Content about David Chadsey

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!

“What would you say are the most common errors in laundry processing that lead to higher-than-necessary energy, fuel or water costs?”

Consulting Services: David Chadsey, Laundry-Consulting.com, Winter Haven, Fla.

There is a wonderful buffet restaurant in our town called Fred’s. It offers Southern-style cooking with ribs, ham, chicken and fish plus all the greens and vegetables known to Dixie. Fred has a policy—probably borrowed from his grandmother—that he calls “Waste Not, Want Not.” If upon ordering, you agree to eat everything that you take from the buffet, the restaurant gives you $2 off the price of the meal.

Fred has figured out that if he uses all of his resources to meet the needs of his clients, his business can operate at lower costs and make him more money at the end of the day. Waste in the laundry industry is not a half plate of fired okra gone to scrap, but Btu out the stacks and water down the drain.

Are you utilizing all the water and energy consumed in your plant? Following are a couple of the most common offenders. In addition to checking these sources of potential waste, tracking and benchmarking your total therms and gallons used per pound of linen processed with other similar operations is time well spent.

Steam Boiler

Many plants utilize steam for multiple energy requirements. Heating wash water, the ironer and the garment finisher are the most common needs. Once the boiler comes up to pressure, the more you are able to maximize the throughput of those ma-chines, the more efficient the plant will be.

I have seen laundries running multiple shifts be down as long as two hours between production periods. All that time, energy is wasted as the boilers continue to run and maintain temperature in the equipment served.

Poorly managed production efficiency of flatwork systems is also a source of boiler waste. Running two lanes of pillowcases on a 136-inch finishing line nearly doubles the energy cost of the task. The goal should be to maximize coverage of the rolls during every process. Covering the rolls width-wise and minimizing gaps between goods provides the most efficient use of the ironer.

Boiler stack economizer systems are another component of boiler efficiency. These economizers capture the Btu that would otherwise be discharged from the boiler exhaust stack. The systems enable most operators to recoup their investment in less than two years.

Water Temperatures and Wash Formulas

I was trained in the old school of hot-water wash aisles and rinse till it clears. Times have changed. Most major chemical suppliers offer a variety of products that work well in temperature ranges of 130-140 F. If you are still washing in 160-plus F water and are not bound by regulation to do so, you may want to have a discussion with your chemical supplier.

If 160 F water is a requirement for you, simple heat-transfer technology can recover a significant amount of energy before the water is discharged to your municipality. In our age of “green initiatives,” there are a host of options available to recover Btu from wastewater.

How many rinses do you really need in a conventional washer-extractor for light- and medium-soil goods? What are the most efficient water level settings for your specific equipment? Elimi-nating one 12-inch rinse in a 450-pound open pocket will save about 130 gallons of water per cycle. At 10 loads per day, with a rate of $10 per 1,000 gallons for water and sewer, eliminating one rinse reduces water costs nearly $5,000 per year in that one machine alone.

Use it if you need it, but don’t just leave it on your plate.

Equipment/Supplies Distribution: Russ Arbuckle, Wholesale Commercial Laundry Equipment SE, Southside, Ala.

With the ever-higher costs of energy, water, and wastewater disposal, laundry managers need to examine ways to reduce these costs. Operational practices that are wasteful can be a significant piece of the puzzle that managers need to investigate.

One of the most common ways that laundries may be wasting energy is over-drying.

Older drying tumblers typically do not have auto-dry or moisture-sensing features, and the operators most likely use the same temperature and time settings regardless of laundry type.

Obviously, terry towels will need longer dry times than sheets, pillowcases, etc.

If the drying tumblers do not have these auto features, managers should be examining the dry times currently used by their laundry workers.

Spending some time studying the dry times being used for different wash loads and then running some test loads with reduced times may allow for shorter dry cycles and result in overall energy savings.

Another way to reduce energy costs is to be sure that lint screens are cleaned regularly. Check these screens for the gummy material that clogs the openings in the screens. By using a scrub brush and hot water, you can remove most of this gummy material and allow for greater airflow and thus shorter dry times. If cleaning the screens does not remove the clogs, consider replacing them.

The finishing of flat goods on flatwork ironers can be another area where energy costs can be reduced. Checking the conditioning times being used and experimenting with shorter times may result not only in reduced energy costs but increased production as well.

Adjusting wash-water temperatures and water levels may provide for cost savings. Work with your chemical representatives to try processing using reduced wash water temperatures as well as different water levels without impacting overall wash quality. Here, you can reduce overall cost, increase production, and improve the bottom line.

Tomorrow: Answers from the textile/uniform rental and uniforms sectors.

WINTER HAVEN, Fla. — Managing a laundry facility is a challenge, and when expensive equipment breaks down, the ability to repair it can hinge on knowing where to locate a single part.

During an Association for Linen Management webinar, Parts Are NOT Parts, David Chadsey, managing director of Capital Equipment Consulting (which recently changed its name to Laundry-Consulting.com), spoke about parts management and maintenance, focusing on the need for inventory and documentation.

Knowing what you have by way of inventory is the first step in documenting your machine maintenance, Chadsey says. At some point, every piece of equipment will need to be replaced. Understanding the process and planning for the inevitable will make the job easier to handle, he says.

Chadsey advocates documenting a machine’s usage and tracking inventory as means to understanding what equipment and parts a facility uses and needs. “Because if you don’t know what you use and don’t know what you need,” he says, “the day you need it, you’re probably not going to have it.”

Maintaining a parts inventory is important to keeping a facility up and running, he says.

When polled, every participant in the webinar indicated his or her “inventory system” was to simply look on the shelf when a part was needed.

Inventorying

Inventorying can be done in several different ways, Chadsey says.

“Establishing an inventory control and a systematic approach to documenting the parts you use is very important. It’s going to prevent extended downtime,” he says.

Inventorying can be done by machine, by part or by rate of replacement. Keeping track of parts and ordering on a regular basis can have other benefits. Many manufacturers and supply companies will offer discounts or no-charge freight, so, Chadsey says, there are some savings that go along with tracking parts and being able to order on a regular basis.

“There is nothing worse than having a piece of equipment fail on Wednesday before Thanksgiving,” Chadsey says, “and your distributor doesn’t have the part.”

Another benefit to inventorying is the data gained when analyzing a return on investment (ROI) for a particular piece of equipment. It also provides credibility to upper management when a facility manager suggests a change.

Warranties

Another key to parts management is knowing what warranty goes with a particular piece of equipment or part. Chadsey suggests knowing exactly when a warranty starts, as some manufacturers use “final approval” for the start date and that may not come until six months after the equipment was installed.

Another consideration is to determine what parts are covered. Some warranties cover general parts but not “wear” items, Chadsey says. Be sure to have those “wear” items defined. Keep in mind there may be special terms to the warranty; for instance, is freight covered in the warranty? Is significant lead time necessary to obtain the part?

Remember also, Chadsey says, that there is a difference between parts warranties and labor warranties. Check the timelines for parts and labor, as they often differ considerably.

Also, ask about extended warranties. This may be needed for new products or if there is a question about the equipment’s longevity. And if you need to activate a warranty, remind your provider that an extended warranty exists. Otherwise, Chadsey says, you may be paying for something you thought was covered.

Downtime costs also need to be considered when negotiating a warranty, and the cost of a warranty and services may be negotiated, particularly if on-site staff are more than capable of doing the needed work.

Monday: The most reliable source of parts...

“Equipment, chemicals, etc., play a huge part in our laundry’s success, but our most important asset is our people. We have to work well as a team. In what ways can I improve my team-building skills and learn how to spot trouble that could drag down staff morale and curtail production?”

Consulting Services: David Chadsey, Capital Equipment Consulting, Winter Haven, Fla.

The truth is everybody wants to be part of a group. It is part of our DNA. No matter who you are or what you do, you want to be on a winning team.

Great organizations understand this natural inclination, and they build on it. Team building in the workplace not only increases productivity and return, it adds to the personal fulfillment of all those who work for you. When those people leave at the end of the day (or their shift), the successful corporate team is further magnified to all the families represented in your organization. In my house, when Momma’s happy, everybody’s happy.

Team Identity

Your team needs to have an identity. What do you want your organization to be known for? Quality Linen On Time Every Day? Amazing Customer Service? Or maybe Efficiency and Speed to Market?

If your parent organization has a corporate identity, your department can align itself with this overall team concept. The first step in team building is team identity; it is the core of whom you are and what your team members strive to achieve.

In the 1970s, an unusual group of Pittsburgh Steelers defensive linemen became known as the Steel Curtain. Just like you, there were days when those fellas did not want to come to work. They got tired. They got hurt. But they had an identity as a unit that would not compromise control of the line of scrimmage. Something special rose up in them based on that identity that is still recognized 35 years later.

Communicate the Vision

From initial employee orientation, through training and regular staff meetings, managers need to communicate the vision of the team’s identity. Policies and practices should be reinforced by the purpose.

“We answer the phone before the third ring because we have the best customer service in the industry.”

“Our production standard on the small-piece folder is 800 pool towels per hour because we are committed to on-time delivery.”

“We monitor wash water temperatures and chemistry because we are committed to quality.”

Whether you love or hate Walmart, you know it has low prices. The team has an identity that is reinforced by all levels of management every day.

Communicating the team vision is critical. As a leader and manager, if you can effectively communicate your identity and vision, your people will amaze you. Well-coached team members will step up and fulfill corporate vision in areas you may not have even addressed.

Execute the Plan

This is the hard part. I have never met a laundry operator who wanted a reputation for getting “Most of the Linen Clean Most of the Time.” Nobody has the goal of “Delivery Guaranteed On-Time, Except When We’re Late.”

Executing the team plan requires a systematic approach to performance. There are a lot of resources available to help you formally execute your plan. Six Sigma, Lean Manufacturing, ISO 9000 and Miller Heiman are a few that have been popular in recent years across a wide range of industry sectors. Accessing professional, process-oriented support will provide your organization with the structure to help build a successful team.

Equipment Manufacturing: Chuck Anderson, Ellis Corp., San Diego, Calif.

The greatest attribute of any manager is the ability to understand and be understood. Open communication is the best way to improve employee morale and spot trouble.

Praise motivates people! Research shows that in order to increase motivation and ensure top performance, we need to praise at least five times more often than we find fault or criticize. Try not to praise and criticize in the same meeting or conversation. I encourage you to go out and find at least two employees to praise today!

Be consistent and timely. Whether you have daily, weekly or monthly meetings, stay on time and follow up on previous goals and achievements. If action items are not repeatedly addressed, the team will feel the meetings are a waste of time.

Be certain that the purpose and objectives of the team are clearly defined. The team must be aligned around common objectives. People enjoy working toward a clearly defined goal. Write the major objectives on a whiteboard each week to keep the team focused.

Share information and delegate. Many times team leaders or managers have a difficult time delegating and/or sharing information because they fear losing their authority. But if leaders don’t delegate and share information, they lose their time, energy and ability to lead.

Continuously coach and support the development of your team leaders. This may involve hiring outside professionals, or sending your team leaders to “boot camp,” but this will pay dividends in a more productive and motivated team.

Encourage suggestions and ideas. Maybe you have been looking into how to improve production in a certain area. The person doing the work may actually already have the idea since they are involved in the task each day.

Get involved! Make time this week to roll up your sleeves and work the ironer for a couple hours or help load and unload the washers and dryers. This will build camaraderie with your employees and help break down barriers.

Tomorrow: Answers from the uniforms and commercial laundry sectors.

Hey, there is a show going on! A lot of new equipment.

The demise of Challenge Dryer has morphed into a collection of “It’s just like the Challenge” replicas.

HJ Weir and Electrolux have come out from behind the OEM veil.

And don't miss the new Washex. Or is that the old Washex? Be careful out there!

David Chadsey is managing director of Capital Equipment Consulting, a laundry design and consulting firm, and a member of the American Laundry News Panel of Experts.