Training Points Every Restaurant Manager Should Cover about Grease Trap Cleaning
As the manager of a restaurant, training staff is at the top of your list. One of the areas that needs a great deal of training is the back of house, or the kitchen and dishwashing areas. This is due to the number of appliances and systems that need to be handled in a specific manner in order to avoid costly breakdowns and issues. The grease trap is one of these systems. If you are new to training the back of house, here are some training points every restaurant manager should cover about grease traps, maintenance, and grease trap cleaning.
Preventative Maintenance and Steps
As a restaurant manager, the first thing to keep in mind is that most of your back of house positions are entry-level. This means that your staff may not have any prior experience with how a kitchen runs, and that includes the grease traps. Make sure to cover the items that should never go down the sink in the dishwasher section, like oils and grease that will build up. You should also cover what oil should look like and smell like on a normal basis. If your staff knows what to look for, such as a darker oil colour or a higher smoking point of the oil, then they will know when to clean the grease traps to maintain the system.
Temperature Control
You may think to show your back of house staff what to look for as an indicator for a grease trap cleaning, but what you may not think of is temperature control training. Have your staff make sure that grease and oil vat areas remain at a constant temperature to prevent scorching of the oil. This will reduce the number of times the trap has to be cleaned out by the staff and the number of times you need to call professionals for grease trap cleaning since the life of the oil will be extended.
Dishwasher Training
When you have a new dishwasher, they may not know certain steps can prevent the grease traps from clogging and prevent oily water issues. Make sure they know to avoid using too much detergent and they know to stick to sterilization steps to avoid increased detergent. The detergent can break down oils and allow them to make their way past filters. If they make it past the filters, they can reform and cause build-up and issues in your grease trap systems.
These are only three of the training points every restaurant manager should cover about grease trap cleaning. Another step to take is to have your grease trap cleaning company take the time to come in and discuss key points with your staff as well. They can give an in-depth training on points you may not cover or think of.