CHICAGO – The laundry administrators and managers who responded to this month’s American Laundry News Wire survey expressed little interest in having their facilities independently accredited or certified by third-party organizations, according to the survey data.

Just 8.3% of respondents reported that their textile services operation is accredited or certified in some way by an organization independent from their own. Another 8.3% said they were “not sure.” The remaining 83.3% reported having no such accreditation or certification.

Organizations such as the Healthcare Laundry Accreditation Council (HLAC) and the Textile Rental Services Association (TRSA) can certify laundry facilities as being in compliance with industry standards and protocols. Respondents who reported their facilities as accredited/certified said this standing came from HLAC and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) Voluntary Protection Programs (VPP).

Roughly 42% of respondents said that they are “currently seeking” to receive accreditation/certification, or to renew accreditation/certification, within the next year. The remaining 58.3% are not.

Approximately 18% of respondents believe that accreditation/certification offers their operation benefits that it would not otherwise receive, and another 18.2% are unsure. The remaining 63.6% don’t believe accreditation/certification offers benefits.

Do you think independent accreditation/certification of laundry facilities should be mandatory in the United States? Only 16.7% of respondents believe that it should, while 66.7% say no. The remaining 16.7% “don’t know” if accreditation/certification should be mandatory.

While the Wire survey presents a snapshot of readers’ viewpoints at a particular moment, it should not be considered scientific.

Subscribers to Wire e-mails—distributed twice weekly—are invited to take the industry survey anonymously online each month. All managers and administrators of institutional/OPL, cooperative, commercial and industrial laundries are encouraged to participate, as a greater number of responses will help to better define operator opinions and industry trends.

NEW ORLEANS — So much to learn. So many people to see. And so little time.

You’ll face that predicament here at the Clean Show next month, especially now that the show is one day shorter than previous events. You are not alone: Confronted with crowded aisles and hectic booths, attendees too often return home with no more than a confused mass of general impressions.

You can do better. Trade shows can be powerful tools for boosting business profits. The secret is to plan for success, spend time wisely and prioritize tasks.

How to? Read these tips from trade show experts:

TIP 1: SET YOUR GOALS

“Before arriving at the show, make a plan with specific ‘keeper’ ideas,” says Mina Bancroft, a management consultant in Palo Alto, Calif. “Then prioritize them.”

Include specific descriptions of what you want to find at the show. Here are some possibilities:

• New items of merchandise
• Line extensions in certain categories
• Lower costs in existing lines
• More reliable sources
• Promotional goods

Select the best and list them in order of importance.

Next step: Translate your goals into an ‘A’ list of vendors to see. “Do some research on the show’s website to identify companies and booth numbers,” says Howard Friedman, a trade show consultant in suburban Los Angeles. “That will assure that you see the most important things.”

It’s also smart to draw up a ‘B’ list of goals, suggests Friedman. “While these items may not be ‘mission critical,’ they can help open your eyes to innovations and new ways to approach problems you may have.” Tackle secondary goals in the remaining time after completing your primary ones.

Bonus tip: Ask yourself, “What is the biggest problem I have in my business?” Write it down and take it to the show to get answers from exhibitors.

TIP 2: STRATEGIZE YOUR WALKING PATTERN

Once at the show, it’s tempting to spend the first hours performing a walk-through. That can be a mistake.

“The last thing you want to do is shop the floor as you shop a flea market, just walking down the aisles and looking at things,” says Peter LoCascio, a Salem, Ore.-based trade show consultant. The clock moves quickly. It’s easy to run out of time before you accomplish what you need to do, he adds. “Too many times, a couple of hours before the show closes, you’ll see people running through the aisles trying to get things done.”

Instead, use the show floor map to plot out your walking pattern so you can see the greatest number of vendors in the least time. Schedule a certain amount of time to each vendor on your “A” list. “You have to be disciplined and focused,” says LoCascio.

Bonus tip: Avoid duplication of effort by allocating tasks among other people from your company or organization who are attending the show.

TIP 3: TAKE CHARGE AT BOOTHS

Deal with booth personnel efficiently. Determine early whether they are willing and able to answer your questions. “When you go into a booth, there is no reason for you to waste your time,” says Bob Dallmeyer, a Los Angeles-based consultant. “Prepare some quick questions that pertain to your buying interests. If the booth people can’t answer those questions, then you have to smartly move on.”

Not all booth personnel are alike. “A well constructed booth has people at various levels,” says Bancroft. “One person will be at ‘in-depth’ level; others will be at beginning and intermediate levels.” No in-depth person at the booth? You need to decide if you have sufficient interest to ask for an appointment with the right person. That can be smarter than wasting your time talking with an individual who does not have the requisite knowledge.

An alternative is to obtain the name and contact information of a person to call after the show’s over. That can be a prudent step anyhow. “Exhibitors often fail to follow up trade show leads in a timely fashion for a multitude of reasons,” says LoCascio. If you are serious about learning more about a product or service, you may wish to obtain the name and number of the local sales person in your territory.

Bonus tip: Save time by stating, “I need to make a business decision,” as you enter each booth. Then state the nature of the decision and ask how the vendor’s products will help.

TIP 4: SCHEDULE APPOINTMENTS WISELY

Remember that ‘A’ list of vendors? Make sure you see them all by scheduling advance appointments, either before you leave for the show or when you arrive. “There’s nothing wrong with reaching out and saying, ‘I would like to meet with a specialist on Product X,’” says Friedman. “Engaging before the show is completely fine. That will make your time more productive. And the exhibitor will be delighted.”

Such appointments are important whether you are a current or prospective customer. “If you are already a customer, you will want to talk about innovations, new orders, or things that are upsetting you,” says Dallmeyer. “And if you are considering making a purchase, you will want exclusive time in the booth.”

Bonus tip: Map the show floor to identify the booth locations of your ‘A’ vendors. Clustering your appointments by location will reduce walking time.

TIP 5: TAKE NOTES EFFICIENTLY

Haphazard note taking can result in a confused mass of papers stashed on a shelf back home or in your office. That means you lose information critical to business success, including the names of key contacts.

Modern gadgets to the rescue! “We are seeing all kinds of new technologies to avoid the traditional business-card exchange,” says Doug Ducate, president of the Dallas-based Center for Exhibition Industry Research. “These include badge-swiping technologies that allow exhibitors to send information efficiently.”

Electronic brochures have, in many cases, replaced paper ones. “At some booths, you can use computers to send yourself information about what you have seen,” says Ducate. “Push a button and the information shows up on your smart phone and sits on your computer back at the office.”

“Old tech,” though, has its place. “Plenty of people still collect business cards and take notes on them,” says Friedman. “These can be great memory joggers to help connect the dots after the show.” A pack of business cards provides an easy reference for making follow-up calls.

Bonus tip: More attendees are entering information into iPads. Digital notes are efficient for later review, and also for passing along key insights to people who did not attend the show.

TIP 6: POW-WOW AT QUIET TIMES

Sometimes, product information is fairly simple to grasp. Other times, though, you may need to devote critical thinking time to technical details.

“When you go to a trade show, the individual who has paid for a booth is trying to sell you something that may be quite complex,” says Bancroft. “That means you must initiate a way to find out more about that item, and you can’t do that at the typical show floor, which is usually a chaos of noise and confusion.”

Solution? Schedule some “quiet time” to make rational decisions, suggests Bancroft. “Ask the booth sponsor to meet you for breakfast or lunch, where the quiet atmosphere allows you to go through the information you need to compare products.”

Bonus tip: Reduce travel time by scouting out a convenient venue for business talks before you meet exhibitors. Use the Internet, or locate coffee areas once you are at the show.

TIP 7: ALLOW FOR SERENDIPITY

Schedule your time, but leave some open space. One of a trade show’s strengths is a potential for ‘serendipity,’ or the discovery of unanticipated knowledge or connections. So, leave time for random encounters.

“Everyone at the show wants to discover new things and meet new people,” says Friedman. “That can be a productive situation: You may meet someone who does something similar to you but who is not a competitor. It can even happen in a lunch line. So, I encourage you to find the opportunity to say hello to people.”

Bonus tip: Allow yourself the chance for fortuitous discovery. After you complete your important work, schedule time to visit less-promising, lower-profile booths.

TIP 8: CHOOSE SEMINARS WISELY

What seminars should you attend? Reaching a decision can be difficult. Every hour you spend at a concurrent session, after all, is an hour off the show floor.

Even so, seminars are important to your bottom line. Their value is reflected in their growing presence. “We have found that 40% of today’s exhibit floor is devoted to concurrent sessions, up from 20% some years ago,” says Ducate. Why’s that? “People are looking to solve technical problems, and they will attend sessions that promise to do that.”

That comment suggests a solution to the seminar conundrum: Attend those that deal with topics of immediate concern to your business. Look at each seminar listing and ask: “Will the information in this seminar help me solve a specific problem?”

Bonus tip: Reach better decisions by calling seminar leaders before the show for more details about a prospective presentation.

TIP 9: SHARE THE WEALTH

Productive trade-show going is a learned skill. Pass along the talent to the next generation. “It’s good for a senior-level person to bring along a junior one,” says Friedman. “The senior person can make introductions and put products in the context of business initiatives. Relationships established at trade shows can be very helpful in the future.”

Sharing such knowledge can lay a foundation for the continuing profitability of your business. And it will help foster a habit of efficient trade show buying. “Time is money today,” says Dallmeyer. “You need to maximize what you do at every trade show.”

NEW ORLEANS — The Ernest N. Morial Convention Center will host the world’s premier textile care expo for a fifth time when the 2013 Clean Show—officially the World Educational Congress for Laundering and Drycleaning—arrives on Thursday, June 20, for a three-day stay through Saturday, June 22.

It will mark the first time since 1981 that the Clean Show has been scheduled for three days instead of four, reflecting a “more concise and efficient” format designed to give exhibitors and attendees alike a better value for their investment, according to the Clean Executive Committee.

The Clean Show has been convening every other year since 1977 to present new technology, educational sessions and networking opportunities to all segments of the dry cleaning, laundry and textile care industry. This year’s event is expected to draw 10,000 trade attendees, according to Riddle & Associates, the show’s longtime manager.

“I am constantly asked why should I come to the Clean Show or why should I exhibit,” says John Riddle, president of Riddle & Associates. “There are many reasons. You will see the newest equipment, learn about new services, see working demonstrations and have access to outstanding industry education.

“In today’s world of electronic communication, it is nice to have the opportunity to communicate with someone eye-to-eye, face-to-face and talk with them about industry issues. It’s a great chance to renew old friendships and make new ones. These are just several reasons I think making this trip is worth the time, effort and money. We encourage you to ‘Be There’ and take advantage of this opportunity.”

Approximately 400 companies and organizations are scheduled to be represented on the exhibit floor, covering roughly 200,000 net square feet. It’s possible that more exhibitors will be added in the final weeks leading up to the event.

The exhibits will open following a brief 10 a.m. ceremony on Thursday, June 20 (distributors are granted exclusive access from 8 to 10). Exhibits will open at 9 a.m. on subsequent days, and they will close each show day at 5 p.m.

Some of the Clean 2013 sponsors, as well as several other industry associations, will offer approximately 40 hours of education over the show’s three-day schedule. Most of the seminars will occur in on-site meeting rooms between 8 and 10 a.m. daily, but in a change this year, some sessions have been scheduled for each afternoon on the exhibit floor itself.

The Clean Show has released a new, free mobile app for Apple iOS- and Android-based smartphones that offers features such as locating exhibitors, planning a personalized show itinerary, and connecting with others via social media. The free app can be downloaded from an individual’s device in the App Store or Market, and is fully integrated with the Clean Show website, and with LinkedIn and Twitter.

“In the age of technology, offering a smartphone app just makes sense,” says John Riddle. “We want our attendees and exhibitors to be able to stay connected before, during, and after the show and be able to do it while on the go.”

Attendees who do not have a smartphone can still maximize their time at the show by using CleanShow.com’s “My Itinerary” feature. Visitors can store in a personalized “Briefcase” their schedule of educational sessions and booths they wish to visit, as well as print out their “Itinerary” to bring with them.

Another show change is the relaxation of certain rules regarding the convening of affiliate groups during trade show hours. In the past, meetings were restricted to hours outside education and exhibit hours, but now exhibiting companies and industry associations can schedule their sales, distributor or group meetings during educational sessions or between the hours of noon and 2 p.m.

Attendees can easily register for the Clean Show online at its website for the discounted rate of $99 a person through May 31 (on-site registration will be $149 per person). All registrations can be made with credit card, check or money order.

Registration hours at the convention center will be 1-5 p.m. June 19, 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. June 20, 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. June 21, and 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. June 22.

Reservations for official Clean Show hotels can be made on the show’s website until May 17 (special show rates are available only through the Clean Show Housing Bureau).

Complimentary shuttle buses will transport attendees between official hotels and the convention center mornings and afternoons during the show.

The Clean Show is sponsored by five industry associations: Association for Linen Management, Coin Laundry Association, Drycleaning & Laundry Institute, Textile Care Allied Trades Association, and the Textile Rental Services Association of America.

WINTER HAVEN, Fla. — When looking to renovate an existing laundry or building a brand-new facility, there are many questions to ask before the process begins and while the process is ongoing.

David Chadsey, the managing director for Laundry-Consulting.com, addressed the issue during a recent webinar, 10 Things You Should Know Before Building or Renovating a Laundry, sponsored by the Association for Linen Management.

While Chadsey focused on 10 questions to ask, he emphasized that for each application, there may be more than or fewer than 10 items, and that the list is not intended to all inclusive.

1. WHAT AND HOW MUCH

Chadsey’s first question focused on what a laundry needs to process and how much needs to be processed.

“This is the first thing you need to evaluate,” he says. Best practices are based on volume and classification and will differ depending on the type of laundry facility you are working with.

“When calculating what and how much, we want to confirm the volume and then we want to estimate for projected growth,” Chadsey says. “If you’re building or renovating, obviously you don’t want to build just for today.”

Look down the road; what are the possibilities that might be in store for the facility?

Chadsey suggests looking at what equipment you have and want, and perhaps allowing the facility’s plans to contain contingencies for expanding square footage sometime in the future.

Another suggestion is to evaluate the capacity per each process path, whether it’s dry fold, flatwork, wash aisle or finishing line. Take a look at manual labor and automation, and what may change in the future. You can design a finishing line, for instance, more effectively if you know it’s only going to handle hospital sheets.

Always allow for flexibility in a project. If the projected production is to be maintained, laundry managers must look at the ebb and flow of a plant as the linen moves through, as well as the times of day and the days of the week. If a change occurs, whether it be in equipment or in processes, the laundry must be flexible enough to handle the change.

2. SELECT A PROJECT TEAM

As a way to maintain checks and balances during the building process, and to be sure that everything is covered and the project is moving forward, select a well-balanced team to oversee the project.

Such a large-budget undertaking will typically require a project coordinator— usually a member of the organization behind the project—and an outside consultant, one to help the team navigate the process, will be hired. Other members of the team are typically the laundry manager, contractors, the architect and engineer, and there may be more than one engineer, equipment vendors, plant engineering staff, human resources, and a person who will speak for those financing the project.

The project coordinator needs to understand the work scope of all members of this team, as well as their responsibilities, Chadsey says.

3. INDUSTRY PRACTICES

Before the building progresses too far, it is best to identify best practices for the particular type of operation intended for the renovated or new facility.

“Processing 20,000 pounds of linens for healthcare is different than processing 20,000 pounds of hospitality linens, especially on the finishing side,” Chadsey says. And processing industrial textiles is certainly different than processing table linens.

He suggests talking about automation, different types of wash wheels, as well as volume considerations before too much time, money and energy has been expended on the project.

4. CAPITAL REQUIREMENTS

Any building project involves considerable amounts of money, Chadsey says.

While people most often consider equipment to be the major expenditure for a laundry operation, it may be true only for some renovation projects. If the laundry is brand-new or the facility will be undergoing a major redesign, often the planning and design stages can be a major budget item, as well as the construction costs.

Consider these factors:

• Planning and Design
• Construction
• Utility Upgrades and Connections — Will the new facility require more electricity, higher water consumption, greater sewer capacity?
• Equipment
• Impact Fees — Depending on the locale, these fees can be significant, Chadsey says. Consider the fees that will be charged by the municipality for the facility, for new connections to water lines and sewer, or for other utilities. One project on which Chadsey worked encountered impact fees in excess of $1 million, he says.
• Downtime Processing — During renovation, is a plant going to experience downtime? A project team must look at how the operation’s processing will be completed during building or renovation, and plan for that downtime.
• Transition and Training — If a new plant is being built to replace an older facility, a project team must consider how operations, equipment, personnel and support staff/equipment will be moved from the old facility to the new. In the case of a renovation, how does management propose to work around and then integrate a new line or new room of the facility? And after the transition is complete, production numbers will be lower as the staff is trained and learns new equipment, procedures and systems. Staffing issues may include the need to downsize.

5. FOOTPRINT REQUIREMENTS

One of the major considerations for both a new build and a renovation is the facility’s footprint. If you are currently operating a laundry, you probably will have a general idea of the space required for current needs. But what happens if you want to expand? Chadsey has a production area formula that he picked up along the way during his 28 years in the industry, and while he can’t remember where he found the formula, he thanks those who came up with it.

“I use 5 square feet times pounds processed per hour. Plus soiled and clean staging, plus the mechanical room,” he says.

The staging area or areas encompass the space needed to process incoming soiled linen, as well as processing and storing clean linen after it comes off the process lines.

“An on-premise laundry may require a relatively small staging area,” he says. “If you’re a shared hospital laundry with a large number of trucks coming in each day, or if linen goes to a certain customer and that customer can only pick up three days a week, then staging requirements can be significant.”

Green initiatives are another consideration, he says. Take new innovations in water-reuse equipment, for instance, which may take more space.

The formula example that Chadsey provided during the webinar was:

A laundry processes 10 million pounds per year for 312 days per year (that’s 32,000 pounds processed per day). Divide that figure by the number of hours the facility is operating each day—in this case, 12 hours—and you have 2,700 pounds of linen being processed each hour. Multiply that figure by five and you arrive at a total of 13,500 square feet required for production.

For this example, Chadsey used 2,500 square feet for both the staging areas and the mechanical room, making the facility’s total size 18,500 square feet.

Check back tomorrow for part 2, including operational metrics, automation, transitioning, and more!

ROANOKE, Va. — This month’s column addresses fine-tuning a tunnel washer system to get maximum productivity. I have never seen a tunnel washer system that had enough dryers to prevent the tunnel from going into hold while it waits for an available dryer. I have seen many a tunnel washer operation that, with proper scheduling of the work, can eliminate the need for the tunnel going into a hold cycle.

The key to maximizing tunnel washer productivity is in knowing how to schedule work through the machine.

To begin, gather this information:

1. Number of loads to be washed per day of each type of linen
2. Drying time for each type of load
3. Hourly requirement of the production side for each item
4. Inventory level for each type of load (to ascertain need to push through in case of low inventory)
5. The number of available dryers
6. Cycle time for the tunnel washer

In my laundry, I have broken my loads down into three categories: No-dry loads (sheets sent directly to the ironers), short-dry loads (patient gowns, pillowcases, bath towels, bath blankets, washcloths), and long-dry loads (thermal blankets, incontinent pads). By developing a scheduling system that follows a set pattern, I can keep all the workstations busy and maximize use of the tunnel washer capacity.

To start improving your tunnel washer capacity, you need a good starting point. Before making any changes, accurately determine, over the course of at least one week, how many loads per hour you are getting through your washer. Compare that figure to the theoretical capacity. For example, a tunnel washer operating on a 2-minute cycle can produce up to 30 loads per hour. A tunnel washer operating on a 2 1/2 minute cycle can produce 24 loads per hour. Chances are, yours is not operating at its theoretical capacity.

A quick review of the problems causing you to not meet maximum capacity will most likely confirm that the problem is lack of dryer capacity. If other problems are discovered—tunnel going into hold for low temperature, or a low water level—these should be corrected before you move forward with a productivity improvement program.

To improve your tunnel productivity, you need to be able to pick and choose which linen items are going into the machine. This may require that your soil-sort area start work 30 to 60 minutes before your tunnel washer. Based on your original research into the types of loads you are washing, and their respective dry times, make a first attempt at developing a tunnel loading schedule. Use this schedule for several days and compare the results with your baseline productivity. Expect to make some changes as you learn what mix of linen works well and what mix of linen does not.

In my plant, I can easily maximize my tunnel output for an hour or two by running a majority of sheets through the tunnel that bypass the dryers and go directly to the ironers. But by doing so, dryers are not utilized and various areas of the laundry run out of linen. My goal is to maximize dryer use and tunnel washer output. Each laundry operates with different equipment and a different linen mix so there is no universal loading system that works for all occasions or circumstances.

By monitoring the loads per hour in your tunnel, and tracking the utilization of your dryers, you should be able to develop a highly workable loading system within a month. The improvements made from this effort, even if small, will have a major impact on your operation over the course of a year.

WASHINGTON — Drivers can expect to see regular gasoline retail prices averaging $3.63 per gallon during the summer driving season, according to projections released earlier this month in the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) April Short-Term Energy Outlook.

The projected monthly average price of regular retail gasoline will continue to fall through the April-September driving season, topping off at $3.69 per gallon in May to $3.57 per gallon in September.

The EIA also expects this projection to be reflected on upcoming yearly averages: $3.56 per gallon in 2013, $3.39 per gallon in 2014.

Meanwhile, the Brent crude oil spot price will average $108 per barrel in 2013, $101 per barrel in 2014, the EIA forecasts. This price rose to $119 per barrel in early February, up from last year’s $112 per-barrel average.

The projected discount of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil to Brent is forecast to average $14 per barrel in 2013, $9 per barrel in 2014. The EIA attributes this drop to planned new pipeline capacity lowering the cost of moving mid-continent crude oil to the Gulf Coast refining centers.

Natural gas working inventories ended March at an estimated 1.69 trillion cubic feet (Tcf), about 0.79 Tcf below last year’s level, and 0.41 Tcf below the five-year average (2008-2012).

EIA expects the Henry Hub natural gas spot price, which averaged $2.75 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) in 2012, will average $3.52 per MMBtu in 2013, $3.60 per MMBtu in 2014.

CHICAGO — Those who manage laundry/linen services or textile rental firms find that tracking and counting the goods streaming in and out of their plants improves productivity and inventory control.

Yes, washing, drying and finishing goods for an end-user or client is only part of a professional launderer’s job. Keeping track of the linen, garments or mats flowing into and out of their facility is just as important.

So, how does a laundry go about tackling that task in the most efficient way possible?

RFID SYSTEMS

Radio-frequency identification, or RFID, first used for item tracking and access-control applications, made its way into the textile service industry in the 1990s. Key components of an RFID system generally include a tag or chip (packaged into a rugged plastic casing specially designed to withstand harsh industrial laundry processes), an antenna connected to a reader, and a reader connected to a software system that collects and manages the data collected. The tag or chip is affixed to a garment or linen in some fashion.

“Such devices come in many forms and sizes, from small wires and tags to tiny chips,” says Ecolab’s Jim Mitchell, who discussed linen tracking while a member of the American Laundry News Panel of Experts. “Using these devices to track linen flow is becoming commonplace, especially with more expensive linens such as uniforms, bed linens and silks.

“Although some laundries use RFID tags or chips for inventorying, sorting and tracking of all linens, having these devices applied to common linens such as sheets and terry may not be practical or economical in your operation.”

RFID technology is constantly improving, according to Mitchell, and devices on the market are smaller, more cost-effective and offer greater resistance to adverse cleaning elements.

There are many instances of organizations using RFID tracking to better maintain their inventories. For example, Four Winds Casinos recently selected InvoTech’s RFID Multi-Property Uniform Tracking System to centrally consolidate uniform inventory, tracking and purchases for all of its properties to reduce labor and purchasing costs.

Four Winds use the InvoTech system coupled with a White Conveyors system to automatically deliver uniforms to employees’ hands. InvoTech centrally tracks uniform use, controls inventories, monitors laundry cycles, and consolidates purchasing for more than 10,000 uniforms.

“We now have an accurate combined uniform inventory count for all properties on one database and can purchase in larger numbers to benefit from higher-volume buys,” says Jennifer Lasiewicz, Four Winds Casinos’ vice president of hotel operations.

Four Winds launders its own uniforms and uses an RFID drop-chute reader to record when staff returns soiled items.

“It reads each uniform’s RFID chip as the garment is dropped,” Lasiewicz says. “We do not manually count every piece the staff returns to our laundry. With a large number of employees, that would take a long time. InvoTech monitors uniforms coming and going at all properties, and we maintain a central bulk inventory at Four Winds New Buffalo to simplify our operation.”

Some hotels are even using RFID technology to deter theft. They are sewing tags into pricey linens such as towels, bathrobes and high-thread-count sheets. When a tag is read by a strategically placed RFID reader, a system instantly alerts staff that an item is in danger of being pilfered.

A Hawaii hotel which introduced the technology a couple of years ago claimed to have reduced theft of its pool towels from 4,000 a month to just 750, saving $16,000 in replacement costs monthly.

BAR-CODE LABELING

Bar coding is a more mature, simpler technology than RFID. Such a system can provide a launderer with information about each individual item, including when it was last turned in, how many times it has been processed, and when it was originally issued. Bar codes are generally thought to be less expensive than RFID tags.

But bar-code labeling has some limitations. It requires line of sight, which RFID does not in most cases. RFID systems can read multiple tags simultaneously, while bar codes are read one at a time. Many RFID tags are read/write, while a bar code is read-only. And most fixed RFID readers don’t require human involvement to collect data, while most bar-code scanners require a human to operate them.

Some large plants apply a bar-code label as well as an RFID tag, so if something prevents the RFID tag from being read, the bar code serves as a backup.

Regardless of how one goes about tracking their textiles, gathering the information is just the first step. Then one has to decide what the data means and then put it to use it in their operation.

 “Item tracking with RFID chips, bar codes, electronic route accounting, etc., are all important opportunities to help you control your merchandise,” says American Dawn’s Steve Kallenbach, a former member of the American Laundry News Panel of Experts. “However, if you don’t have good reconciliation processes, any of these systems will only allow you to know what’s missing!”

ATLANTA — The Clean Show has released a new, free mobile app for Apple iOS- and Android-based smartphones that offers features such as locating exhibitors, planning a personalized show itinerary, and connecting with others via social media.

The free app can be downloaded from an individual’s device in the App Store or Market.

The June 20-22 event is expected to draw an estimated 10,000 laundry and dry cleaning industry attendees to New Orleans.

“In the age of technology, offering a smartphone app just makes sense,” says John Riddle, president of Riddle & Associates, the Clean Show’s management company. “We want our attendees and exhibitors to be able to stay connected before, during, and after the show and be able to do it while on the go.”

The app designed by event marketing and software company a2z Inc. is fully integrated with the Clean Show website, and with LinkedIn and Twitter.

Attendees who do not have a smartphone can still maximize their time at Clean 2013 by using the show website’s “My Itinerary” feature. Visitors can store in a personalized “Briefcase” their schedule of educational sessions and booths they wish to visit, as well as print out their “Itinerary” to bring with them.

Formally the World Educational Congress for Laundering and Drycleaning, the Clean Show is sponsored jointly by five national industry associations.

IRVINE, Calif. — This month, Prudential Overall Supply is celebrating more than 80 years of service in supplying industrial, healthcare, hospitality and corporate apparel.

Prudential Overall Supply arose from humble beginnings in 1932, when founder John D. Clark first traded in his Model A Ford Sports Roadster for a used truck to use in his new uniform laundry service. His commitment to high-quality service allowed the young company to grow even amidst the thick of the Great Depression. During World War II, Prudential began its garment rental service.

By the late 1970s and into the 1980s, it expanded out of California and grew to more than $35 million in revenue. In the 1990s, Prudential’s cleanroom services went nationwide and the company reached more than $100 million in revenue.

Today, Prudential Overall Supply is very much a 21st century company. The success of its PrudentialUniforms.com website has helped it reach an even larger customer base that exceeds 25,000. Prudential’s nearly 1,500 employees utilize state-of-the-art industrial laundering and cleanroom garment processing equipment, which serves workwear needs from foodservice uniforms to flame-resistant clothing and more.

Prudential also rents and maintains non-apparel facility-image products, such as floor mats, cleaning items, and restaurant reusables and wipes.

Healthcare Laundry: Judy Murphy, RN, BSN, CLLM, RLLD, North Mississippi Medical Center, Tupelo, Miss.

In a healthcare setting, the challenge of taking a physical inventory can be overwhelming. One must enlist the help of clinical staff and/or the customer to count linen, especially in surgery, critical care, and isolation or restricted areas. Developing a relationship with that end-user and working together to stress the importance of linen in the care of their patients increases the likelihood of success and provides an avenue for honest feedback that can be used for performance improvement.

Timing of the inventory process is critical. One must work with those involved to determine the date, time, etc. Asking overwhelmed employees to add more work to their already busy schedules can set the project up for failure. Working together will allow the team to forecast any “snags” or concerns and to make plans to address them. The manager will also have their buy-in up front.

Linen is somewhat a “moving” target. The process of supplying linen to our customers has several ongoing steps that are difficult to halt while the inventory count is being done. To complicate this further, linen is kept in multiple areas throughout the customer’s facility/unit, so establishing a starting and ending point can be a challenge. Recognizing and addressing any challenges up front will contribute significantly to the success of the inventory process.

In a market with decreasing reimbursements, increased production/process issues, dwindling capital funding, etc., maintaining an adequate budget for linens can pose a problem. History has shown that we continue to “expect to do more with less.”

The laundry manager faces an uphill battle in justifying the need for an adequate linen purchase/replacement budget. It is imperative that he/she has accurate data to forecast needs, and that planning is in place to address any increases or decreases in customer demands. This effort will assist the manager in decreasing the frequency of rush/panic orders and resulting increased delivery costs, thereby resulting in an overall savings opportunity.

The manager must seek every opportunity to keep costs at a minimum while maintaining an adequate number of linen par (turns) so that ample supply is available for the customer’s demands.

Too little linen results in shortages to customers (may result in hoarding), increased linen processing, decreased linen life, decreased customer satisfaction, increased stress on laundry personnel (must “hurry through” the processing steps), inefficient use of equipment and staff time, increased chemical costs, etc.

Too much linen can result in a decreased return on investment, storage issues, linen degradation, as well as possible contamination with lint, dust, or insect infestation.

Software that provides the manager with an actual daily/weekly/monthly/annual usage figure can be used to identify overages and shortages, which can be addressed with appropriate par-level adjustments. These figures should be reviewed with the customer and any changes determined together so that they won’t come as a surprise to anyone.

Though zero loss would be ideal, it is unrealistic. Even if proper processes are in place, and the security and utilization of linen is appropriate, the laundry manager must still take into consideration other variables, including type of operation (healthcare, hospitality, correctional), region of the country/world you’re serving, type of chemistry used, etc. In addition, each linen item will have a different loss rate.

There are benchmarks available that can be used for comparison. I recommend the manager check with his or her linen supplier, in that these vendors are excellent resources of information. One such source states that benchmarks can range from an overall linen replacement average of 78% (this would be considered “best practice”) to 113%.

This “stretch” goal is achievable. The manager must concentrate on driving consistent, accurate, and focused efforts to purchase, process, and inventory linen utilizing a team approach that involves those who have a vested interest.

Uniforms/Workwear Manufacturing: Scott Delin, Superior Uniform Group, Seminole, Fla.

When it comes to inventory control and securing textiles in today’s business environment, suppliers and laundries walk a fine line on a daily basis. As market conditions continue to change and become more competitive, it is important to maintain strong partnerships and solid communication with offshore manufacturing partners.

Sourcing, delivery times, and inventory control are impacted by power outages in plants, cotton shortages, rise in freight costs, and other unknown variables. In order to deal with many unknowns that can and will have a direct impact upon our ability to meet our customers’ demands, the implementation of “programs” has become an excellent way to efficiently and cost-effectively mitigate these challenges.

With a formal program, production can be forecast in a smarter way and supports the just-in-time inventory control principle.

Because of today’s competitive market environment, it is essential that inventory be available when our customers need it. When our inventory cannot fulfill our customers’ needs, we “open the door” and create opportunities for our competition.

Customer loyalty can no longer be taken for granted. Customers want to deal with suppliers and laundries that have product when they need it so they can service their clients or end-users as needed.

Not having adequate inventory can be detrimental to long-term business relationships and have a direct impact on the growth of your business. Insufficient inventory can damage a customer’s faith in his or her vendor and supplier to deliver goods when needed.

Equipment/Supply Distribution: Bill Bell, Steiner-Atlantic Corp., Miami, Fla.

Par: This word has many uses in the English language. For part-time golfers like me, this is a number we strive for. In the real world, it is used to establish inventory management and safety levels.

For many hotel operators, a par level of 3 has been a minimum and 4 has been a plus. In today’s economy, every extra dollar is being put to use in all aspects of operations. Just-in-time inventory has become more of a normal procedure than stocked inventory. Linen replacement averages 5-6% annually.

Under the just-in-time philosophy, OPLs must monitor inventory on a monthly or quarterly basis. Processes and procedures must be implemented to keep this percentage as low as possible. It is suggested that each station have a linen processing area with containers for each classification for linen type (mixed linen, torn linen and stained linen). Training all associates in the classification separation to be collected is important to the laundry’s success.

Working with your chemical provider to set up an aggressive, comprehensive stain formula in treating stained linen can help reduce or at least keep your linen replacement levels at 5-6%. A reclamation program to monitor and track discarded linen items will help with getting your correct items for inventory.

Benchmarking with other laundries—sharing problems or success stories—is a great idea. Different locations may face different challenges. For example, a laundry in Orlando, Fla., has to deal with suntan lotion stains, while a laundry in Boise, Idaho, may not have this problem.

Linen “misconduct” is another inventory issue. Washcloths, pool towels, robes, hospital blankets, and patient gowns tend to leave with the guest or patient. Educating nurses, housekeeping employees, patients and hotel customers is the most efficient way to control inventory being misplaced. There is not a foolproof way to control theft, but by pulling together we may deter the end-users from making poor choices.

In the end, without proper inventory control, the guest or patient experience is not going to be favorable. Consumers expect clean linen, and sometimes extra linen, at their disposal. It all leads back to saving par.

Check back tomorrow for the conclusion!

Updated April 30, 2013:

DALLAS — Industrial laundry equipment manufacturer Kannegiesser USA celebrated the 65^th anniversary of parent company Herbert Kannegiesser GmbH with a special dinner here Thursday night, during which it was announced that Kannegiesser USA President Michael Dreher will retire June 1 and Executive Vice President Phil Hart will assume that role.

Hart joined Grand Prairie, Texas-based Kannegiesser USA in 2004 as vice president of marketing, bringing with him more than a decade of industry and product experience. He was promoted to executive vice president in early 2012.

Dreher, who served as president for 13 years, will retain an advisory role that involves marketing the Kannegiesser brand in the Americas.

Kannegiesser GmbH President and CEO Martin Kannegiesser says both Dreher and Hart have demonstrated abilities in combining leadership and teamwork.

The two men thanked the staff and Kannegiesser for their support in making the U.S. market the company's third largest behind France and Germany.

Kannegiesser USA is planning to display several products new to the United States at the upcoming Clean Show.