At Ahmo school, sustainability starts with everyday choices

Ahmo’s new school centre in Siilinjärvi is a major project that brings together a modern learning environment, responsible construction and the municipality’s renewed kitchen network. Serving approximately 800 lower secondary and upper secondary school students, the centre is an example of how a professional kitchen can be designed to support efficient work, staff well-being, student comfort and the municipality’s goals.

The highly praised new Ahmo school centre has been implemented using a lifecycle model, in which the developer YIT is responsible for the condition and maintenance of the property for twenty years. A long lifecycle calls for solutions that withstand heavy use, are energy-efficient and support smooth everyday operations for decades to come.

Sirpa Kurki, Director of Food and Cleaning Services at the Municipality of Siilinjärvi, has been involved in the Ahmo school centre project since the planning phase. Together with her team, Kurki has been responsible for planning the facilities from the perspective of cleanliness, as well as the kitchen and its equipment. Metos’ professional kitchen expertise was utilised in the planning and implementation of the kitchen solutions. 

– The completion of the kitchen at Ahmo school centre also involves many changes in Siilinjärvi’s food services. The old Ahmo school had a production kitchen, which at one time supplied a large amount of food to other schools and daycare centres in the municipality as well. From the very beginning of the project, we knew that the new school would no longer have a production kitchen, Kurki explains.

From a production kitchen to a hybrid model

When Ahmo was completed, food production was centralised in existing production kitchens, the largest of which is the Vanha Pappila central kitchen. This means that the kitchen at the new Ahmo school is new both in terms of equipment and operating models.

The kitchen in the new school centre was designed as a service kitchen, where food produced using a cold production method at the central kitchen is finished, cooked and served to students.

However, the new kitchen is not a service kitchen in the strictest sense. Kurki describes the overall solution as a hybrid model of a service kitchen.

– More food is prepared here than in a traditional service kitchen. At Ahmo, for example, mashed potatoes, potato soups and porridges are made from scratch. We arrived at this solution when considering what quantities of food would be transported from the central kitchen and how often. In addition, here in Siilinjärvi we want to make use of local products, such as potatoes. That would have become difficult if we were not able to make things like mashed potatoes on site ourselves.

As a result, the school kitchen is equipped with a large mixing multifunctional kettle, which is not usually seen in service kitchens.

Cold storage in efficient use

The service kitchen unit at Ahmo school centre is large. For this reason, supplier deliveries, including dairy products, bread products, salad components, fruit and all products that go directly into the oven, have been directed straight to the school instead of the central kitchen.

In addition to goods deliveries, cold storage space is needed for cold-produced food, which is delivered from the central kitchen three times a week in covered oven trolleys. These trolleys are moved directly from transport into the cold rooms.

– We have wanted to minimise transport, which is why food is not delivered from the central kitchen to Ahmo every day. Because this operating model is new to us, we involved an inspector from the local environmental health services right from the start. The inspector became familiar with our cold production model. Together with them, we have agreed on monitoring measures for our self-monitoring plan to ensure hygiene and safety at every stage of the process,” Kurki describes.

A change in work brought a sense of control

The new operating model has significantly changed the everyday work of the kitchen staff. A production method based on cold preparation brings predictability and reduces the feeling of rush.

The new operating model has eased the time pressure experienced by employees. Preparatory work and planning for the following day are now considerably easier than before, as the next day’s food is ready and waiting by the previous day at the latest.

– The employees have been satisfied with this operating model because it has clearly reduced their stress load, says Kurki.

Sustainability is visible in everyday choices

The planning of Ahmo school centre has taken into account factors such as energy efficiency and efficient water use, environmental impact, safety, durability and comfort.

In the kitchen, sustainability is a comprehensive whole that is visible on several levels.

Optimizing transport reduces costs and environmental impact, while modern equipment automatically improves energy and water efficiency compared with older solutions. Ergonomics are also at the heart of the kitchen and its functions.

– One thing that has a major impact on ergonomics is our model, where food is transferred from the production kitchen to service kitchens in oven trolleys. From the start, we considered how to avoid lifting and moving individual containers and trays from one place to another. Instead, everything moves on the same trolleys from cold storage to the ovens.

Thanks to the kitchen’s height-adjustable worktops, employees of different heights can work ergonomically at the same workstations.

In addition, the new Metos serving line in the dining hall has improved both work ergonomics and safety. The line features automatic water filling, and drainage makes work easier. Glass racks are placed in convenient lifting baskets that reduce strain.

– The new serving line works extremely well. In addition, the space reserved for the serving line is very important. It is essential that there is enough room for lunch queues to move through the area, and that food can be replenished easily and safely. This is not an area where it pays to save space, as it is so essential to the smooth running of the entire operation, Kurki points out.

At Ahmo’s kitchen, Metos’ role is visible above all in the smoothness of everyday operations: in the way the facilities, equipment and operating model work together to support the staff’s work, safe food production and the daily rhythm of the school.

Multipurpose facilities support everyday school life

The dining hall at Ahmo school centre serves around 800 lower secondary and upper secondary school students. In addition to dining, the multipurpose space is used for studying and spending time, which has added a significant amount of space to students’ everyday life.

The new facilities and operating models have been very well received. The successful solutions are visible in concrete ways in student behavior.

– It has been encouraging to see that disruptive behavior has decreased and that the atmosphere in the dining hall is calmer than before. I believe that everyday life now reflects a certain respect for the new facilities. In functional and pleasant spaces, people also want to behave appropriately, eat calmly and take care of the cleanliness of their surroundings, Kurki says with delight.