After seven weeks of repair issues, the Marbeck Commons’ conveyor belt is operational. The initial issue of the conveyor belt was a broken motor. During the repair of the motor, workers discovered an electrical issue. On the outside, the conveyor belt may be 20 years old but, on the inside, the belt is brand new.
The company that built and installed the conveyor belt 20 years ago is no longer in business, which has extended the belt’s repair time. Twenty years of operation on a machine that works 12 hours a day, seven days a week, for eight months straight is a large burden for a single motor. After finding the Canadian company that bought out the original manufacturer, Bluffton was able to order the needed parts.
According to Michael Stewart, the general manager of dining services at Bluffton University, false rumors were going around that the “broken” conveyor belt in the dining hall was unused, to teach students how to scrape off dishes. This would be an expensive lesson due to the need for the dining hall to staff an extra person each night to collect the dishes.
“[The conveyor belt] has been broken for a while now. It makes things harder because student workers have to take the dishes back to the dishwasher, instead of them going back on the conveyor,” said Josie Boehm, a student worker in the dining hall.
The conveyor belt has had small issues over the years, but it has not been out of service for more than a day or two. The electrical repair was the last issue, and the conveyor belt resume operation April 23.
“Nothing can be simple and easy, it has to be complicated,” said Stewart. “It will be ready for next year, which is a big plus.”
The temporary solution of having an extra worker to collect dishes resulted in the plates being scraped, stacked and sorted before being taken to the dishwasher. Plates are not always scraped off and dishes cannot be not stacked while the belt is operational.
Dining Services scheduled a worker to collect dishes while the conveyor was not in operation. The managers have no issues jumping in and doing the literal dirty work. When there are not enough workers during a shift, it is common to see the managers serving food or washing dishes.
“Thank you for understanding, I am sorry this happened,” said Stewart.
