FAQs

Founded by Bill Harrigan in 1984, Harrigan Sanitation Solutions is a leading provider of contract sanitation services for food and beverage production facilities across Wisconsin, Northern Illinois, and surrounding regions. Today, under the leadership of Bill, Managing Partner Dave Stern, and Director of Sanitation Sam Peña, Harrigan continues to stand apart through our Trustworthy Teams. Our full-time, highly trained crews are led by experienced Crew Chiefs and operate with a “pit crew” mentality to improve safety, speed, and reliability. Through our proven system, we help facilities reduce risk, power profit, and maintain safe, audit-ready environments.

Harrigan partners with food production and manufacturing facilities that require high standards of sanitation, including meat and poultry processing, snacks, appetizers, pizza, dairy, cheese slicing and packaging, beverage production, and other industrial food environments. We work best with organizations that value their people, prioritize food safety, and are committed to continuous improvement and long-term operational performance.

Harrigan provides comprehensive contract sanitation services, including daily plant sanitation, deep cleaning, environmental cleaning, equipment sanitation, and food safety compliance support. Our teams follow structured processes—including gap assessments, sanitation manuals, and continuous improvement through our Race Plan system—to ensure consistent results. Every program is designed to improve efficiency, reduce risk, and support compliance with USDA, FDA, SQF, and BRC standards.

Harrigan primarily serves facilities across Wisconsin, Northern Illinois, Minnesota, and surrounding regions, typically within a three-hour operating radius of our teams. We also have a dedicated team that performs traveling project work in other states, including specialized sanitation projects such as cleaning out idle food processing plants. For the right opportunity, Harrigan can support facilities well beyond our core service area.

Harrigan is a long-term operational partner focused on reducing risk and improving profitability. Many facilities struggle with high turnover, inconsistent sanitation, and production delays caused by underperforming teams. Harrigan solves this with Trustworthy Teams that are engaged, well-trained, and led by accountable Crew Chiefs. With a turnover rate two-thirds lower than the industry average, we provide more consistent support and more dependable execution. Our crews operate like a pit crew, helping your production lines start on time and run efficiently. The result is lower risk, stronger compliance, and measurable gains in uptime and profitability.

Yes. Every Harrigan engagement is tailored to the specific needs of your facility, production environment, and risk profile. We begin with plant visits and gap assessments, then build a customized sanitation program aligned to your goals, regulatory requirements, and operational realities. Our approach ensures improvements in safety, efficiency, and long-term performance, not just short-term fixes.

Harrigan can either replace or complement your existing sanitation team. Many facilities come to us after experiencing challenges such as high turnover, inconsistent performance, missed production starts, or audit risks. We bring structure, leadership, and accountability through our Crew Chief model and proven systems. For facilities that keep sanitation in-house, we can also provide process improvement, training, leadership support, and SQF Program Support. This gives your team access to experienced compliance and sanitation expertise for gap assessments, audit preparation, program development, on-site improvement plans, and fractional SQF practitioner support. It’s a practical way to strengthen food safety systems, improve audit readiness, and elevate performance without fully outsourcing sanitation.

Getting started with Harrigan begins with an introductory meeting and facility assessment, that is part of our discovery process to understand the scope of work and business case. Our team evaluates your current sanitation processes, identifies risks or inefficiencies, and develops a customized plan based on your facility’s needs and location. Get in touch today.

Harrigan’s onboarding process includes a detailed site evaluation, program development, staff training, and implementation planning. Our Service Agreements clearly define your sanitation needs, our proposed solution and business model, partnership expectations, terms and conditions, and estimated savings. We then coordinate closely with your team to align implementation with production schedules and deliver a smooth, low-disruption transition.

Start times vary depending on facility size, scope of work, and location, but Harrigan works efficiently to begin service as soon as possible. In many cases, onboarding and service implementation can begin within a few weeks following the initial assessment.