Equipment/Supply Distribution: Todd Santoro, Cleanwash Laundry Systems Inc., Omaha, Neb.
Regardless of the type of laundry you are overseeing, whether it is a centralized commercial laundry operation or a drop-off service at a Laundromat, there are several key areas to be aware of for tracking purposes. These include employees, machines, supplies and processes.
Before tracking anything, take an honest look at your time, your level of commitment and your resources. Benchmarking and tracking are great if there is follow-through to actually utilize the information and make changes in your business. It is absolutely a waste of time if you only collect and never do.
To address the most subjective aspect of the operation first would be to take a good look at your employees. They are the key to the success of your operation. They can make or break your efficiency times, so it is important that any tracking system and the “why” behind it is communicated effectively in order to get their buy-in and to ensure they have a reason to stay motivated to make it a success.
As you implement your tracking, remember to reward the performance of your employees. Talking about the rewards up front is just another reason for your employees to put their best foot forward. Reward efficiency. Reward outcomes. Reward good attitudes.
For the washers that you are using, you need to be aware of the load capacity of each, the length of the cycles that you are selecting, and that it is the best fit for the type of laundry that you are washing. The type of laundry will determine all of these questions.
Take a mental inventory and determine, “Is an extra rinse truly needed?” “Is hot water a requirement?” Be cognizant of the load size, as there is no reason to run an 80-pound washer for a 60-pound load.
The same thinking should apply to your dryer selection, as well. However, tracking for your dryers is not as pertinent as the washer tracking. Record what machines are used and the optimal cycles for each laundry job. This takes the guesswork out of it for the next time.
Your supplies should be chosen specifically for the needs of the laundry. Is the laundry medical in nature? Grease from food service? Diapers requiring a certain pH? A request for all-organic or chemical-free wash?
All of these needs can be accommodated easily by shopping the local bulk store or online. Buying bulk equals savings for you but it also means that you need to regulate the amount of the supplies used. Most detergents today are formulated for smaller portions to be used so it can save you money, but it’s important that your employees are aware of the correct amount, too.
You need to know how much of your supply is being used for each wash on a weekly or monthly basis. This allows for correct budgeting and planning.
Once employees are on board, you know which washers should be used and you have supplies available. It is imperative that you streamline your processes.
Employee efficiency will be determined by attitude first and understanding second. Understanding means having a clear-cut process of “how to” for the work and hands-on training to check for the level of understanding and ability of each person.
With the training in place, is the work area clean and easy to move around in? Streamline the mental and the physical processes. This removes any last impediments in your journey to success.
Lastly, know your numbers. If you don’t know and understand your cost to operate, including running machines, maintenance, salaries, building or rental costs and other ancillary expenses, you won’t know where to improve or what to leave alone. The tracking will tell you whether or not your efforts are working.
Textiles: Steve Kallenbach, ADI American Dawn, Los Angeles, Calif.
It is truly important to benchmark and track all operations via established metrics.
All operations are not alike in product mix, finishing process, labor rates and utilities, but it is essential to establish numbers that can tell operators—on a daily basis—whether they are “on track” for profitability. At that point, operators can compare final outcome monthly and “reset” where necessary.
Let’s not forget, however, that successful production is based on more than just efficiency. There’s also product quality, complete fill rates, utility costs, labor costs and maintenance costs. That said, “efficient” operators typically track a number of key areas.
First, direct production labor costs—typically the total dollars as a percentage of related revenue. It’s important, however, that one first establish “standards and rates.” Every item in the operation has a typical production standard rate (speed) that can be tracked.
If, for instance, you are finishing uniform shirts on a “Triple Connie,” the typical rate might be 180 pieces per hour per operator. Therefore, if you have 10,000 shirts per week in your flow, you have 55.5 hours of production at rate. And if your labor rate is $10.50 per hour, the cost of that production would be $582.75 that week.
Rates for every textile are easily obtained in the industry—through textile and chemical suppliers, associations and your network of peers. Establish “rates” for all items flowing through production, thereby establishing your weekly costs—based on exact hourly labor rates as well as the actual pieces running through the plant. That total dollar, backed into the related revenue, is your productive labor percentage. This percentage can vary greatly, depending on the market you are in, your product mix and your labor costs per hour.
An eye on overtime should also be applied. As operations grow, they typically experience overtime—until there is enough volume to add another production operator. By monitoring overtime, an operator can keep a keen eye on that timing. By monitoring production output by associate, based on established and posted rates, an operator can also understand best practices within departments and find production associates who need coaching, motivation or something else.
The second area to track is utilities, including gas, electricity and water consumption. The best published industry benchmark in this area is the Textile Rental Services Association’s (TRSA) “Clean Green” program. While this is considered a model standard, most good operators in the industry should be able to make these benchmarks.
While I believe that production tracking (including utilities) should be done on a daily basis, the very minimum comparison goal should be weekly. There is no reason for a production manager to wait for the end of the month to understand how good or bad that month’s outcome was. Most great production managers track their numbers and know where they stand daily.
Another area of tracking is in merchandise fill rates. Production operators sometimes struggle with having enough of a certain product in the system to fill the routes for the following day. Merchandise tracking is key in this area.
Each day’s numbers should include A) the number of units cancelled off invoices, B) the number of units added to invoices and C) the number of units ragged out on the finish floor. If you track these items and purchase new merchandise based on invoiced growth (allowing for rag-outs), and after that, you are still short, you have merchandise control issues. Merchandise is going out and not coming back.
While a discussion on this subject might be left for another day, it is vitally important for production managers to understand why they are short on merchandise, and the tracking formula described will assist in that.
While many operators track their key production areas, some respond to the outcomes differently. Certain operators will use the numbers to push their crew harder, for faster production, for job security. Others will use it to motivate (through pay) faster outcome.
So, as a production manager, do you know all your standard rates by item? Do you know the expected cost of labor based on rate? Do you know the amount of energy and water you should be using based on weight? Do you track your overtime daily? Do you track your merchandise shortages daily?
All these measurements will ultimately lead to “efficient production” of textiles.
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