5 Questions with Will Eaton, Meritech

1. Why does manual handwashing fail so frequently in food facilities?

We’re human, and no one is consistent every time. Even diligent employees rush through steps, fail to apply enough soap and forget to dry their hands. It is impossible to achieve consistent adherence across all shifts and all employees — especially when they’re rushed or stressed.

2. How does automated handwashing eliminate these variables?

Our EVO handwashing units remove the guesswork. Every wash cycle delivers the exact amount of hygiene solution that removes 99.9% of harmful pathogens. And the best part is it only takes 12 seconds. You can even put turnstiles on your machine so that employees can’t enter until the hand sensors register that they’ve completed a wash cycle.

3. What pathogen removal rates can facilities expect?

Clinical testing proves 99.9% pathogen removal with each cycle. Manual handwashing varies wildly in its effectiveness, but Meritech delivers identical results every single time. Consistency is key when creating predictable hygiene outcomes, especially for audits.

4. How does this impact overall facility compliance?

A lot of the unspoken work we do is in hygienic zone design, and we don’t even charge for it. Gatekeeping pathogens helps keep companies in compliance. Our machines shut off if there isn’t solution, so you never have employees pretending to wash. They also track usage and create consistent documentation that eliminates subjective hygiene monitoring. HACCP auditors see measurable, repeatable processes rather than hoping employees follow protocols, which shifts facilities from reactive to proactive in their compliance.

5. What’s the typical ROI for implementing automated hygiene?

Most facilities see ROI within six to 12 months through reduced contamination events, decreased labor oversight and significant savings in soap. Soap costs are astronomical, and yet most businesses see them as a necessary evil. We can save companies hundreds of thousands of dollars in expenses — even more if you add boot cleaning to the mix. All of this is nothing compared to the cost of a recall, though. And the plants that use our technology have not had a single recall. We’re really proud of that.