RIPON, Wis. — Managing an on-premises laundry (OPL) operation means always being on the lookout for hidden efficiencies and ways to improve production, whether it’s through labor, utilities, water usage, laundry room design or technology.
If you’re building or remodeling a laundry room, or you’re wondering how to improve efficiency and decrease the costs associated with your current laundry operation, here are perspectives from three distributors serving the OPL industry on factors to consider:
Q: How can OPL managers use technology to improve efficiency and increase production?
Ryan Lucken, operations manager, Washington Automated: OPL managers who don’t utilize technology to understand their laundry operation may not realize they are working blindly. Technological advancements allow you to receive daily, weekly and yearly reports via e-mail, detailing how your laundry operation is doing, which can help you find and implement efficiencies.
For example, the right technology will be able to provide information on a machine’s idle time—the delay between when the dryer stops and when it’s opened to remove clothing—as well as in-depth data about programming details to ensure the right cycles are being chosen by your staff for optimal production. This information can then be utilized to make any necessary adjustments to improve efficiency and increase production.
Embracing technology is a great starting point; however, it’s not enough to simply purchase machines with advanced technology and expect results. Learning how to use the technology and analyze the data it provides will help give you a behind-the-scenes look at your operation, establish benchmarks and find ways to improve it.
Craig Dakauskas, vice president, Commercial and Coin Laundry Equipment Co.: Technology makes the whole laundry process easier and more efficient, allowing OPL managers to successfully manage a laundry operation without being physically present. The latest technology is cloud-based, so this information can be accessed at any time from anywhere in the world with an Internet connection. Information can be analyzed quickly with easy-to-read reports, which enables you to find efficiencies, compare production and set benchmarks that will help improve production.
Tom Schwartz, sales engineer, Washburn Machinery: Technology can help OPL managers keep track of maintenance schedules for their equipment, as well as diagnose problems. You can sign up to receive text messages or e-mails as reminders to check equipment, such as cleaning out lint screens or greasing the bearings, which is especially important for high-speed machines. You can also be alerted when a load is complete, as well as when a washer or dryer may need maintenance, which is more efficient and convenient than keeping a manual maintenance log.
When machines do inevitably need fixing, advanced diagnostics can quickly determine what is wrong and display an error code, the cycle it occurred during, as well as how to repair it. All of these things reduce equipment and labor downtime.
Q: What can OPL managers do to reduce labor costs?
Lucken: As previously mentioned, the best thing OPL managers can do to reduce labor costs is embrace new technology and make sure all equipment is up-to-date with the latest programming and reporting capabilities. As an OPL manager, your goal should be to utilize the technology and programming options on your machines so that they can manage themselves as much as possible, reducing the amount of work and monitoring you and your housekeeping staff have to do.
The technology that is featured on modern equipment includes faster extraction speeds, moisture-sensing drying and reports that monitor production, all of which can allow you to increase the amount of loads you complete in a day and/or be able to send housekeeping staff home earlier, cutting down on labor costs.
Dakauskas: If their machines are outdated, OPL managers can reduce labor costs by investing in new equipment. This may cost a bit more upfront, but it will pay off in a short time when you factor in the labor and utility savings new machines provide, as well as linen preservation. You can work with your distributor to determine the right equipment mix for your operation.
Another way to reduce labor costs is to analyze your laundry operation’s productivity and only schedule staff when necessary, which is when laundry is coming in and going out. For example, OPL managers can start a load of laundry first thing in the morning and schedule staff to start working once that first load is complete; this eliminates idle time during the first load when employees don’t have any work to do yet.
Check back Tuesday for the conclusion.
Have a question or comment? E-mail our editor Matt Poe at [email protected].