CHICAGO — Manufacturers continually strive to do more with less, and that includes using fewer employees to get the same, or more, amount of work done.
Not just done, but done in a timely manner with high-quality results.
For laundry operations, that means using as few employees as possible to get soiled linens washed, dried and packaged properly and on time, and shipped back to the end-users or clients.
It may sound like the end result would be employees working their fingers to the bone and burning out, but that’s not the case. The idea is to have employees and equipment functioning at highly effective levels.
Graham Skinner, RLLD, general manager of laundry services, Mission Hospital, Asheville, N.C., relates this to the concept of running a “lean” operation.
“When I think of ‘lean’ in manufacturing, and especially in laundry, it is more of a mindset and process that has to be embraced at all levels of an organization,” Skinner says. “As far as equipment, any equipment from any manufacturer can be made to operate in more of a lean manner. It’s more about how it ties into the adjacent equipment as it pertains to scheduling, output, staffing and demand. It all starts with training of management and front-line staff. Everyone has to be on board.”
So how can a laundry manager help his or her employees process textiles and linens at the highest level? That state of effectiveness can be reached through analysis, training and using the right equipment.
PROPER EQUIPMENT
Of course, without the proper, most efficient equipment, employee training and utilization can only go so far to improve production and keep labor costs down.
“Outfitting laundry facilities with energy- and water-efficient commercial laundry equipment can significantly increase staff efficiency and decrease big operational costs, such as labor and utilities,” says Steven Hietpas, business development manager, Maytag Commercial Laundry, Benton Harbor, Mich.
For Hietpas, the best way to improve overall efficiency of laundry room operations is to incorporate multi-load, high-speed washer-extractors. He says that extracting water in the washer instead of the dryer through higher spin speeds means linens will dry more quickly and gently, and less energy will be consumed.
Also, says Terry Mason, regional manager, Faultless Healthcare Linen, St. Louis, the newer tunnel washers do not require monitoring, so there is not a need for a full-time employee to run the equipment.
“If there is an issue, alarms go off to alert maintenance,” he says.
In terms of dryers, says Hietpas, managers should select large dryers with high-performance airflow distribution systems and sufficient insulation and sealing to prevent the leakage of heated air. He says this allows the machine to dry linens faster using less energy. In addition, dryers with a reverse-tumble feature assist with efficient drying and reduce the amount of tangled sheets.
“Commercial-laundry manufacturers are engineering the latest equipment with fully programmable controls—such as a set number of preprogrammed and industry-application cycles, plus the ability to program unique cycles for a facility’s specific laundry needs,” says Hietpas.
Automation is another way equipment can help produce labor savings. Examples of labor-saving, automated equipment include automatic cart dumpers, sling systems, conveyors and vacuum sorters/loaders, according to Keith Pooler, vice president of Sacramento (Calif.) Laundry Co. Inc.
Through analysis, training and optimization, managers can find the right employee/equipment balance for their laundries. These efforts will make for a leaner, more efficient plant and more effective employees.
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