FM in FMCG: The full canvas

In a part-by-part analysis, Nilesh Kanakraj, Sr Vice President, ONESIS breaks down the FM needs of each area of a typical FMCG manufacturing facility, and generously shares how his organisation would proceed to fulfill those requirements.

The FMCG industry segment prides itself on its high standards of cleanliness and hygiene, coupled with its own stringent FDA and E-GMP norms to be adhered to, with great focus on EHS workplace safety. Post Covid, the standards have only become higher and the KPIs stiffer.

Plant areas

The FMCG plant is broadly around 5-10 acres, with built up area of around 2 lakh sq ft, and is broadly broken down into the following areas:

• Receiving bays/docks
• Raw material storage areas
• Production lines
• Quality control
• Packing and labeling
• Warehouse
• Dispatch: Loading bays/docks
• Admin block
• Cafeterias
• Staff change rooms
• Washrooms
• Utilities block
• Gangways
• Roads and outside areas

Scope of cleaning

The scope of cleaning services is always defined by the workflow process, and the housekeeping SOP is designed based on the workflow process. This typically includes raw material entry; unloading, scanning, stacking & segregation; issuance of materials; scrap removal/production lines; manufacturing; QA testing; labeling/packing/stacking; storage at warehouse; despatch bays.

Typically, the scope of services/KPIs would be defined as below:
Areas	Spot cleaning	Full cleaning
Office area gents washrooms	2 x shift	1 x day
Office area ladies washrooms	2 x shift	1 x day
Warehouse ladies washroom	2 x shift	1 x day
Warehouse gents washroom	2 x shift	1 x day
Contract facility ladies washroom	2 x shift	1 x day
Contract facility gents washroom	2 x shift	1 x day
Meeting rooms, conference rooms, store rooms		1 x day
Offices		1 x day
MIN area & QA Lab	1 x shift	1 x day
BAG area	4 x shift	1 x day
Warehouses	1 x day	1 x week
Production area	1 x shift	1 x week
Process utility	1 x day	1 x week
Utility	1 x day	1 x week
Scrap yard	1 x day	1 x week
Pantry rooms	2 x shift	1 x day
Contract facility canteen	3 x day	1 x day

This is broadly the frequency of cleaning services required, which would be drilled down in detail for each area specifically. An example is provided below:
QA Lab
Daily clean up the dustbin with paper waste once per day and the rubbish is not more than 2/3rd of the bin	Once per shift- every 8 Hours
Replacement of bin bags if required	Once per day
Damp wiping of bins	Once per day
Washing and disinfestation of dustbins	Once in a week
The ceiling/wall shall be cleaned free of cobwebs up to reachable height (6 feet)	Once in a week
The ceiling/wall shall be cleaned free of cobwebs above reachable height (12 feet)	Once in a month
The ceiling shall be cleaned free of cobwebs above reachable height (6 Feet)	Once in a month
The air openings shall be dust mopped monthly	Once in a month
Office equipments/telephones and workstations in the training /meeting rooms and workstations to be dust-free	Once per day
Upholstery (chairs and sofas) to be free from dust	Once per day
Glass/laminated partitions up to reachable heights should be free of fingerprints	Once per day
The lobby, corridors, wall columns up to reachable height shall be kept clean	Once per day
Pantry area to be clean and dust free	Once per shift- every 8 hours
Scrubbing of hard floor with a machine wherever applicable	Once in a month

Appropriate machinery

FMCG plants would normally involve a large capital investment in terms of machinery, as the focus would be on prevention of cross contamination (usage of dedicated machinery for specific areas), and also in terms of cleaning outside areas like roads and driveways (road sweepers)

The machinery requirement would depend on the following:

• Total decongested area (area available for cleaning – excluding the production lines/equipment)
• Hours of operation of the plant
• Flooring of the plant: It would be difficult to use machine on an uneven cement floor

We would recommend using battery operated scrubber drier and sweeper machines to prevent usage of diesel, which may not be conducive to a FMCG plant.

Suggested machinery
Single Disk Scrubber	2
Vacuum Double Motor	4
Vacuum Single Motor Topper	6
Auto Scrubber – Heavy Duty	3
Ride on Scrubber	3
Ride on Sweeper	1
Steam pressure jet	1
High pressure jet	1

Cleaning chemicals

Considering the nature of the facility, it is recommended to use green chemicals or environmentally friendly chemicals for most of the administration and QA block, which don’t leave too much residue or are too corrosive.

However, for the production line areas where we may have spillage, it is advisable to use the appropriate chemicals designed for that surface.

Innovations & best practices

• Recommend SSDP: Smart Surface Disinfection Program for the production areas/QA labs and other areas, which would prevent cross contamination and is very effective in infection control, which makes production safer and hygienic
• Use Airborne Infection Control to improve the Indoor Air Quality, especially in the QA labs and production areas, which would prevent contamination due to airborne particulates and bacterial infection
• Implement UVGI: Ultraviolet Germicidal Irradiation, which enables cleaning of the HVAC ducts which normally have a lot of dirt accumulated, which would affect the quality of production, and also enhance life of the HVAC equipment.
• Technology and digitisation which would provide the client with critical insights/paperless checklists/real time reporting

Cost saving initiatives

• Optimize manpower with higher use of mechanisation
• Implementation of smart cleaning, which will reduce consumption of water and CO₂ footprint with use of green chemicals and reduced use of chemicals. Reduce plastic waste with usage of microfiber mops, pre wet cleaning system etc.
• IoT based washroom cleaning, cleaning based on usage and footfalls rather than scheduled cleaning, which will optimise manpower.