This article is sponsored by Essity. In this Voices interview, Plant Engineering spoke with Michael Kapalko, Industrial Segment Marketing Manager for Essity North America, about how manufacturers are rethinking hygiene as part of the overall plant performance. Kapalko shared insights on reducing hidden motion waste, improving restroom and shared-space design and connecting hygiene with safety and workforce experience. He also discussed using better product placement, standardization and data-driven decisions to improve efficiency and support employee satisfaction across industrial facilities.
Plant Engineering: When you talk with manufacturers today, what hygiene-related issues are rising to the top of the agenda, and what’s changed in the past year or two?
Michael Kapalko: One of the most significant changes is that manufacturers are starting to see hygiene as part of the overall operation, not as a separate function limited to restrooms. In the past, it was common to think of operations on one side and bathrooms on the other. Now, more manufacturers are recognizing that hygiene affects productivity, waste, workflow and worker experience across the entire facility.
That shift is clear when industrial plants look at hidden forms of waste. For example, operators may be interrupted many times during a shift just to get or dispose of cleaning products. Every time an employee stops the task at hand, walks to another area, retrieves supplies and returns, that creates motion waste. Those small interruptions add up.
Manufacturers are very good at looking for ways to improve production processes, and they are starting to apply that same continuous-improvement mindset to hygiene.
How are leading manufacturers rethinking spaces like restrooms, break rooms, hand-hygiene stations and other shared areas as part of overall plant performance?
Manufacturers are treating these spaces less like extra areas to maintain and more like integrated parts of the facility. If a space is used every day, it affects time, movement, perception, performance and even employee satisfaction. Restrooms, break rooms, wash stations and point-of-use hygiene areas all influence how smoothly people move through the plant.
A major opportunity is making sure the right products are in the right places. When cleaning supplies, hand-hygiene products, or wiping materials are difficult to access, employees may take more than they need because they do not want to walk back again. One-at-a-time dispensing at the point of use can help reduce unnecessary consumption and product waste.
The same principle applies to shared spaces. If a restroom is not stocked, is poorly maintained, or lacks the right products, workers may have to walk across the facility to use another one. That creates unnecessary movement and lost time. Better placement of dispensers and supplies supports productivity, reduces downtime and contributes to a more efficient facility flow.
Where do you see the strongest connection between hygiene, safety and workforce experience on the plant floor? Are manufacturers getting better at viewing those as connected rather than separate issues?
Hygiene has always had an obvious link to health. People need to wash their hands and avoid downtime. That remains important, but the conversation has expanded.
On the plant floor, poor hygiene access can become a safety and experience issue. If hand-washing stations are hard to reach, products are inconsistently placed, or supplies are wasteful or poorly stocked, employees are forced into workarounds. Those workarounds can create slip-and-fall risks, poor hand-drying practices, inconsistent cleaning, or unnecessary time away from the job.
From the worker’s perspective, these categories are not separate. Employees are not thinking, “this is hygiene,” or “this is safety,” or “this is the restroom experience.” It is all part of their day. They want to get in, do their job, and have the right tools available when they need them.
That is why manufacturers are getting better at looking at full employee experience. For example, having the right wiper in the right location can improve productivity and cleanliness. It can also reduce hazards created by loose rags or supplies left around the facility. Everything that happens once a person walks through the front door affects the plant, so manufacturers can no longer compartmentalize hygiene, safety and experience.
For plants trying to improve both efficiency and worker satisfaction, what are the most overlooked opportunities when it comes to hygiene?
As we discussed earlier, the most overlooked opportunity is hidden motion waste. Plants often focus on the production process itself, but they may not fully account for the time employees spend walking to find supplies, searching for the right product, or leaving their work area to dispose of materials.
An example is placing wiping and cleaning products directly where employees need them. In one large warehouse environment with miles of conveyor belts, having wipers on the service cart helped employees respond immediately when a belt needed attention. They did not have to leave the area, find a product and return while the equipment remained down.
Another overlooked opportunity is matching the product to the task. Some plants may use a product that is more expensive or higher performing than needed for a simple job, while other areas may need a more specialized wiping product. Standardizing dispensing systems can also help a facility use a common dispenser platform while choosing different product quality levels for different applications.
Employee satisfaction should also not be underestimated. Clean, well-stocked restrooms, pleasant soap, reliable paper towels and properly located hygiene products help employees feel supported that they can contribute to a safer and more productive plant environment.
Looking ahead, how do you see industrial plant hygiene evolving in the next five years?
Industrial plant hygiene will become more integrated into operational strategy. Manufacturers will continue to focus on lowering costs, improving productivity and protecting margins without reducing product quality. Hygiene can contribute to those goals when it is viewed as part of the plant’s infrastructure and continuous improvement process.
Data-driven decisions will also play a larger role. Plants can evaluate where products are located, how much product is being used and whether better placement reduces waste. Trials and audits can help identify hidden costs in hygiene, such as excess movement, overconsumption and downtime.
The definition of hygiene will also continue to broaden. In food processing, hand hygiene and surface hygiene are already critical because contamination can have serious consequences. In traditional manufacturing, hygiene is increasingly about keeping employees at their machines, helping them clean their hands or surfaces and preventing contamination that could affect the finished product.
Over the next five years, manufacturers will treat hygiene as one more lever for efficiency, safety and employee satisfaction. They will use expert support where needed and build hygiene decisions into the same operational strategy they already apply to raw materials, energy, compliance and production quality.
