Content about Inventory

CHICAGO — Taking inventory is often cause for headaches at any laundry facility, and a recent webinar on linen inventorying addressed how to make the process work for each individual system.

Barbara Williams has more than 30 years of experience in the textile industry. As a consultant with Standard Textile Co., she frequently speaks about linen process improvements, linen management, and cost-reduction programs for healthcare operations.

During the webinar sponsored by the Association for Linen Management, Williams stressed the many rewards of taking a regular inventory and touched on a few challenges a laundry facility faces during the process.

Your Inventory Involves What?

The major items that most healthcare laundry facilities count during an inventory are adult patient linen, nursery/pediatric linen, surgical linen, surgical apparel, other staff apparel, pillows, mops and napery. Each facility will need to determine what is important to count, and it isn’t necessary to count everything at the same time. For instance, Williams says, some facilities will count the adult patient linens and the nursery linens, then tally the surgical linen and apparel at a different time.

Where to Conduct an Inventory

Determining where linen is kept is a necessary step before beginning an inventory. Healthcare facilities will need to count linens in patient rooms as well as in ancillary departments. This involves linens on the beds, on the patients and staff, exchange carts, utility carts, in bathrooms, drawers, closets, exam room, cabinets, stretchers, and even on chairs and windowsills.

Staff may again be an issue when determining where linens are stored. In some cases, Williams says, facilities will do what is called a bed-standard method of counting. “Staff members know the actual standard of what is put on a bed, (and) they then take that times the number of beds in a unit,” she says. “And they still take a quick walk-through to see what extras are in the rooms.”

A linen room count and the laundry count need to be conducted as accurately and efficiently as possible. The laundry will be the largest, and it is the most important to get right, Williams says.

Remember to include off-site locations such as clinics. And while many facilities no longer utilize a storeroom, include that location—if applicable—in an inventory.

Who Conducts an Inventory

Where many healthcare facilities ask their nursing staff, including personal care aides, to conduct linen inventories, only 10% of the webinar participants indicated they utilize this population. The majority of participants—40%—use linen distribution or environmental services staff. The more people involved, the better, according to Williams. She says many inventories are conducted by a combination of nursing staff and environmental services staff.

Another possibility is to use laundry personnel, which 30% of webinar participants acknowledged they do. This demographic will be crucial in counting linens in the laundry areas as well as picking up soiled linens and marking them as counted or uncounted.

The use of temporary personnel to help with inventorying is another possibility, but the training required could deter this practice.

The Process of Inventorying

Williams suggests that a 30-day plan be put into place before an inventory. Preparations include identifying the areas and products to count, identifying the facility and areas within a facility that will be involved, and identifying the staff responsible for the counting and recording of linens.

Lists, instructions, forms, signs and schedules are imperative when communicating with staff about an upcoming inventory and while an inventory is being conducted. Education, such as in-service meetings and training, will be another key to success.

Before an inventory begins, the staff involved will need to communicate the date and time of the project, present the procedures to any involved personnel, and communicate with off-site laundries and with customers or patients. A list of names, phone numbers and e-mail addresses is important to communication before, during and after an inventory.

Inventory Day Arrives

Williams provided a list of inventory day events, including sending final communications to all units involved. Collect and pick up all soiled linens in bulk carts and mark as “uncounted,” and verify that these steps have been completed. Close laundry chutes during the inventory.

When the count begins on each unit, teams of two—one to count and the second to record the results—are recommended.

It would be a good idea, Williams says, to establish an “Inventory Central,” or a place, person, or phone extension that those involved in the task can contact for questions and concerns.

When an inventory is complete, either collect the forms or have them returned to Inventory Central. At that time, it would be a good idea to review the forms to confirm numbers and that any comments can be understood. Tabulate results.

Remove signs, and be sure to communicate the cut-off point with all involved. Lastly, Williams recommends an enthusiastic show of appreciation to all those who helped with the inventory.

After the Inventory

When an inventory has been successfully completed, it is time to generate statistics and results; generate the total inventory and the inventory dollar value; calculate replacement or depletion rates; and calculate mysterious disappearance.

Share the results with management, with the nursing staff and with other staff members. And most importantly, Williams says, take action on the results.

“Assess your inventory needs by comparing your inventory with your demand,” she says, “and adjust linen orders accordingly. Retrieve any ‘dead’ or hoarded inventory and review security measures.

“Today, we’re in a budget crunch, and we really need to protect our linen assets.”

Click here for Part 1.

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.

Sources

Chadsey considers the most reliable source of parts to be the manufacturer and/or authorized distributor. These companies also have an advantage of knowing the laundry industry and generally know what a facility will need in the way of parts. Troubleshooting support often comes as part of the package as well.

“This has the lowest risk,” he says. “They built it, they represent it, (and) they really should know the part you need. And when it shows up, it has the greatest likelihood of being the right part.”

Since many of the machines used in laundry facilities are comprised of parts from other industries, local parts outlets may be an excellent alternative, he says. With competitive pricing, local supply houses typically offer faster delivery and availability. The one downside is that these businesses are not usually industry-specific, so the person behind the counter may not know much about laundry equipment.

Another source could be specialty parts makers, such as Industrial Wheels, Depend-O-Drain and C&W Equipment. Companies like these often advertise in trade publications, Chadsey says, and this source could help lower costs over time.

For any part that may need to be tooled, a local machine shop may be the answer. Chadsey suggests that a local machine shop can often handle a job at a lower cost and with a quick turnaround. Used equipment also may be of help, at a significant savings, he says.

The majority of the webinar’s participants indicated that they purchase parts from a manufacturer or authorized dealer, using a parts outlet or specialty parts manufacturer as a secondary source.

If a now-defunct manufacturer made a machine, a laundry manager may need to get creative when it comes to replacing parts, Chadsey says. Alternative sources become more important when a piece of equipment is not supported as it was the day it was purchased.

In addition to parts outlets, specialty manufacturers, used equipment and custom machine shops, former distributors and the manufacturers of individual parts may be able to help. Issues may arise, he cautions, if the machine has structural problems in addition to individual parts problems.

Replacements

When it appears that equipment will need to be replaced, Chadsey suggests looking at benchmarks before making the decision, including the cost of continuing its operation and an analysis of ROI.

When looking at the cost of operation, consider safety issues or the structural components of the machine; look at the cost of parts and labor, a prime reason to maintain documentation on the repairs for that particular piece of equipment; and be sure to include the cost of downtime.

When considering the ROI, look at the cost of the old machine vs. that of a new or different piece of equipment. This analysis also will help determine a predictable replacement schedule, which is an advantage when talking with senior management.

Chadsey encourages any laundry manager to maintain the documentation on every piece of equipment, to be more aggressive in tracking and maintaining inventory, and to know their regional and local providers of parts. Planning is key to keeping costs down for any facility.

Click here for Part 1.

"What aspects of inventorying and securing textiles pose the biggest challenge? What percentage of losses would you consider to be acceptable if the proper controls were in place? And how could an insufficient inventory impact the rest of my operation?”

Equipment Manufacturing — Joe Gudenburr, G.A. Braun, Syracuse, N.Y.

“What aspects of inventorying and securing textiles pose the biggest challenge? What percentage of losses would you consider to be acceptable if the proper controls were in place? And how could an insufficient inventory impact the rest of my operation?”

Consulting Services — Charles Berge, American Laundry Systems, Haverhill, Mass.

“Our facility’s linen and uniform losses are becoming a real issue, and I need to develop a strategy to improve security. Where do you suggest I begin? Item tracking, surveillance, keep it all under lock and key? How far should I go?”

Commercial Laundering: Richard Warren, Linen King of Central Arkansas, Conway, Ark.

I believe the purchase of National Linen by ALSCO means that a number of healthcare facilities will be changing vendors over the next several years.

ALSCO doesn’t feel that servicing hospitals falls into its field of expertise. Unless ALSCO changes its corporate philosophy, a highly unlikely event, it’ll be looking to shed a number of hospital accounts over the next several years. I’ve been told that ALSCO will honor existing contracts but that it’s not interested in extending or renewing any of them.

At first glance, conducting a physical linen inventory may seem daunting. It requires a lot of time and energy, and can distract and disrupt the everyday order of things. However, with the proper organization and planning, conducting such an inventory is less complicated than it looks, and is a valuable part of a healthcare facility’s operation.

Another institution in our area is proposing a joint venture on a new laundry facility to serve both of our institutions and perhaps some smaller outside accounts. Where should I begin in identifying the pros and cons of such a venture, and how can I estimate the impact that a joint facility could have on my overall operation?