CHICAGO — What does it take to improve the productivity, efficiency and profitability of a laundry?
Hiring more employees?
Acquiring the latest, most advanced high-tech equipment?
A plant redesign and overhaul?
In fact, making plant improvements doesn’t have to take a lot of time, effort and money.
“Some laundries have realized a 30 to 40% increase in labor productivity through improved scheduling, reduction of congestion and production monitoring,” says Matt Alexander, president of consulting firm Pertl & Alexander LLC in Skaneateles, N.Y. “Even small improvements in utility efficiency have added up to large savings.”
Small changes are sometimes the most ignored, but when combined, a group of small changes together in the operational aspects of the laundry could impact the business in a tremendous manner.
LABOR
After a company benchmarks its processes, one of the most costly areas it will find is labor. There are many small ways a laundry can make a big difference in its operations when it comes to labor. Gregory Gicewicz, president of Sterile Surgical Systems (a.k.a. Textile Services Inc.) in Tumwater, Wash., has several suggestions.
His first is aimed at supervisors—always be on the floor.
“This sounds intuitive, but supervisors and managers must be on the floor, always focused on the personnel and on the big picture. Not at their computer. Not in the office. Not in the lunchroom. Not on their smartphone. On the floor,” says Gicewicz. “The floor will not run itself. The orchestra needs an orchestra conductor to make beautiful music. In the same way, the laundry plant needs its ‘conductor’ on the floor in order to produce beautiful laundry beautifully.”
Every 10 hours per day in labor saved translates into about $50,000 per year in total savings, according to Gicewicz. Saving 10 hours per day requires only saving 12 minutes per day across 50 employees.
Gicewicz’s next suggestion is to measure employee productivity against a standard; many plants do not measure individual operator productivity, he says.
“Most operators want to do a great job and they want to be recognized for it,” he says. “If individual productivity is measured and communicated regularly, it will almost always drive improved performance.”
There are different ways to accomplish this, says Gicewicz, including more expensive software systems. There are also highly effective solutions that don’t require expensive capital outlays.
“Even most older laundry equipment comes with piece counters,” he says. “Have operators write down how many pieces they process in a given time and compare this against a standard.”
In addition, Gicewicz says, “Schedule the wash day and finish personnel such that finishers have ‘a little too much work and a little too much product.’ They will be forced to work faster and more efficiently.”
Alexander adds that the production workforce and distribution should be scheduled to most effectively complement production and reduce soiled- and clean-linen holding.
“In on-premises laundries, this typically means pushing the production schedule back so that laundry operations don’t commence before soiled linen starts coming down the chute—generally between 9 and 10 a.m., although most on-premises laundries start around 6 a.m., thereby requiring work be stranded overnight in the laundry,” says Alexander. “At commercial laundries, this may mean scheduling a truck route during the day (when regular delivery is in the evening or overnight) to collect soiled linen, which allows production to get a ‘head start’ on the next day’s work and reduces soiled holding requirements.”
EQUIPMENT
Equipment is another major cost for laundries, and by making small changes, plants can help keep equipment functioning properly, along with maintaining or improving energy efficiency.
J.R. Ryan, president of TBR Associates in Saddle Brook, N.J., notes one simple fix that can make a big difference: Check for leaks in the washers.
“TBR recently helped a client save 1 million gallons of water per month,” he says. “Beyond the conservation benefits, the real cost savings is actually in the sewer discharge expense, which can amount to 10 times the cost of the water.”
Ryan also recommends reviewing production standards to ensure they are up to date and in line with the current equipment lineup and types of textiles being processed. For example, workers in finishing may be expected to process a given number of pieces per hour. Then, the laundry adds an automated feeder, which enables the workers to process more pieces per hour.
“It’s important to update the production standards so the formal expectations match the improved productivity,” says Ryan.
Alexander notes that improving workplace ergonomics in equipment use can also aid in productivity. Some of his suggestions include:
- Placing anti-fatigue mats at finishing stations.
- Using spring-bottom carts or roll-up bottom carts at finishing stations.
- Using sorting tables and/or conveyors at the discharge of soiled-linen chutes to keep work off the floor and improve productivity.
While equipment purchases aren’t small change, Alexander says that being aware of available workflow aids and looking toward future equipment acquisitions with enhanced productivity in mind can help.
“Consider materials-handling equipment, including sheet separators, spreader-feeders, large- and small-piece stackers, and sling systems to aid workflow,” he says. “Plan for eventual replacement of washer-extractors and dryers that are not gravity-loaded or unloaded with equipment that exposes the door to the line of gravity and that unload automatically. If productive volume exceeds 1,500 pounds per hour and you’re processing hospitality or healthcare work in washer-extractors, consider a batch tunnel washing system.”
For Emerald Textiles in San Diego, Calif., the small change did involve equipment.
The company needed a folding solution for healthcare garments that could not be processed on conventional terry folding machines. The problem was that Emerald had a high number of long-sleeved warm-up jackets, isolation gowns and bathrobes. These items required folding by hand. The task often required five employees, and the garments can be slick and difficult to process by hand.
Emerald reached out to manufacturer Kannegiesser, which suggested its FAX-M Garment Folding Robot. The machine contains a single-wide belt, which allows it to fold Emerald’s garments and even process items with tie strings that would normally cause jamming in an automatic folder.
And only one person is needed to operate the machine.
“The Kannegiesser folder has helped streamline our operation and enable our employees to be even more productive,” says Tom Gildred, Emerald’s CEO. “The crisp appearance of the finished stacks of linen provided by the folder is excellent. We are very happy with our investment in this equipment.”
Richard Warren, general manager of The Linen King in Conway, Ark., has an equipment-related suggestion, which costs almost nothing, that he says can help reduce full-time employees (FTE): Move everything closer together.
“You don’t want to fall over it, of course, but why carry it five extra feet?” he asks. “I had a new employee feeding sheets. We were doing 10,000 sheets per day, per machine, with two FTEs feeding each machine, and this FTE wouldn’t keep the sheets close to him. He was a tall man, and we measured his one pace. It was 2.5 feet. He would walk back 2.5 feet to pick up a sheet and then walk back to the feeder another 2.5 feet. That’s five feet per sheet, times 5,000 sheets. I had him do the calculations, and he was surprised to learn he was walking about five miles a day.”
Warren makes the point that plants don’t want employees falling over equipment, and along those same lines, Gicewicz adds that clutter is a productivity killer.
“A clean, clutter-free plant is a safer plant and a more efficient plant,” he says. “If left out of control, clutter builds up quickly in a plant and negatively impacts safety, quality and productivity. Product becomes difficult to move. Make it a policy that all carts and product in the plant are addressed that day so the next day starts fresh.”
Effective laundry management is a process of continuous refinement of processes, says Alexander. Small changes collectively and over time have the potential to make a big difference.
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