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Ice plays an important role in hotels and other hospitality facilities.
Many hotels have on-site restaurants, bars and catering operations,
all requiring substantial amounts of ice.
Modular ice makers
The section on modular
ice makers and flake
ice provides an overview of the type
of equipment available and selection considerations.
Ice storage equipment
Hotels usually have one or more large ice maker/ice storage bin
combinations to serve the restaurant, bar and/or catering needs.
Some centralize their icemaking and storage equipment in the kitchen
while others may have multiple ice makers located in close proximity
to the point of use. A successful bar, for example, might have its
own ice maker and bin or it might rely on a kitchen unit to meet
its ice needs.
Because hotel employees continually interact with the ice storage
equipment, not the ice maker, the selection of the ice bin may be
even more important than the selection of the ice maker that will
fill it.
There are many types of ice storage equipment. Some are little
more than insulated storage boxes; others deliver a wide range of
laborsaving, sanitation and safety features. In increasing order
of operational benefit, the available types are:
We encourage you to use the above links for detailed information
about the different types of ice storage equipment and the benefits
each provide. A discussion of concerns specific to the hospitality
industry is provided below.
In reviewing the different types of storage equipment available,
keep in mind that:
- The average back injury costs employers $10,000 in direct costs
- Foodservice and bar employees hate to “do the ice”
- Labor not used for “doing the ice” is available
for other tasks
Important pre-purchase considerations should include:
- The ease or difficulty of ice removal
- Features that provide safety, convenience, or time-savings
for staff
- An assessment of how far ice will need to be transported from
the bin and how that can be safely accomplished
Hotels face a number of challenges related to ice. The making and
storing of the ice is the easy part. It’s the difficulty of
removing large volumes of ice from the bin and the substantial distance
between the production area and bar and serving stations or catering
functions that present the challenge for employees and management
alike.
Upright
ice storage bins
Upright ice storage bins are heavily used in supermarkets and, depending
on the design and features, can address some of the sanitation,
efficiency and safety concerns faced by supermarkets.
For example, some upright bins are equipped with features that
control ice flow into the bottom access area, making shoveling easier
and allowing staff to break ice bridges safely. Other safety features
can include polyethylene access doors that have no sharp corners
and that stay open until actively pulled closed. Click
here to see bins with these features.
But employees still have to shovel the ice from an upright bin.
And they will still be faced with moving large volumes of ice from
the bin to the point of use. Some of the ice transport issues can
be addressed by using an ice transport cart. Carts are available
to allow the transport of up to 240 lbs of ice at one time, making
the filling of distant fish or produce cases much more manageable.
Some carts are equipped with inner ice totes that allow employees
to pour ice into the cases, eliminating the need to shovel ice.
A variety of carts are available to meet the specific needs of the
facility. Click
here to see examples of ice transport carts.
Gravity-feed
ice storage and transport systems
A higher level of safety, sanitation and efficiency is provided
by gravity-feed ice storage and transport systems. Gravity-feed
ice storage and transport systems are elevated, insulated ice storage
bins with a front or bottom chute that allow ice in the bin to drop
by gravity into an ice transport cart or other receptacle when a
gate is opened.
Click here
to see examples of models that will gravity-dispense either cube
or flake ice.
Click here
to see models that are compatible with cube ice only.
Advantages of gravity-feed ice storage and
transport systems include:
- Sanitation - Gravity drops ice directly into dedicated ice
carts or ice totes when an ice gate is opened, eliminating the
potential contamination point of shoveling or scooping ice. Dedicated
ice carts and totes ensure that delivered ice is clean and sanitary.
Because ice is dispensed from the bottom of the bin, the first
ice in is the first ice used. This ensures a constant turnover
and aeration of ice. This means that there will be no old ice
sitting in the bottom of the bin developing an unpleasant taste,
odor and appearance.
- Efficiency - Gravity-feed dispensing of ice is more than seven
times faster than scooping ice from a bin. A facility using 2000
lbs a day, for example, will save nearly 250 staff hours a year
with gravity-feed dispensing. Using an ice transport cart to move
ice just 100 feet will save another 190 hours a year for that
same 2000 lbs of ice. The total annual labor savings using this
type of system, compared with scooping ice and carrying buckets,
is more than 440 hours, which frees up time for other activities.
- Safety - The elimination of scooping, shoveling and carrying
buckets of ice reduces the risk of employee back injuries and
slippage. Ice transport carts enable employees to quickly and
safely transport up to 240 lbs of ice at one time from the point
of production to point of use.
- Convenience - Bar staff can work directly from insulated ice
transport carts at catered functions.
Sizing the storage equipment
Today’s sophisticated ice maker market offers more ice machines
and bins from which to choose than ever before. And the selection
of the right ice maker/ice storage equipment combination is critical
to the smooth running of the operation.
Pound for pound, ice production is two to three times more expensive
than ice storage. By using this knowledge and properly sizing the
total “system”, a facility’s ice needs will be
met at minimum cost and maximum equipment efficiency. Sizing the
system - letting the ice maker meet the average daily ice usage
and sizing the bin to meet peak demands for ice - is the best way
ensure the right amount of ice at the lowest possible price.
In general, you will want to match the ice storage capacity to
the ice maker’s daily production only if the same amount of
ice is used every day of the week.This situation is rare. For most
operations there are days when a larger
amount of ice is required than the average daily production of the
ice maker. To optimize ice production capacity, you will want to size
the storage equipment to meet those
“peak” days.
Sizing a bin too small will mean that your ice maker will cycle
off quickly. You may purchase a 1200-lb ice maker but only get a
fraction of its capacity because it fills the bin too quickly, losing
valuable production time. In applications where more ice is needed
during certain days, for weekend traffic for example, you should
size the bin so that the ice maker can continue to produce ice and
the ice storage equipment can act as your “ice bank”
for the weekend peak need.
When coupled with the correct ice bin, this approach to sizing
- allowing the ice maker to run continuously to meet the average
daily demand and increasing the ice storage capacity to meet peak
demands - reduces equipment cost without compromising available
ice.
An interactive program is available to guide you through the proper
sizing of your ice maker and ice storage equipment. Click
here to go to that program.
Guest ice
The industry standard for on-floor guest ice is a small dispensing
bin top mounted with a modular cube ice maker.
Hotel/motel dispensing bins
The hotel/motel dispenser is a small, mechanical dispensing bin
with an internal drive auger that delivers ice to a front chute.
Storage capacities generally range from 100 to 200 lbs. 22"
and 30" widths are the most popular and match the width of
the ice makers used with them.
Mechanical dispensing bins are compatible with most commercial
cube and cubelet ices. Depending on the manufacturer and model,
features and options may include key, token, and card mechanisms
as well as a portion control for the vend size.
Modular ice makers
The section on modular
ice makers and flake
ice provides an overview of the type
of equipment available and selection considerations.
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