Damaged Cool Room Doors and Panels: Why Do They Need Immediate Replacement?

19 July 2019

It’s not enough to tag a defect on a cool room door. On a similar note, panel damage can’t simply be noted in a maintenance log book. A failure to act on such seemingly trivial staff feedback really could have dire consequences, all of which will negatively impact a cool room’s established functions. For one thing, damaged doors and panels leak energy. Then there’s food freshness problem, too.

Chamber Breaches Destabilize Cooling Envelopes

From a practical standpoint, a damaged door won’t open. If it does swing open, perhaps after applying substantial shoulder muscle, it jams open. Clearly, a stuck cool room door requires urgent attention, so a repair engineer is immediately dispatched. But what if the damage is less apparent? A seal is cracked or torn, perhaps. The door works, staff members push their carts up a ramp, and food is loaded. Only, there’s a sudden uptick in expended energy. If this problem isn’t immediately taken care of, the bill payer is in for a big shock when the electricity invoice comes due. Cracked or loose insulation panels create similar situations, unfortunately. Remember, if a refrigerator unit is running constantly, that could indicate a cooling envelope rupture.

Temperature Fluctuations Ruin Perishable Cool Room Products

That’s a proven truism. With a damaged door or loose insulation panel causing a refrigeration unit to perform unpredictably, temperature variations sightly thaw out some of the merchandise. Then the refrigeration cycle recovers, but it swings too far in the opposite direction. Freezer burn is the result of the poorly recovered equipment’s efforts. Again, these are major consequences, and they’re all taking place because of a small seal tear or panel fissure. Seriously, higher running costs are worrying, but that issue isn’t half as bad as a food safety struggle. Sure, a lack of meal freshness is disconcerting, but what if that bad taste becomes something more, something worse? What if the perishable food spoils and causes a nasty stomach complaint?

The implications are disturbing, that’s for sure. Minor door or panel damage in a hard-working cool room can severely undermine its normal operational functions. If that damage is spotted by an observant cart loader or food prepper, the feedback should be interpreted as a wake-up call. Ignored by some, running costs rise sky-high while cooling temperatures fluctuate. It’s like a first domino has fallen. It’s about to hit its neighbour and trigger off a whole series of undesirable causal effects. The energy leaks, temperatures fluctuate, spoilable food spoils, fresh meals go off, and customers leave. Please, if a cool room door or insulating panel is damaged, take immediate action so that those falling dominoes can be stopped.

Mark Connelly
C&M Coolroom Services
E-mail: markconnelly@cmcoolrooms.com.au
Mobile: 0412 536 315

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