Providing a physical barrier between “dirty” and “clean” zones, the power of choosing the right seating bench should not be underestimated. When strategically placed, they provide a systematic approach for staff processes and can help prevent rushing from area to area without considering the chance of contamination. The use of seating benches becomes an effective way of transitioning employees into a hygienic state of mind.
In fact, the use of benches in changing rooms plays a crucial role in the gowning process within the food and pharmaceutical sectors. Creating a clear divide between the two areas, seating benches also help to maintain the sequence of the gowning and changing room procedure with employees sitting on the bench to remove dirty shoes or don shoe covers before swivelling to the other side. This ensures that the shoe covers or new footwear never touch the non-sterile surfaces before entering the controlled environment.
In this blog, we will discuss the different materials used in our range of seating benches as well as the varied designs and how they can benefit your business.
Which material is best for my needs?
As with any furniture or equipment purchased for a hygienic environment, it is important to consider the properties of the material it is constructed from. We offer both stainless steel seating benches and lab seating benches (with the choice of either Trespa or Sealwise) to suit any environment where hygiene is the focus.
Stainless steel seating benches
Durable and easy to clean, our stainless steel seating benches can safely withstand stringent cleaning processes. With 304L-grade stainless steel providing high chemical resistance, they are highly resistant to corrosion from many commonly used cleaning agents. The smooth, non-porous surface also prevents the build-up of dirt and contaminants for a quick and easy clean down.
Laboratory seating benches
Lab seating benches are typically constructed from materials that offer hygienic properties such as water-resistance and anti-bacterial protection. These features make them well-suited for hygienic environments such as laboratories and medical facilities. While we offer both Sealwise and Trespa lab furniture, it’s worth noting that they consist of different materials and can offer different properties:
Sealwise
Sealwise uses a Silver Ion coating on waterproof construction board (WCB) to provide built-in antibacterial protection from e-Coli, MRSA, Listeria and Salmonella. 100% waterproof, Sealwise have ensured that their products can withstand rigorous cleaning without damage from water ingress, spillages or mould.
Trespa
Our Trespa furniture is available in either the TopLab Base or TopLab Plus range (upon request). While TopLab Base provides durability and strength, the TopLab Plus products offer additional benefits that are more suited to cleanroom and laboratory environments. Offering 24-hour chemical resistance and anti-microbial protection, TopLab Plus can withstand harsh cleaning agents as part of stringent hygiene protocols. It is also fire-retardant with the panels themselves resisting ignition, producing less smoke and contributing minimally to fire spread should an incident occur.
So, which is best?
While lab seating benches are still hygienic, we would always recommend stainless steel seating benches in areas where stringent hygiene is needed (such as pharmaceutical cleanrooms and food processing sites). Strong, durable and easy to clean, there is less risk of damage via cleaning and sterilisation processes whereas care should be taken when choosing cleaning agents for lab benches to ensure that they align with the manufacturer guidelines to avoid accidental damage.
Choosing the right hygienic design
More than just a physical divide going into high hygiene areas, the design of your new seating bench can add structure to gowning flows with added storage. While our enclosed seating benches offer a shelf underneath the seat for storage of dirty shoes or larger items on one side of the bench, we also offer seating benches with individual compartments in one or two tiers to allow staff to have their own storage area.
Taking this a step further, we also provide an S-Clad design which offers shoe storage on both sides/in the two respective areas without compromising on hygiene. Providing access to one tier of storage on each side, it ensures that the physical divide between the ‘clean’ and ‘dirty’ areas remains in place while must-have supplies, such as clean shoes & covers, are readily accessible.
Bench feet
Depending on your needs, we manufacture seating benches with or without feet to help aid your cleaning process. Whether you need a full, physical divide between both areas with the bench flush to the floor or require the ability to easily clean underneath thanks to the height the feet provide, we have a variety of designs to help keep you audit ready every day.
Customisable & bespoke
With properly designed and maintained changing/gowning areas demonstrating an adherence to cleanliness and hygiene standards, the right seating bench is crucial to help ensure compliance. Many of our items can be customised to suit your unique requirements with bespoke items also available thanks to our in-house CAD team. Below is an example CAD design of a bespoke seating bench created for a customer in the pharmaceutical sector who wanted a separate spinning seat next to the bench for easy turning.
Want to find out more? Don’t hesitate to get in touch with our Teknomexperts. Just call +44 (0)1603 788 833 or email mail@teknomek.co.uk today.
Don’t forget that our buying guide is available here to help identify the best seating bench for your environment.
