Flight-type dishmachines are the hard-working behemoths behind some of the industry’s largest foodservice operations, from hospitals to convention centers to university dining halls. Dishrooms revolve around these hulking heroes, which operators count on to deliver clean, sanitized wares for service.

If you’re in the market to replace an older flight-type, you’re in for some good news: Newer options use significantly less water, energy and detergent than what you’re used to. “If you have an older machine that’s 10-15 years old, there has been tremendous advancements made in efficiency,” says one manufacturer. “You can literally save thousands of dollars over the course of a year on water, energy and chemicals. Some legacy machines were using upward of 300 gallons of water per hour, and we are well under 100 nowadays for our machines.” Another maker notes that its machine uses only 50 gallons an hour.

The newest models boast innovations that improve usability, performance and maintenance: Think useful training aids, filtration improvements, camera-fueled adaptive washing, innovative drying functions and more.

Some of today’s flight-types use less than 100 gallons of water per hour, a notable reduction from legacy machines. Courtesy of Jackson.

Improving Dry Time

Makers are working on improving the drying process. “Our flight-types are modular so you can customize them with varying 3-foot sections, like adding a blower dryer,” says one maker. “You can extend the unload section if you want to have a little more time to get those dishes out without stopping the conveyor.”

One dishmachine designed specifically to wash and thermally sanitize reusable plastic cups features a vibration belt to shake off water droplets followed by an optional cooling zone. Cups emerge cool and dry, ready to be stacked and stored immediately. This is a significant time-saver for operations using these kinds of wares. “I was at a facility … that was using a couple of rented conveyor dishwashers for their reusable plastic cups and they had to take them off the conveyor rack and let them dry for two to three days before they could stack them up and put them in a container to reuse them,” says the manufacturer. “Because if they have any moisture in them whatsoever, that can really cause a problem hygienically.”

Another manufacturer has introduced an adaptive washing feature that adjusts both the wash and dry time according to ware type. “Operators just like to run the machine full speed and crank everything through, but oftentimes that’s not the best thing to do. You may have prep ware going through with a heavier soil, glasses that need more time in the rinse or plastics that need more time in the drying section,” they say. “It’s a camera-based system that has been trained on thousands of pieces of ware to be able to ID them and then classify those different types of ware with expected soil load.”

Features like automatic soil removal help cut back on pre-scrapping labor as well as water waste. Courtesy of Hobart.

Filter Upgrades

Filter technology is one area that manufacturers remain focused on to improve labor efficiency.  One maker has incorporated filters on every wash tank. “It separates all the food particles from the wash water and flushes it out of the machine on a cyclical basis using no additional water,” they say. “This feature lowers detergent consumption by 50%, and there’s also less time and labor cleaning the machine. You don’t have to open the door every two to three hours and dump baskets of debris out.”

Tech Upgrades

Some manufacturers are working on technology-related upgrades to improve service and maintenance. “Nobody likes downtime on any piece of equipment, especially not a dishwasher because it doesn’t take long for those dishes to pile up,” says one manufacturer that is working on a mobile app for operators and servicepeople alike to monitor issues remotely. “They could use it to make sure everything is operating correctly and make changes to the parameters remotely,” they say. “It’s important for a technician who is doing preventive maintenance. Instead of going to the site and finding out, we’re going to need this part and then they have to order the part and make another trip … they could use this remote feature to have some idea of what might be going on.”

Training Aids 

Manufacturers also are adding handy visual aids to help flatten the learning curve for staff. “The first time you open up the doors on a flight-type dishwasher, everything is just stainless steel and you don’t know what to take out for cleaning,” says one manufacturer. Its latest model features colored touchpoints to help employees identify which parts they need to clean.

Another manufacturer has introduced a labeling system with visual icons and color-coding. Curtains are certain colors to match color-coded labels so employees can easily return them to their rightful spots, for example. “We added icon-based instruction systems, so if you’re going to clean, it tells you what you need to do for each section, and it’s visual, someone who knows any language or has any level of literacy can know what to do,” they say. “We really worked to make it a much more intuitive experience, so if you didn’t get a really great training you

could still figure out what to do based on the visual instructional aids across the machine.”

Pitfalls to Avoid

Manufacturers warn against defaulting to a base-model dishmachine based on price alone, as it could lack features that could help you retain staff. “The culture has changed and the employment outlook has changed since you may have last made this kind of purchase,” says one maker. “Twenty years ago, no one cared about the working conditions in the dishroom. There was an abundance of labor then.” For example, some base-model dishmachines have single-pane stainless exteriors, versus double-wall insulation that can help cut down on noise and heat in the dishroom. “Guess what? Now my staff member can put the radio on—they don’t have to have earplugs—and they can have an enjoyable work shift in the dishroom … and you’ve created an environment where you are going to have less turnover,” they say.

On the other hand, you don’t want to be upsold unnecessarily. “When you’re being sold a machine like this, you’ll hear about all the bells and whistles when in reality, (you) might just need a super-basic machine and you don’t want fancy upgrades like touch screens,” says another manufacturer.

5 Steps To Takeoff

Completing a site survey marks one step to find the right model. Courtesy of Blakeslee.

1. Complete a site survey

Understanding the physical footprint of your space is the first step. “A drawing of the dishroom is a great place to start,” says one maker. “Consider the flow of the dishroom and where you want the dirty dishes going in and the clean dishes going out.” That will determine the direction of the unit: right-to-left or left-to-right. Don’t forget to map a path for the dishmachine to come into the building as well, including making sure doorways are wide enough.

2. Take stock of the basics

There are some key questions to ask yourself that will steer your search. Do you want an electric or steam dishmachine? What kind of electrical supply do you have and what is the amperage? What is your incoming water temperature and hardness? Do you need a machine that’s vented or ventless? “You want to have a good understanding of not only your utilities and the qualities of them, but also the location of them,” the manufacturer says. “Sometimes you’re going to have to rework some electrical or find a way to connect to a drain.”

3. Kick off your research

Now that you’ve narrowed down some parameters, you can start taking a look at spec sheets for different manufacturers and models. “All the manufacturers of flight-type machines have really good details about what their machines can and can’t do on their websites,” the manufacturer says. Now’s the time to partner up with experts, such as an experienced designer, dealer or manufacturers’ rep.

4. Make your selection

“There are a lot of different methods to get to the next step of deciding who your manufacturer might be,” the manufacturer says. “Are you more price-sensitive? Are you going off the reputation of whoever your dealer is, or do you want to work with a brand you’ve worked with before?”

5. Review first, order second

Before ordering, take this opportunity to do a detailed walk-through evaluation with your designer or consultant. “Probably some of the mistakes we tend to see have to do with how the flight-type is going to fit in the space,” says another maker. Ensure you have proper clearances on all sides, including locations where drawers or doors need to open. “We’ve seen situations where you have scrap baskets that need to come out and they end up being up against a column,” they say.

Up to the Task

Look over details of two makers’ absolute-newest flight-type dishmachines, both built for high-volume, efficient cleaning.