Safe Reprocessing requires a System: Validatable processes, automatic documentation and efficient equipment

For QM expert Andrea Knauber, standardised processes and modern technology form the foundation of genuine patient safety. In this interview, she highlights the key challenges in hygiene and instrument reprocessing and demonstrates practical ways to achieve sustainable improvements. She also highlights how modern thermal washer disinfectors like Thed and Thed+ from W&H can contribute to the standardisation, documentation, and optimisation of reprocessing workflows.

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Key Takeaways:

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What responsibility does quality management bear in balancing hygiene requirements, patient safety, and everyday practice?

Knauber: Quality management is the link between regulatory requirements, patient safety, and everyday practice. It ensures that processes are standardised, reproducible, and fully documented. Patient safety doesn’t arise from improvisation or good intentions, but from standardised procedures that every member of the team consistently implements. QM, therefore, carries the responsibility of ensuring that safety is not a matter of chance and that it can be achieved in daily practice.

How can dental practices keep track of relevant hygiene regulations and standards such as the RKI recommendations or EN ISO 15883?

Knauber: The crucial point is: quality management belongs in a system, not in people's heads. Requirements must be structured, linked to defined processes, and readily available to everyone at all times. I like to describe this as a digital “practice wiki”.

The foundation consists of mandatory documents such as the hygiene plan and risk classification. Building on this, standard operating procedures structure instrument reprocessing and all other practice workflows. Equally important are clearly defined responsibilities for updating guidelines and content, as well as technical solutions that automatically document processes and make it easier to maintain oversight.

Speaking of audits and inspections: In your your experience, what are the most common mistakes made in dental practices in this area?

Knauber: First: Routine checks of medical devices are carried out, but the documentation is often incomplete. What ultimately matters is the documented proof that the checks have been performed.
Second: Device maintenance, validation, and safety inspections are missing or outdated. This can result in regulatory non-compliance and potential fines.
Third: Unclear or missing work instructions lead employees to follow individual routines rather than standardised processes.
Fourth: Inspections are frequently only prepared at short notice. With an effective quality management system in place, however, they become nothing more than a routine review.

From your perspective, what criteria are particularly important when selecting a cleaning and disinfection device? Which features should dental practices not compromise on, and are digitisation and automation now essential for every practice?

Knauber: The thermal washer disinfector must comply with applicable standards and be fully validatable, as well as automatically and auditably document all reprocessing processes. Equally important are reliable drying performance, sufficient capacity, and intuitive operation. Furthermore, sustainability is becoming an increasingly important consideration. A modern thermal washer disinfector should consume minimal chemicals, electricity, and water.

From my perspective, digitisation and automation are essential. Manual documentation is time-consuming and prone to errors, whereas automated documentation and process steps reduce potential sources of error while simultaneously easing the workload of the practice team.

Do the W&H Thed thermal washer disinfectors meet the criteria you mentioned?

How do you evaluate the Thed thermal washer disinfectors in terms of loading flexibility and faster reprocessing times?

Knauber: From my perspective, both of these features offer genuine advantages for dental practices. Depending on the load, one or two washing levels are available, allowing for optimal use of the chamber space. This gives practices greater flexibility in their daily operations. The impact on reprocessing times is also equally noticeable. The standard program enables a full load to be reprocessed in less than 60 minutes. For handpieces and contra-angles, a dedicated program is available, enabling up to 14 instruments to be ready for use again in just 35 minutes.

It is important to note that efficiency and reprocessing quality must always be considered together. Shorter process times should be the result of optimised workflows and must never come at the expense of reprocessing quality or process reliability. This precise combination of speed, gentleness, and safety is exactly what truly helps practices improve their day-to-day operations.

What role do W&H thermal washer disinfectors play in supporting an effective quality management system in dental practices?

Knauber: Effective quality management system should support the practice rather than create additional work. This is exactly where Thed devices come in: through automation, reproducible processes, and seamless documentation, they help ensure compliance with defined quality standards, reduce administrative effort, and effectively complement the quality management system.
Therefore, when technical systems are able to meet these requirements, quality, and hygiene standards can be integrated efficiently into everyday practice workflows.

Thank you for the interview.

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About Andrea Knauber

Professional Experience and Qualifications