Quick Facts:
Project: State-of-the-art hospital catering with just-in-time concept
Location: Frankfurt Red Cross Clinics, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Sites: Red Cross Clinic and Maingau Clinic
Challenge: Flexible catering with extensive menu choices and consistent quality standards, while simultaneously reducing the staff workload.
MKN solution: Combi steamers with tailor-made regeneration programmes
In focus: Patient satisfaction, flexibility, process reliability and simple operation
With its new catering concept, the Frankfurt Red Cross Clinics allow their patients to flexibly select from 20 dishes every day. Even short-notice changes can be accommodated without any problems. MKN supports the just-in-time concept with individually tailored regeneration technology, which enables simultaneous preparation of different dishes in consistent quality - simply at the touch of a button.
With the introduction of the new catering concept at the end of 2023, the Frankfurter Red Cross Clinics pursued three central objectives: more flexibility for patients, a higher level of patient satisfaction and at the same time a workload reduction for nursing staff.
To achieve this, the catering service was changed to a just-in-time concept. Long ordering lead times of up to several days are now a thing of the past. Instead, patients can select their meals at short notice, allowing new admissions or last-minute changes to be accommodated. With up to 20 different dishes and additional special menus, this creates high demands for food regeneration: a variety of meals have to be ready to serve simultaneously, reliably and to a consistently high standard.
Together with MKN, a multi-stage regeneration programme has been developed that accommodates varying temperature, steam and cooking time requirements within a standardised process.
This allows up to 24 different menus to be regenerated simultaneously. The process is started with just a single touch of a button, ensuring it can be operated safely even by staff without specialist catering qualifications.
The solution has been specifically tailored to the processes of the Red Cross Clinics. Even special requirements, such as the plates and cloches, the resulting spacing of the wire shelves and the mounting of the cleaning cartridge, were taken into account during development.
Due to the size of the cooking chamber, up to 36 plated meals can be regenerated simultaneously in a single appliance. As an average ward comprises around 30 to 32 beds, one appliance can cater for an entire ward.
The new concept combines individual patient catering with high process reliability. Patients can select their meals more flexibly and at shorter notice, while standardised regeneration processes ensure stable and consistent food quality.
At the same time, the workload is reduced for staff. The complex regeneration process runs automatically, starting at the touch of a button. This allows a variety of employees to operate the equipment, eliminating the need for specialised catering staff for this process.
In addition to the regeneration results, the collaboration with MKN and energy efficiency were decisive factors for the Red Cross Clinics choosing this solution.
The result is a catering concept that perfectly combines two key aspects: increased flexibility and tailored options for patients, combined with simpler, standardised workflows for staff.
"The quality is now significantly more stable and consistent than in the past, thanks to a fully standardised process."
Titus Kinsler, Head of Facilities and Support Services at the Frankfurt Red Cross Clinics
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