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

Textile/Uniform Rental: John Shoemaker General Linen & Uniform Service, Detroit, Mich.

These are costs that are certainly rising and becoming a growing expense for laundries. Bringing in experts to make suggestions is prudent. This can be done at no cost more often than not, and you might unearth wonderful savings that you did not consider.

Something else that may be of value is looking at modern equipment. Water usage is greatly reduced through modern techniques vs. older, traditional equipment.

Meeting and talking to peers is wise. A sharp operator can learn from others and not have to reinvent the wheel. These peers may have come up with an excellent idea that is applicable to your application, as well as stimulate thought-provoking discussions about water, fuel and other energy usage.

Lastly, good maintenance prevails. Are all heat pipes insulated? Are any valves leaking? The basics pay off.

And the old adage of “that which is emphasized is what gets emphasized” is of importance. If you, as a leader, are talking up the containment of these costs, your key people will understand that they are not merely words but a message of extreme importance.

Uniforms: Barb Herman, SanMar Corp, Issaquah, Wash.

In other words, you’re asking about the things that on-premise, commercial or industrial laundry workers could be doing that use more energy, natural gas or water than is needed.

On one hand, our industry considers textile processing and finishing to be a “science.” As a science, a process could be established and followed, and a sustainable, efficient and consistent result expected and obtained … with every laundering. On the other hand, however, textile processing and finishing has so many variables that science becomes difficult to apply. It’s more of a delicate juggling of product, process, equipment, chemistry, standards, people and even weather.

While operations can set process and standards for efficient and consistent outcomes, it is difficult to keep the balance in place all of the time. Washing textiles involves 10 key factors, any of which can throw off the balance of cleanliness, wear life, electrical energy use, water use, gas use, finished appearance and, finally, cost!

Let’s examine each of them individually:

• Soil Type — Wash loads are typically sorted by regular level or high-level soil, and by food oils vs. petroleum. Formulas for each are different. If an operator either mixes these sorts or uses the wrong formula, the outcome is non-cleanliness, staining and/or odor. The result is customer dissatisfaction and, many times, rewash. The idea that you would wash/process a textile twice for just one service is a complete overuse of energy, gas and water.
• Textile Color — Most folks know that you shouldn’t wash blacks and whites and colors together, but textiles vary with mixed designs, so sorting for color is more important than in the past. If an operation washes a textile that might redeposit color from a dark to light portion of that textile or even the entire load, the outcome could result in stain- recovery rewash (or even textile replacement).
• Textile Fabric Content — Formulas are written differently depending on fabric or composition (such as 100% cotton, cotton/poly blends, 100% poly, microfiber, rubber, etc.). If product is mixed or if formulation is misapplied, the outcome can be poor textile wear, unsatisfactory cleanliness, staining, color redeposition, lint redeposition, pilling and more. One of the results is rewash. Duplicated effort wastes resources, time and money.
• Mechanical Action (Load Percentage Factor) — Some types of product, such as towels, allow 100% or more of machine capacity for the load. Others, such as uniform shirts, have proven best results at 70%. If a machine is under-loaded, the result will typically be textile wear. If a machine is overloaded, the result will typically be poor cleaning. This results in rewash.
• Water Level — If the formula for a specific textile type calls for a low level and the machine is either programmed incorrectly or is incorrectly putting in high level at that step, the result is diluted chemical mix. If the load step is calling for high level on a flush step, and the machine can only deliver low level (due to misprogramming, malfunction, or water supply), the outcome can result in poor cleanliness, redeposition and even fiber loss. Any of these issues typically result in rewash but also textile replacement.
• Water Temperature — Water delivery to the wash aisle can vary, depending on equipment, capacity, weather and timing. If a formula calls for 160 F, and your water delivery is over capacity or the steam-up is slow, a ma-chine will simply “vamp” while it waits … wasting valuable electrical energy. If your water heating (whether boiler, direct-fire water heater or combination) is too small to keep up with your flow capacity, the wash floor will simply spin while waiting for water to either arrive or to reach temperature.
• Water Quality/Softness — If you are lucky enough to get your city water “soft,” this may not have effect. But most plants have to soften their water. Hard water can cause all sorts of issues, from tinting to ineffective cleaning, bleaching and odor. This, of course, results in rewash. On the other hand, water treated too soft simply wastes electrical energy in the process.
• Processing Time — This is one of the most mis-measured areas of our business. If your machines’ timers malfunction, if they are waiting for water due to capacity, if it takes longer than normal to steam up, or if your valves or drains are open or leaking, then the step times are affected, causing major electrical energy and water misuse. Additionally, if your formula step times are written to be most cost-effective (short), the textiles will not be clean, again causing rewash.
• Chemistry — Our industry focuses so much on cost that we sometimes compromise the chemistry. In some cases, cheaper chemicals may get you lower cost for that load, but if you have to rewash a good percentage or if you have greater customer dissatisfaction, your costs are actually higher. Improper water level, water temperature and mechanical action can also contribute to bad chemistry, with the same result.
• Weather — Many plant/production managers (especially those who have relocated to different climates) don’t realize that climate and humidity change can cause varying quality levels. This is particularly true on the dryer or finish floor, where gas is the driver. If the wash load isn’t extracted enough (because the weather got colder) and then hits the dryer floor with too much water in the textiles, your dryer operators may increase dryer time (gas usage) to compensate.
  
  Additionally, there are key areas of a production plant where energy, gas and water are potentially being wasted.
• Dryers — Many textiles simply need to be conditioned before pressing. If over-dried, they will not press to an appropriate finish. This not only wastes gas on the dryer floor, but can also cause rewash, wasting the entire cycle of energy, gas and water. In some other cases, dryer malfunction due to poor maintenance can cause overheating or even basket flame impingement. This is one of most costly areas of wasted gas.
• Steam Tunnel — Several of these machines are designed to take garments directly from the washer-extractor. Oftentimes, the tunnel speed and temperature are tweaked to compensate for moisture that could have been eliminated earlier in the process. When the temperature is too high, the textile, decoration/emblem and identification label can be damaged. Also, the tunnel may be underutilized if the dryer floor completely dries the product.
• Ironer — Proper use of this finishing equipment is a cross between engineering, speed, temperature, maintenance, textile conditioning, quality expectations, people and weather. Any of these variables can save or waste energy or gas, increase or decrease quality, and directly impact labor costs.
• Shirt Press — Whether executive or production presses, these units can deliver a much higher finish than a tunnel, but cost more in labor and resources to operate. If the unit is at temperature but running at a lower- than-standard rate, the result can be costly in steam (gas use) and labor. Additionally, overheated presses can cause costly emblem and identification tape issues and eventual replacement.
• Boiler/Water Heater — Many boilers and water heaters in our industry are old. While they still operate well in terms of output, they may not have the energy or gas efficiency of new technology. Equipment companies can audit your equipment and offer you a comparison of current vs. future energy use.
• Routing — As our industry has grown, and especially with consolidation, efficient routing has not been well maintained. Additionally, some market sectors require customer accommodations in the form of numerous runbacks. The assigned route typically handles these runbacks instead of the truck that may already be in that area on that day, causing fuel waste that many times goes unchecked.

On the positive side, there are alternative-fuel and electric vehicles available that offer efficient transport options, if the operator has the capital to invest.

Tuesday: Answers from the chemicals supply and long-term-care laundry sectors.
Click here for Part 1.

WASHINGTON — The Henry Hub spot price for natural gas averaged $3.90 per MMBtu in September, 15 cents lower than the August average, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) Short-Term Energy Outlook report released Oct. 12. EIA expects that Henry Hub spot prices will fall further in October, before rising above $4 per MMBtu in December.

The report lowers the 2011 forecast by 5 cents to $4.15 per MMBtu, 24 cents less than the 2010 average. Although the average 2011 spot natural gas price is lower than the 2010 average, the forecast price over winter 2011-12 is higher than last winter’s average.

EIA expects this winter’s heating season will start with an average Henry Hub spot price of $3.78 per MMBtu in October, and that the price in 2012 will average $4.32 per MMBtu.

“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?”

Uniforms: Barb Herman, SanMar Corp., Issaquah, Wash.

It’s pretty clear that our industry does a good job building teamwork and morale on the sales and service side. But most companies typically don’t turn inward, toward their production and administrative staffs, to provide any real motivators for going beyond the call of duty or for building better production through true teamwork.

We treat people fairly and truly care, yes, but do we motivate and build a culture of efficiency from the inside out?

We as an industry spend a lot of effort and time “externally” branding and marketing our goods and services to our customers and prospects. But we don’t really spend any time doing the same for our internal staff.

If you were to give a plant tour today, could your department leaders explain to a prospect what you do in your laundering process that sets you apart from the competition? Can they state why, for instance, you might fold and bundle your shop and bar towels versus bagging them in bulk?

The word “teamwork” is defined as a cooperative or coordinated effort on the part of a group of persons acting together or in the interests of a common cause. The idea of giving your production and administrative staff “all the information” empowers them with more knowledge to connect the dots.

It makes them part of the success of your company and enables them to own their process. It makes what they do more important.

When you give meaning to people’s work, you enhance morale. And studies for decades have shown us that higher morale provides higher production, whether in quantity or quality.

The following is a recipe for success in team building from within our plants and offices:

1. Make them part of the important, customer-centric decisions. If you make a change in the way you need to produce goods, such that it enhances your service, the production staff should be just as much a part of that decision or design process as the sales and service staffs.
2. Make sure that your internal staff knows how you sell your products and services.
3. When you have internal meetings, bring someone from sales and/or service, so that ideas can be exchanged from both perspectives. Build a culture that you are truly all working together. Do the same when you have external department meetings, by bringing production or office personnel to those meetings, and empowering them to take issues back to their respective “departments” to figure out solutions.
4. Hold full staff “rap” sessions with your entire organization (or at least representatives from all departments). Create a 360-degree view. As a leader, it’s a must to provide and/or be the conduit that allows and enhances information flow in both directions.

When all of your teams know they have the 360 view, teamwork will be a natural result. It is when we compartmentalize and run departments in a vacuum that we don’t take advantage of the teamwork opportunity that exists in every company.

Teamwork starts from the top down and grows from the bottom up!

Commercial Laundry: Rick Rone, Laundry Plus, Sarasota, Fla.

Certain ideologies can be used based on the number of workers within a company, but respect is necessary no matter what the size.

Keep employees motivated. Motivation is not always associated with giving more money. Managers need to be smart about scheduling workers, making sure they get at least 40 hours a week and consider how many days they will need to complete the hours. Can they save a day of paying for childcare and/or transportation if you schedule them for four 10-hour days instead of five days or more with shorter shifts?

When there is not enough work, review your people. When possible, lay off the ones who are not performing well and let the others complete a full-time schedule. Keeping the right people will maintain your production levels.

The employer can help employees in different ways. If a worker gives advance notice that he or she can’t report for work on a particular day, let them switch with another co-worker so they won’t lose hours.

Schedule employees who can carpool to work together on the same day so they can split the cost of gasoline.

Recognize the various nationalities in your laundry by doing something special on their holidays. Promote from within whenever possible.

Rotate workers to different workstations; this will prevent burnout while helping them gain experience in different areas, ultimately boosting production.

In the laundry industry, we encounter many different cultures and people who speak different languages. Workers can come from various foreign countries and primarily speak their native language, not English. People who are fluent in all languages spoken at your laundry must be available to prevent problems from happening due to miscommunication.

Communication issues will drastically affect production and quality. All employees should take comfort in knowing there is someone they can ask questions to better understand what they are supposed to do.

When you hire a new employee, make sure he or she has the right capabilities. Place new hires with more experienced employees so their work can be monitored in case they are not working up to standards (quality, speed, etc.) or a problem arises.

Managers must monitor production by piece or pound per hour and see that the workers are aware of these numbers and where they are with respect to standards. Consider an incentive if production goals are achieved.

Experience shows that employees will split off into different cliques or groups for various reasons, and this will affect your production and quality. Break up these groups, and make them understand that they need to work together. They work for the same company, and “groups” cannot be tolerated.

Understanding and accommodating your employees, and listening to their suggestions and ideas (hint: install a suggestion box) makes them feel important and part of the company.

Click here for Part 1.

Tomorrow: Answers from the textile/uniform rental, hotel/motel/resort laundry, and equipment/supplies distribution sectors…

“Cotton prices are incredibly high, and our textile suppliers are warning that they’ll continue to go up. Can you suggest some ways we can extend the life expectancy of the textiles that we process without completely sacrificing quality?”

Uniforms: Barb Herman, SanMar Corp., Issaquah, Wash.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) have agreed to better coordinate prevention and enforcement efforts against illegal discharges of pollutants from vessels such as cruise ships and oil tankers.

Under the memorandum of understanding, USCG agrees to incorporate components of EPA’s vessel general permit program into its existing inspection protocols and procedures.

WASHINGTON — Natural-gas working inventories (underground storage quantity) at the end of October are about the same as last year’s record-setting level, resulting in a decline in prices for the last two months, according to the latest U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) short-term energy outlook.

Mild weather, high production and the absence of significant hurricane activity in the Gulf of Mexico also contributed to the large inventory build.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) on Monday announced the first national standards to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and improve fuel efficiency of heavy-duty trucks and buses, including delivery vans and trucks commonly used by laundry and textile rental services.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is making it easier to find chemical information online.

EPA has released a database, called ToxRefDB, which allows the interested public to search and download thousands of toxicity testing results on hundreds of chemicals.

WASHINGTON — The Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) has issued a new directive targeted at reminding employers of their duty to protect Latino and other non-English-speaking workers from hazards.

WASHINGTON — Companies hiring unemployed workers will be able to take a credit on payroll taxes under the jobs bill signed into law Thursday by President Obama. The bill passed the Senate a day earlier in a 68-29 vote.

“It is the first of what I hope will be a series of jobs packages that help to continue to put people back to work,” Obama said after the vote. “I also want to say to the Republicans who voted for this bill that I appreciate their willingness to work with Democrats in a bipartisan fashion to get America moving again.”

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has issued fact sheets designed to help employers and workers promote safety during the current H1N1 influenza outbreak.

The fact sheets include information on ways to reduce the risk of exposure to the H1N1 virus in the workplace. OSHA also offers additional fact sheets for healthcare workers and others who carry out tasks that require close contact with H1N1 patients, including hospital laundry workers.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is seeking public comment on a revised risk analysis developed for the agency’s 2003 proposed Solvent-Contaminated Industrial Wipes Rule. The rule could impact how industrial launderers must handle reusable wipes.