Mobile devices have become part of everyday life in food and beverage manufacturing plants. Tablets and handhelds aren’t just “nice to have” anymore, they’re how teams complete inspections, verify sanitation, record corrective actions, and capture real-time data on the plant floor.
For manufacturing leaders, that matters for a simple reason: mobile devices are now part of your food safety system of record. If they fail, become inconsistent across shifts, or can’t be trusted during an audit, the risk isn’t just operational — it’s compliance-related.
When adopting new software and devices in a manufacturing environment, we can't just focus on the bottom line. The truth is - the plant environment is brutal on electronics.
Between powder buildup, moisture, chemical exposure, and constant handling across shifts, mobile devices get treated more like shared equipment than personal tech. And that means they need the same thing any plant-floor tool needs: a routine. If you want mobile execution to scale and hold up under audit, basic sanitation and maintenance practices can’t be optional or informal. If you want your mobile workflows to stick (and you don’t want to replace tablets every few months), it’s worth putting some basic cleaning and maintenance best practices in place.
In my experience, two environments cause the most trouble: cold storage and high-sanitation zones.
Why Tablets “Die” in the Freezer (Even When They Aren’t Dead)
If you’ve ever watched a device go from 60% battery to zero in a freezer, you know how frustrating cold storage can be. The device shuts off like the battery is completely drained, and the first reaction is usually: this tablet is junk.
But most of the time, the battery isn’t actually empty.
Lithium-ion batteries rely on chemical reactions to generate power. When you put them in extreme cold, like a freezer, those reactions slow down dramatically. The device can’t pull energy fast enough to stay running, so it shuts off. Then, when it warms back up, the battery percentage often jumps right back to where it “should” be.
It feels like a glitch, but it’s really just physics.
From a leadership perspective, this is more than an inconvenience. A device that won’t power on during an inspection or verification step creates execution gaps, especially during audits or shift handoffs when timing matters.
The simplest fix is also the most practical: keep the device warm when it’s not in use. I’ve seen plants make a real difference just by coaching operators and QA techs to keep tablets in an inner jacket pocket when moving between zones. Body heat helps stabilize battery performance more than you’d expect.
And if your facility relies heavily on mobile work in cold-chain environments, rugged hardware is worth considering. Industrial-grade tablets are built for this. Many include insulated battery compartments or internal heaters specifically designed to support consistent execution in cold storage, reducing variability across shifts and sites.
Condensation: The Hidden Problem Nobody Plans For
Cold storage doesn’t just mess with batteries, it also creates a moisture problem that can be harder to detect until something fails.
When a device moves from a freezer into a warmer area, condensation can form. Everyone notices it on the screen, but what’s more dangerous is what you don’t see. Moisture can collect around ports, seams, and internal components, and over time it increases the risk of corrosion and device failure.
Why does this matter beyond hardware longevity? Because unreliable devices undermine verification and closure. If a corrective action can’t be completed or verified because a tablet fails mid-process, you introduce gaps that are difficult to explain during an audit.
That’s why acclimation matters. If you can, let devices sit in a transition zone for a few minutes when moving from cold to warm environments. Five minutes doesn’t sound like much, but it can significantly reduce condensation stress.
One rule I’ll say loudly: don’t charge devices while they’re still “freezer cold.” Let them return to room temperature first. Charging cold lithium-ion batteries can shorten battery life and increase long-term failure risk, which translates directly into inconsistent execution over time.
Execution gaps rarely show up until an audit forces the issue.
Device failures, missed verifications, and incomplete corrective actions all undermine internal audits, especially when execution isn’t consistent across shifts or areas of the plant.
Device failures, missed verifications, and incomplete corrective actions all undermine internal audits, especially when execution isn’t consistent across shifts or areas of the plant.
See how food manufacturers strengthen internal audits by improving execution reliability across their operations.
Making the Most of Internal Audits: How to Maximize Readiness & Results
This guide makes clear how to reap the benefits of internal audits, often unrealized by plant management. When executed correctly, internal audits can quickly reduce costs and increase plant capacity.
Sanitizing Mobile Devices in Food Plants (Without Destroying Screens)
Sanitation is non-negotiable in food and beverage manufacturing. If a tablet is being handled across shifts and carried through production areas, it has to be cleaned properly. From a food safety standpoint, devices are just another shared surface, and therefore part of your sanitation program.
But there’s a catch: cleaning devices like you clean stainless steel equipment can destroy them.
I’ve seen teams do everything right from a sanitation standpoint and still end up with foggy, dull screens that become hard to use. Usually it comes down to harsh chemicals. Concentrated bleach or ammonia-based cleaners can strip the protective oleophobic coating on the glass — the coating that makes screens feel smooth and responsive. Once it’s gone, the screen becomes harder to clean, less responsive to touch, and visibly cloudy.
That’s not just a device issue. It becomes a consistency issue. If operators struggle to complete checks or verifications, adoption drops; especially across shifts.
The good news is that you don’t need harsh chemicals to sanitize electronics.
For most food manufacturing environments, 70% isopropyl alcohol is the gold standard. It evaporates quickly, kills most food-borne pathogens, and is generally safe for screens when used correctly. If you want something even easier to standardize, pre-moistened disinfectant wipes labeled “safe for electronics” work well too.
A small tip that makes a big difference: always remove dry debris first. Flour dust, powder, and grit can turn into a scratch hazard the moment you start wiping with moisture. A dry microfiber cloth before sanitizing prevents a lot of long-term wear.
The Daily Cleaning Routine I Recommend (And the Step Most Teams Skip)
If you’re trying to build consistent mobile device sanitation into a food plant routine, the best approach is to make it simple and repeatable. Consistency (not perfection) is what supports defensible execution.
Start by powering the device down. That reduces risk and makes it easier to see residue.
Next, remove the case. This is the part most teams overlook, and it’s also where a lot of contamination risk lives. Moisture and pathogens can get trapped between the tablet and rugged housing. Sanitizing the outside of the case isn’t enough if the inside never gets cleaned.
From there, wipe the device down using a 70% alcohol wipe or a microfiber cloth dampened with isopropyl alcohol. Pay extra attention to ports, buttons, camera lenses, and the stylus (if the device uses one). Then let it air dry completely before putting it back into the case.
That last part matters. Reassembling while moisture is still present is how devices end up with internal corrosion and charging problems, which eventually surface as execution failures at the worst possible time.
Screen Protectors Are the Cheapest “Insurance Policy” You Can Buy
If your plant operates in high-sanitation zones, here’s one of my favorite tips and tricks: treat screen protectors as sacrificial.
Even when you use the right cleaning agents, repeated chemical exposure will eventually cloud protectors. That’s normal. What matters is that the protector takes the hit, not the actual screen.
Replacing a $15 screen protector every month is far cheaper than replacing a screen or paying for repair, which can easily run $300 to $500+ depending on the device.
In high-chemical environments, screen protectors aren’t optional.
Audit-ready plants don’t rely on heroics — they rely on consistent execution.
Mobile devices are part of the system of record, and when execution breaks down on the floor, audits expose it fast.
Mobile devices are part of the system of record, and when execution breaks down on the floor, audits expose it fast.
Learn how high-performing food manufacturers use reliable execution and verification to simplify internal audits and maintain confidence year-round.
The Magic of Internal Audits: Mistakes, Insights, & Advice
In this guide, food safety and quality expert Jeff Strout (Merieux NutriSciences) shares hot topics, expert insights, and critical components of robust internal auditing systems that are needed to drive continuous improvement.
The Takeaway: Mobile Devices Are Plant-Floor Tools, Not Office Tech
The plants that succeed with mobile programs don’t treat tablets like fragile gadgets.They treat them like plant-floor equipment, and manage them accordingly.
That means building basic sanitation and maintenance into the daily rhythm of the plant. Use cleaning agents that are effective for food safety and safe for electronics. Create simple procedures that operators can follow. Standardize those practices so execution is consistent across shifts and sites.
Because even the strongest digital food safety program depends on execution. And if a device won’t turn on in the freezer, or can’t be used confidently during an audit, the system breaks down where it matters most.
