and improved hygiene.
• Cut the cost of repairs (and fix machines faster) with planned preventative maintenance. Proper servicing extends machine life, saving money.
• Reduce energy bills by preventing limescale build-up in machines – 1 mm of limescale can increase energy usage by 11%.
• Offer chemical plans that cut the cost of bedpan washer/scale inhibitor and macerator disinfectant by up to 15%.
• Maintain all sluice machines, not just their own models – cutting the cost of callouts and reducing the time spent waiting for engineers
• Give you full visibility of the condition and requirements of all your sluice room assets 24/7 with a unique online portal. This also reduces time spent on CQC compliance.
True Cost Of Sluice Machine Breakdowns
Decades of experience tell us that the true cost of a machine breakdown averages £633 (assuming there is no service contract in place). This average cost is based on:
• call out charge, £217
• labour, £116/hour
• parts, £300.
With proper planned preventative maintenance delivered through a pre-agreed service contract, the cost of a sluice machine breakdown can be cut to just £347 – a 45% reduction in cost.
And the machine will be fixed faster – within 24 hours rather than 72 hours. That’s a crucial consideration because the objective is to maximise uptime so the machine can do what it does best – protecting everyone in the care home and wider community from infections.
Use of scale inhibitor and proper servicing/maintenance will extend the operational life of the machine.
A well maintained bedpan washer disinfector will last much longer – at least 10 years – compared with around seven years for a machine that has been serviced less regularly.
And the poorly maintained machine will inevitably have had more breakdowns. Both these factors will have a substantial impact on a machine’s whole of life costs.
Contact DDC Dolphin for more information: 01202 731555, info@ddcdolphin.com, www.ddcdolphin.com
