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Extraction cleaning - facilities management
For a facilities manager, a kitchen extract system is one of those responsibilities that is easy to overlook until it becomes a problem - and it wraps up a fire risk, a compliance duty and a maintenance need in one hidden system. Managing it well means understanding what it is, what has to be done, and how to stay on top of it. Here is a practical guide to extract systems for the FM.
The short answer
For a facilities manager, managing a kitchen extract system comes down to a few things. Understand the system: what it is (canopy, ductwork, fan, discharge), where it runs, and how much of it is hidden. Keep it clean: grease accumulates in the ductwork and is a fire risk, so it needs professional cleaning on a cycle set by how heavily the kitchen loads it - high-output kitchens far more often than light-use ones. Keep the records: documented cleaning, to a recognised standard, is what demonstrates the fire-safety duty is being met and satisfies insurers, leases and inspections. Manage the access: the system can only be cleaned if it can be reached, so adequate access panels matter, and a survey may reveal where they are lacking. And understand the duties: the extract system's grease is a fire risk the responsible person must assess and control. Managing it well is about treating the hidden extract system as the fire-risk, compliance and maintenance responsibility it is - proactively, on a cycle, with records - rather than reacting when it becomes a problem.
Understand the system
Managing an extract system starts with understanding what it is. A kitchen extract system runs from the canopy over the cooking, which catches the grease-laden air, through the ductwork that carries it across and out of the building, driven by an extract fan, to the discharge point where the air leaves. Along the way it passes through ceilings, voids and risers, much of it hidden from view. So the system an FM is responsible for is largely out of sight - which is part of what makes it easy to overlook, and important to understand: you are managing a system most of which you cannot see, running from the kitchen to the discharge through the building's structure.
Understanding where the system runs, and how much of it is hidden, matters for managing it. The hidden ductwork is where grease accumulates and where the fire risk concentrates, yet it is the part hardest to see and reach - so it needs deliberate attention, not the incidental attention the visible canopy gets. Knowing the extent of the system - how long the ductwork is, where it goes, where the access is - is the basis for planning its cleaning and maintenance; it is exactly what a survey establishes. So the first task in managing an extract system is to understand it: to know what it comprises, where it runs, and how much is hidden, so that the rest of the management - the cleaning, the access, the records - can address the whole system, including the out-of-sight parts where the risk lives.
Keep it clean, on a cycle
The core of managing an extract system is keeping it clean, because grease accumulates in the ductwork continuously and is a fire risk. The ductwork, fan and canopy load with grease as the kitchen cooks, and left unchecked that build-up becomes a serious fire hazard - the grease is combustible and lines the very route a fire would spread along. So the extract system needs professional cleaning that reaches inside the ductwork and removes the grease, on a regular cycle. This is the single most important maintenance the FM has to arrange for the extract system: keeping the grease from building up to a dangerous level.
The cycle - how often it needs cleaning - depends on how heavily the kitchen loads the system, which depends on the cooking. A high-output kitchen doing a lot of frying and grilling loads its ducts with grease fast and needs cleaning frequently; a light-use kitchen loads slowly and needs it less often. So the cleaning frequency should be set to the actual kitchen, based on how fast it loads - which a survey measuring the grease can inform - rather than a generic interval. The FM's job is to establish the right cycle for the kitchen and ensure the cleaning happens on it, keeping the grease under control. This risk-based, regular cleaning is what keeps the system safe; reacting only when a problem shows means letting the grease, and the fire risk, build up first. So proactive cleaning on a cycle set to the kitchen is the heart of managing the system well.
Keep records, manage access
Two things support the cleaning and turn it into proper management: records and access. Records matter because the extract system's cleaning is not just a practical need but a compliance one - the grease is a fire risk the responsible person must manage, and documented cleaning, to a recognised standard, is what demonstrates that the duty is being met. Those records also satisfy insurers, who may require the system to be maintained, and leases, which often make the tenant responsible for cleaning it, and they provide the evidence at inspections. So the FM should ensure the cleaning is documented - what was done, when, to what standard, with the measurements - building a record that proves the system is being properly maintained.
Access matters because the system can only be cleaned if it can be reached - and inadequate access is a common problem. The ductwork needs access panels, properly placed, so that the whole run can be reached and cleaned; a system with too few, or poorly placed, has sections that cannot be properly cleaned, leaving grease and fire risk unaddressed. So part of managing the system is ensuring it has adequate access, and addressing any shortcomings - fitting additional panels where a survey reveals they are lacking - so the cleaning can actually reach the whole system. Together, records and access turn the cleaning from a job done into a system properly managed: the records prove it, and the access ensures it can be done fully. An FM who keeps good records and ensures adequate access has the cleaning on a proper footing.
Understand the duties
Underpinning all of this is the FM's understanding of the duties that make managing the extract system a legal responsibility, not just good practice. The grease build-up in a kitchen extract system is a recognised fire risk, and fire-safety law places duties on the responsible person - usually the employer, owner or occupier in control - to assess and manage the fire risks in the premises, which includes the extract system's grease. So keeping the extract system cleaned is part of complying with fire-safety law: the responsible person must consider the extract grease in their fire risk assessment and take steps to control it, which means keeping it cleaned and being able to show it.
For an FM, this frames the whole task: managing the extract system is discharging a fire-safety duty, so it has the weight of a legal obligation, and getting it wrong has the consequences of a fire-safety failing - enforcement, invalidated insurance, and, most seriously, the fire risk itself. Understanding this is what should drive the proactive, documented, risk-based management the rest of the guide describes: not doing it because a problem forced it, but doing it because it is a duty to be met and a risk to be controlled. So the FM's guide to extract systems comes back to this: understand the system, keep it clean on a cycle set to the kitchen, keep the records, manage the access, and understand that all of this is discharging a real fire-safety duty. Treat the hidden extract system as the fire-risk, compliance and maintenance responsibility it is, managed proactively - and it stays safe, compliant and under control, rather than becoming the overlooked problem it easily can.
The takeaway
For a facilities manager, a kitchen extract system wraps up a fire risk, a compliance duty and a maintenance need in one largely hidden system - and managing it well means treating it as such, proactively, rather than reacting when it becomes a problem. Understand the system: what it comprises (canopy, ductwork, fan, discharge), where it runs, and how much is hidden in ceilings and voids where the grease and fire risk concentrate. Keep it clean: professional cleaning that reaches the ductwork, on a cycle set by how heavily the particular kitchen loads it - high-output far more often than light-use. Keep the records: documented cleaning to a recognised standard, which demonstrates the fire-safety duty and satisfies insurers, leases and inspections. Manage the access: adequate access panels so the whole system can be cleaned, fitting more where they are lacking.
And understand the duties: the extract grease is a fire risk the responsible person must assess and control under fire-safety law, so managing the system is discharging a legal duty, with real consequences if neglected. That framing is what should drive the proactive, risk-based, documented management - doing it because it is a duty and a risk, not because a problem forced it. An FM who understands the system, keeps it cleaned on the right cycle, keeps the records, and manages the access has the extract system properly under control - safe, compliant and maintained. The hidden extract system is easy to overlook until it becomes a problem; managing it well is making sure it never gets there.
Questions
Understanding the system (canopy, ductwork, fan, discharge, and how much is hidden); keeping it clean on a cycle set by how heavily the kitchen loads it; keeping records of the cleaning to a recognised standard; managing the access so the whole system can be reached; and understanding that the grease is a fire risk the responsible person must control. It means treating the hidden system as the fire-risk, compliance and maintenance responsibility it is, proactively.
On a cycle set by how heavily the particular kitchen loads it with grease, which depends on the cooking. A high-output kitchen doing a lot of frying and grilling loads its ducts fast and needs cleaning frequently; a light-use kitchen loads slowly and needs it less often. The frequency should be set to the actual kitchen - which a survey measuring the grease can inform - rather than a generic interval.
Because the extract cleaning is a compliance need, not just a practical one. The grease is a fire risk the responsible person must manage, and documented cleaning to a recognised standard demonstrates the duty is being met. The records also satisfy insurers who require the system maintained, leases that make the tenant responsible, and inspections - proving the system is properly maintained.
Because the system can only be cleaned if it can be reached, and inadequate access is common. The ductwork needs access panels, properly placed, so the whole run can be cleaned; too few or poorly placed leaves sections uncleanable, with grease and fire risk unaddressed. So the FM should ensure adequate access, fitting more panels where a survey reveals they are lacking, so cleaning reaches the whole system.
The grease build-up is a recognised fire risk, and fire-safety law places duties on the responsible person - usually the employer, owner or occupier in control - to assess and manage the fire risks, including the extract grease. So keeping the system cleaned is part of complying with fire-safety law: the responsible person must consider the grease in their fire risk assessment and control it, and be able to show it.
The grease builds up unchecked, raising the fire risk; the FM falls short of the fire-safety duty, risking enforcement; insurance can be affected if a fire occurred with the system unmaintained; and at a lease end, dilapidations can bring a large claim for cleaning years of accumulated grease. Managing the system proactively avoids all of this - which is why it is better done on a cycle than reacted to as a problem.
Managing an extract system well means cleaning it on the right cycle, with the records and access to prove and enable it - our extraction cleaning gives an FM the thorough, documented cleaning the duty requires.
