Buying high quality commercial equipment for your commercial kitchen is incredibly important. And carrying out the correct maintenance means you could keep these pieces of equipment running for many future years to come. But of course, everything comes to an end and there will be a day in which running your kitchen equipment becomes less and less economical and the next move would be to purchase a new piece of catering equipment. But how do you know when it’s time to repair as opposed to replace?
Commercial Catering Equipment Repairs
When it comes to the question of repair and replace, there are a few different things that you need to consider in order to choose the right route for your equipment.
- Safety
In a commercial kitchen, safety in all aspects is paramount. If you have a piece of equipment that isn’t working properly, for example it might be leaking, have cracks or producing wasteful gases, or anything that can threaten the wellbeing of your kitchen team then a replacement will most likely be the best course of action.
Having an unsafe commercial kitchen could not only damage the health of your staff, it could even end up leading to the business getting fined by the council or in worse case scenario closed completely.
- Efficiency
As mentioned above, sometimes it can just make more business sense to replace a piece of commercial catering equipment. If an appliances is running at a high cost, you could be wasting money on a monthly basis. Sometimes it can work out cheaper to replace the unit with a newer unit that is more energy efficient and cost effective in the long run.
- Extra Costs
Most pieces of commercial catering equipment will only need a one off repair or some smaller parts replacing, but sometimes that can end up building. If an appliance needs repairing time after time, you’re just spending extra money that could be used on a replacement. The standard rule of thumb is that when the servicing costs ends up being more than the cost of buying that piece of equipment brand new, it’s time to replace rather than repair.
Cost could also come in to play when it comes to sourcing parts. If you have a unit that is particularly old and finding parts could be costly and time consuming, then it may make more sense to purchase a newer piece of equipment that would be cheaper to source parts from in the future.
If you do decide to by a new piece of equipment, then you will more than likely be covered by a manufacturer warranty for the first few years. This gives you extra cover and some peace of mind if any issues do arise.
As well as having a manufacturers warranty on your commercial catering equipment, you can also get extra cover for your commercial kitchen through the use of service and maintenance plans as well as break down cover. Foodservice companies such as NWCE Foodservice Equipment offer a range of bespoke foodservice and catering appliance services. They offer regular maintenance for a range of different pieces of catering equipment, and these maintenance visits will check over your equipment, picking up on any wear and tear or smaller issues that may have occurred. Having these smaller issues picked up on early stops any bigger problems occurring. NWCE’s team will create a plan that is tailored to your specific commercial kitchen and the equipment that it contains.
- Performance
Even with the best maintenance and best will in the world, not all equipment is going to last forever. At some point, every piece of catering equipment is going to end up failing or breaking down. Wear and tear is a incredibly common reason for appliances to fail and sometimes it just can’t be helped.
Nothing lasts forever, including restaurant cooking equipment. Even with meticulous maintenance, restaurant equipment will fall prey to the elements at some point. Power surges, worn door gaskets, rust and worn griddles are some of the warning signs that it’s time to replace. Rust and power surges pose a hazard while faulty equipment doesn’t lend well to food preparation. If a piece of kitchen equipment is interfering with the final product, it is likely time to replace it.
Another valid reason to replace your older equipment is simply the fact of newer catering equipment having more functions. If you could get rid of two older appliances and replace them with one brand new unit, then in the long term it will end up saving you money. It can also reduce cleaning times for your team, maybe even reducing the amount of work they may need to carry out and in turn boosting morale.
Catering equipment engineers
If you think it’s time to bring your commercial kitchen into the 21st century, then why not get in touch with a catering company such as NWCE Foodservice Equipment. Not only do they offer bespoke maintenance plans, their teams also provide a fabrication and kitchen installation service as well as commercial catering equipment leasing.
check out our other related article:
WHY YOU NEED TO KEEP ON TOP OF YOUR CATERING EQUIPMENT MAINTENANCE
