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July 5, 2012

Be Sensitive To Ongoing Business Relationships

ROANOKE, Va. — Collaborating and working together benefits both entities

ROANOKE, Va. — I have preached for years the importance of developing close working relationships between the laundry and your suppliers, and similar relationships between the laundry and its customers. Most times, suppliers and customers respect your efforts and agree to make a similar effort to work with you. By collaborating and working together, it benefits both entities.

My recent frustration comes from trying to work with a particular linen company. For purposes of this column, let’s call it Company F. I have worked with this company, in one form or another, over the past 20 years, and it has been able to service my laundry dependably. I have enjoyed working with Company F’s local representatives, who I have found to be knowledgeable and helpful. But over the past several years, I have begun to wonder about its top leadership.

Many of you will appreciate how hard it is to change the print on patient gowns. To effectively change the print requires hours of in-service training and dealing with the frustrations of having to run additional SKUs and keeping them separate while phasing in one line and phasing out the other.

For sound reasons, we made the decision several years ago to upgrade the print and the quality of the fabric used in our patient gowns. This major initiative was well received by our customer base.

During the first year of its implementation, Company F announced that it was substantially changing the print on the gowns. The new, improved print was not acceptable to me or to my customers, but Company F said the decision had been made and the production had already been switched to the new print.

I was unwilling to face the wrath of my customers, so I decided that if Company F were unwilling to continue to supply the print, I would approach Company G about making gowns with a similar print and fabric. To cover our needs for the ramp-up time, I purchased all of the gowns in my preferred fabric that Company F had available.

Company F eventually saw the error of its decision but we were already well down the path with Company G. For the past 18 months, I have been purchasing regular IV gowns and tie gowns from Company G. It has done an excellent job of being able to consistently manufacture the gown just for my facility.

I continued to work with Company F and helped it develop an additional print for this particular line of gowns that could be used for 5X IV gowns. I also finally convinced it to make a 10X non-IV gown for my facility out of the same fabric it was using to make the 10X IV gowns. I felt like I had been a valuable contributor to its product line.

We have now completed the changeover of all regular IV gowns, about 50% of the regular tie gowns, and about 25% of the 5X IV gowns and 10X tie gowns. The difficulties of introducing a new gown line were predominately behind us. Then I learned that Company F had—after Company G had gone into production of the fabric for me—filed a copyright application and was insisting that Company G immediately stop using that print.

So, here I sit with a major dilemma on my hands. My system has entered into a purchasing agreement through our purchasing group that requires me to purchase a large share of my textiles through Company G. This was not a problem earlier because I was already purchasing about 70% of my operation’s textiles through Company G, with the balanced allocated between Company F and Company H. Company G had generously allowed me to continue purchasing certain items from Company F; it respected the business relationship I had with Company F and was willing to exclude 20% of my business from the agreement.

The problem I have now is I cannot move the patient gowns back to Company F without violating the new purchasing agreement. If I cannot move the gowns back to Company F, then my only choice is to jointly develop a new print with Company G and go through the pain of another gown conversion.

The idea of changing patient gowns again seems unfair and unnecessary. My reaction to being forced to switch was to inform Company F that I was moving all my business to another linen company. I regret that the person who really gets hurt in this change is the local representative for Company F who did not cause this problem.

Company F decided, after receiving my written intentions to discontinue purchasing from it, to reinvestigate the situation and rethink its decision; the process is ongoing. The final decision on the parts of both companies has yet to be rendered. My feelings are that once a bell has been rung, once a problem has been created, it is extremely difficult to pretend that it did not happen, that it was just a tragic mistake.

I am attempting to use this situation as a teaching moment for my staff. We need to be more sensitive to the needs of our customers and try to make sure we do not put them in frustrating, no-win situations. Customers often are not forgiving of our communication missteps, so therefore we need to make sure we do things correctly on our first attempt.

Developing long-term business relationships requires sensitivity to the needs of your customers. Company F could have earned additional loyalty and respect had it initially decided to allow Company G to make the gowns exclusively for my laundry under a license agreement. Such an attitude would have protected their business and encouraged me to continue looking at them to meet additional needs.

April 18, 2012

Panel of Experts: Boosting Laundry Energy Efficiency and Water Conservation (Part 2 of 2)

CHICAGO — Input from chemicals supply, equipment manufacturing and uniforms/workwear manufacturing sectors

CHEMICALS SUPPLY: MARLENE WILLIAMS, ANDERSON CHEMICAL CO., LITCHFIELD, MINN.

This well-designed question recognizes that optimization of laundry programs and procedures, as well as incorporating new technology options, can facilitate a laundry marlene williams manager’s efforts to improve energy efficiency and water conservation. From the chemical supplier’s standpoint, there are two major sources of help available today.

First, technology (proprietary software) to analyze a laundry operation is a strong tool for chemical representatives and laundry managers. A knowledgeable chemical representative can provide valuable assistance with this type of computer analysis, improving not only energy efficiency and water consumption but also creating savings in all areas of program expense.

Secondly, a knowledgeable review of laundry facilities with improved practices and procedures can provide major economies for no additional cost. John White, an industry expert with 35 years of laundry experience, offers a number of valuable tactics:

Work with a knowledgeable chemical supplies representative; this should be your starting point. Experienced reps can help you because they work with many different operators and will be able to give you ideas for savings, ideas that are working for others.
If you’re still using “old school” washing techniques (180-degree water, lots of alkali and bleach, long cycles, lots of rinsing, etc.), be aware that chemistry has dramatically changed. Talk to your rep about low-temperature washing. Consider enzyme washing, allowing for lower wash and bleaching temperatures. Your supplier should be bringing these innovations to you for your consideration.
Replace one rinse step in all your cycles with a medium-speed extract. This will save one high-fill for every load of laundry you process, and, over time, can result in thousands of gallons of water—much of it hot—saved.
Understand the relationship between pH and temperature in the bleach bath. A good rep will be able to set your cycles up to bleach in much lower temperatures by lowering the pH of the bleach bath.
Lower your water levels 1 inch when washing/bleaching, and 2 inches when rinsing. All water levels are adjustable, and the good reps know how to do this. One inch less water in the wash step will not make any difference in quality, but due to the shape of the wash wheel, will save you up to 30% of the hot water you would otherwise use in a typical wash step (same for bleach step and 2 inches on rinse steps).
Focus on sorting laundry by soil load and staining. Unsorted linens must be washed according to the worst pieces. If unsorted, every load becomes a costly heavy-soil load.
Program cycles so that your final rinse temperature is between 115 and 120 degrees (typically it is much lower). This means that the linens will be pre-heated (but not too hot to handle) when they go into the dryer. This will save about five minutes of dryer time/energy per load.
Don’t under-load washers or overload dryers. Weigh loads and follow the manufacturer’s recommendations.
Airflow is far more critical than temperature when it comes to dryer time. Clean lint screens after every load, and periodically have dryer vents professionally cleaned. Lint can easily clog dryer vents and choke off 80% or more of your airflow.
Finally, most dryers can be retrofitted with flue sensors that will shut the dryer down when the load is dry, saving on energy and fabric damage.

EQUIPMENT MANUFACTURING: KIM SHADY, LAUNDRYLUX CORP, NEW YORK, N.Y.

From the perspective of smaller OPL facilities, more new equipment applications have become available in the past several years than have been introduced in the past decade. I’ll break these energy savings into three kim shady categories: electricity, natural gas, and water.

Electricity — The amount of electricity used to operate an OPL washer or dryer may be less than 2 cents per load. There is very little reward for making improvements to electricity use. Evaluating cycle times in the washer could be one area for savings. Washers with higher extraction rates (G-force) can reduce drying times for more savings.

Natural Gas — Assuming natural gas is your heat source for a dryer, ironer or water heater, this is your largest utility cost. To evaluate areas to trim costs, start with your water heater/boiler. There have been many improvements in efficiency, so is your unit outdated? Could reducing water temperature by 5 or 10 degrees make a difference on an annual basis?

The traditional 75-pound dryer in small OPL facilities has gone through significant energy updates in the past few years. Several companies have slashed gas consumption by 20% through new, energy-efficient axial airflow designs that do not sacrifice drying time. This may be the biggest gain for energy efficiency in the past five years.

Also, the extraction rate has a major role in reducing dryer gas use. Upgrading from 100 to 300 G-force can cut drying time by 25-30%, along with similar amounts of natural gas.

Residual moisture controls are gaining popularity to save time and natural gas in the dryer. No longer does the drying time have to be input by hand. Residual moisture controls automate the process, while preventing the dryer from running past the point where linens are dry.

Large laundries have long understood the energy benefits of ironing vs. drying sheets. When ironing sheets properly, the amount of energy used to remove a pound of water is less than the amount a dryer would use to do the same. With new OPL ironers requiring just one person to feed, fold and stack, there can be energy savings, labor savings and huge improvements in quality.

Water — OPL washers are using newer digital technology to measure water levels, providing more precise control for each fill. This also allows the programmer to experiment with finding the optimum water levels and acceptable cleanliness quality. This experiment could bring surprising results in lower water use. Some washers are smart enough to adjust water levels based upon the linen load size, while at the same time adjusting chemical dosing to keep the ratio to water accurate.

Other water savings may be found with ozone systems. Ozone has proven to reduce water consumption and significantly reduce the need for hot water.

UNIFORMS/WORKWEAR MANUFACTURING: STEVE KALLENBACH, AMERICAN DAWN, LOS ANGELES, CALIF.

This is the central question surrounding one of the most important dynamics of the decade: “green” reusable textiles and related processing. My responses will relate mostly to energy and costs that directly impact textile-processing costs.

Energy — Over the past 15 years, our industry has reduced energy costs by more than 40% through the use of heat reclaimers, direct-fire water heaters, continuous batch washers (vs. washer-extractors vs. modular washer and extractor units), high-efficiency gas dryers (vs. steam dryers), as well as energy-friendly textiles.

Additionally, chemical companies and plant managers have worked together to find balanced formulations that assist in energy efficiency. An example of this might be in extraction. Once a washer-extractor achieves extraction speed, it is much more efficient to extract the textile a bit longer, if it reduces dryer time (gas usage) while still protecting textile life.

In some cases, textiles have been built to withstand more energy-efficient processing. In others (example: Signature table linen), fabric has been developed to wash cleaner at lower temperatures, thereby lowering energy costs and even processing time. The most recent textile improvement impacting energy efficiency is microfiber fabrics. They take much less time to dry, thereby reducing gas and electricity costs.

Laundry managers need to follow the best in class: 1) know the industry standards, 2) know your own plant’s performance, and 3) engage with your chemical and textile vendors to continually improve efficiency.

Water — Just like energy, our industry has reduced water usage by more than 40% through the use of water reclamation systems and better chemical formulations, soil sorting (to control the amount of rewash) and textiles.

Water reclamation systems reuse some of the last flushes of a formula as the first flush of the next load. Chemical formulation is a key to water efficiency. We put our chemical suppliers in the delicate position of keeping costs down while keeping our textiles clean. Many times, this balance is off, and some plants have a tendency to “over wash” certain textiles. Additionally, some textiles simply clean better, due to raw-material quality, fiber content, weave, topical soil release, etc.

Managers can discuss these issues with their textile and chemical suppliers, in order to choose the right product for the job. Just like energy efficiency, water conservation and efficiency should first be measured against the known industry standards, and managers should engage with their related suppliers to improve both formulation and textiles.

Technology — In all areas of conservation, support technology has improved drastically over the past 20 years. Retrofitting machinery to allow constant monitoring of efficiencies is now available, and the return on investment is sensible in most cases. Additionally, the industry has developed a number of major software packages that can assist managers in monitoring and managing their plant efficiencies.

Maintenance — Aside from education on standards and available efficiencies, the maintenance of equipment and support technology is more important now than ever before.

Plant maintenance managers of yesteryear were measured on downtime of equipment related to production flow. While this will remain the platform for production flow efficiency, maintenance of the future will center more around equipment efficiencies, simply because they can now be monitored constantly.

For instance, in the past, if a drainpipe were open and leaking profusely, it might not be caught and your maintenance department might not focus on it because the equipment was running. In the future, the equipment must not only run, it must run efficiently, because a rightly upgraded and retrofitted wash machine will be able to “broadcast” the presence of an open/leaking drain to plant management.

Textiles — Great plant managers take a more active role in monitoring textile placement as it relates to efficiency, not only in wear-life (life-cycle) costing but also in choosing the right textile for the job.

A simple example of this is allowing a diesel engine mechanic to wear a lightly colored shirt. This textile choice leads to heavy-soil formulation and rewash. Enough of this textile misuse and plant efficiency is impacted.

Other plants overbuy cotton toweling, putting premium textiles into accounts that simply don’t return them. Because these products are typically heavier in content, the plant washes fewer of them per load, thereby lowering both energy and water efficiencies. In some cases, it’s better to put a standard-quality product into an account that needs just that.

April 17, 2012

Panel of Experts: Boosting Laundry Energy Efficiency and Water Conservation (Part 1 of 2)

CHICAGO — Input from equipment distribution, commercial laundry, textiles, and hotel/motel/resort laundry sectors

EQUIPMENT/SUPPLIES DISTRIBUTION: STEVE CLARK, LAUNDRY EQUIPMENT SERVICES INC., BERKELEY SPRINGS, W.VA.

As with any mechanical industry in the world today, technology is ever evolving and continues to push equipment to its max in terms of production and efficiency. This is no different in the laundry industry—as long as you use it properly.

Forget all the bells and whistles of additional means for energy conservation and get down to the nitty-gritty of what it takes to improve your laundry’s energy efficiency and water consumption with the equipment you already have. Something that laundry managers often forget is the amount of water in an individual cycle’s bath and the amount of that water retained in the linen at the end of the cycle.

steve clark First, do you know how many gallons are in a particular bath? If so, then do you truly need that much? Does your machine capacity and chemical makeup require such an amount of water? With advancements in technology and computer programming, every leading manufacturer of equipment is capable of customizing water consumption on a per-bath/per-cycle basis. Obviously, this cycle variation will depend on the material being laundered. Regardless, it would be wise to break down the water level and percentage of drum capacity with your chemical representative to determine if this percentage can be tweaked.

Imagine saving 1 gallon per bath/per cycle and multiply that by the number of cycles you run throughout a given day. For example, one machine removes 1 gallon of water from five baths in one cycle. At 5 gallons per load and two loads an hour, that equals 10 gallons saved per hour, or 80 gallons saved per eight-hour shift.

Beyond the amount of water going into an individual wash cycle, what about the water coming out? The water retention amount per load can destroy your laundry’s efficiency in the drying or finishing stages of the process. For every percentage point of moisture in a given material, expect additional minutes to be spent in a dryer or finisher, thus requiring more labor, gas, electricity, etc., per load.

Water retention is affected by the amount of water introduced, the extraction rate of RPMs applying the respective G-force, and the length of extraction time. Due to previously mentioned advances in technology and programming capabilities, most equipment is capable of adjusting the RPMs and the length of extraction time to limit moisture retention to a desired amount for premium linen quality and energy efficiency.

Limit your expenses and help the environment; maximize your efficiency.

COMMERCIAL LAUNDRY: TOM GILDRED, EMERALD TEXTILES, SAN DIEGO, CALIF.

Greater energy efficiency and water conservation can be achieved through planning and design using the new technology available in equipment such as continuous batch washers, presses, and dryers.

tom gildred In some areas, utilities companies and commissions have special incentive programs designed to encourage businesses to be as energy efficient as possible. In working with your utility company, it is possible to precisely plan for proper equipment and energy use in order to achieve maximum savings.

Employing “reduce and reuse” principles ensures that the highest possible level of resource preservation is achieved throughout an operation. By incorporating the latest technology, equipment, processes and infrastructure, it is possible to save millions of gallons of water annually and tremendous amounts of natural gas and electricity. Some of the ways to achieve tremendous savings include:

Utilizing energy-efficient lighting, and motion-sensor lighting where appropriate, throughout the plant and offices to reduce energy use.
Going green with invoices, by using e-mail instead of paper to conserve ink, energy and eliminate paper waste.
Using environmentally sustainable, lighter fabrics that not only make sense for the environment but also require less drying time.
Utilizing gravity-enabled designs in the plant, such as an overhead rail system, that moves laundry through the facility using minimal energy to produce less risk and strain to employees.
Installing the latest industrial washers that utilize high-tech water systems with the ability to decrease water usage by more than 75%.
Incorporating high-pressure presses to remove the maximum amount of water from clean goods and greatly reduce drying time, resulting in lower natural gas consumption.
Employing heat reclamation equipment, which employs energy-transfer principles to raise the incoming water temperature so that a lot less energy is needed for heating.

Through technology and streamlined processes, it is possible to achieve tremendous energy savings, which results in cost savings and reduced environmental impact. That’s good for the industry and good for the environment.

TEXTILES: TOM LANGDON, ENCOMPASS GROUP, MCDONOUGH, GA.

There are a number of relatively new textile products on the market that can help improve a laundry’s energy and water consumption. Technology developments in yarn spinning and finishing chemistry now allow synthetic fibers to have more natural fiber characteristics.

tom langdon Fasciated yarn is defined by Webster’s as a form of fiber assembly consisting of a core of parallel discontinuous fibers bound into a compact bundle by surface wrapping minor proportion of the discontinuous fibers around the core to form the yarn. The most common type is MJS, or Murata Jet Spinning, named after the Japanese manufacturer that perfected this technique.

By using this process to spin all polyester or CVS (Chief Value Synthetic) fibers into yarn, products have a more “cotton-like” look and feel. Recent developments in finishing chemistry now can impart wicking and moisture management properties on fabrics once considered nonabsorbent. This market trend started several years ago with sheets and pillowcases, but now has spread into most product groups, including incontinent pads and even thermal blankets.

There are a few challenges that any laundry may have to address when considering incorporating these new products into their system. No. 1 is the difference in cost. Depending on the item, replacing an existing CVC (Chief Value Cotton) item with one that is all-poly or poly rich could be a 20-40% premium in upfront investment over the standard linen price. The second challenge is processing. Because manmade fiber products dry faster and absorb less water, they need to be processed separately to achieve their full benefits. In some cases, this may be more trouble than it is worth.

Although there is an upfront investment, adding these items to a line will more than provide payback over time. By its nature, polyester is stronger than cotton and will last longer. There is less weight loss, which helps protect revenues for those charging by the pound. Studies have shown that these poly-rich items are more resistant to staining, so there is savings to be had by reducing rewash cycles or pre-treating.

This past year was the best time ever to add more poly-rich items to your line or convert completely. The unprecedented rise in cotton prices in 2011 closed the gap, so in some cases switching was a wash (no pun intended), or the premium was slight. If you look at these items from a cost-per-use perspective, they still are a good value.

I’ll offer a few statistics. One company that I work with did some in-house testing on the processing of these new, synthetic-rich items and achieved the following results on several product categories (of course, results may vary from laundry to laundry):

Knit Sheets — Drying time was reduced 25-40% as compared to a cotton-rich item, and water retention was cut in half.

Pads — Drying time was reduced by 50% as compared to a cotton-rich item, and water retention was reduced by 20%.

Clothing Protectors — Drying time was reduced by 60% as compared to a cotton-rich item, and water retention reduced by 40%.

If laundries embrace this new technology, they will experience faster drying times and use less water. They will also have products that last longer. Saving money and time while conserving resources, now that’s a win-win.

HOTEL/MOTEL/RESORT LAUNDRY: JR NORRIS, DELTA UNIFORM AND LINEN, ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.

As energy prices begin to soar, and with today’s current economic uncertainty, now is an excellent time to implement energy benchmarking and waste reduction in your operation.

jr norris Conducting energy audits on a regular basis can help determine the actual condition of your equipment as well as its overall performance. These audits can show where and how energy is being wasted, and can help you identify and prioritize future energy-improvement measures.

Unfortunately, it took some time to get our entire team to recognize the benefits and contribute to reducing wasted resources. In addition to insulating hot water and steam lines and repairing leaky valves, we conducted frequent walk-and-talk meetings with maintenance and laundry managers to identify a starting point.

Since our machines are older, we decided we should determine their energy consumption first. To start the process, we had our local electricity provider complete an audit. It conducted a weeklong audit of our usage and compared peak vs. non-peak times. Through these findings, we learned which equipment was pulling the highest amperage and then made proactive decisions to determine what we could do to conserve.

After the audit was complete, we reviewed all of our older equipment that was wasting the most energy. The most energy-consuming piece of equipment turned out to be a 50-hp air compressor, and, unfortunately, we have two of them in place. In an effort to reduce this waste, we purchased a new 25-hp motor, changed the pulleys and reduced the overall amps being used.

Some may ask why we didn’t purchase a new, energy-efficient compressor. We believe in saving first and purchasing newer equipment after all other options have been exhausted.

For example, we had a 900-pound Ellis washer that had such a hard start-up and used so many amps that it continuously caused problems. We implemented today’s technology and installed a soft-start invert drive. This dramatically reduced our daily amps and allowed room on our circuit breaker to install more equipment on our two different power sources. This method of resolution has proven successful in our operation.

In addition to modifying equipment to conserve energy, we also found that by utilizing our skylights as a natural light source, we were able to reduce the number of hours a day that our overhead lights are on. With the generous amount of sunlight that we have in New Mexico, we tapped into this natural resource. The additional natural light encourages more positive production out of our employees than working under bright fluorescent lighting. To take this a step further, we are installing photocells on our fixtures to automatically reduce lighting usage.

The next energy-saving effort we will focus on is a system for reclaiming water. We have grown significantly over the last few years, and have learned that this system will be a vital contributor for cost savings and water preservation. We are in the process of researching this method to determine our future implementation efforts.

Conserving energy can be as easy as wrapping and insulating lines or identifying and repairing all leaking water and air valves. Enlisting your local energy service provider to provide audits of your current consumption can give you a better understanding of your usage and allow you to easily identify waste. Empowering your team to conserve and promote awareness of energy waste can improve the success of your efforts. Education and implementation is the best way to reduce our industry’s carbon footprint and benefit the environment, but it also can assist in reducing our collective bottom lines.

Check back tomorrow for Part 2!

March 29, 2012

ARTA Education Conference Next Week to Focus on Marketing Reusables

FAIRWAY, Kan. — There's nothing like learning from peers who have blazed a trail of success

FAIRWAY, Kan. — There’s nothing like learning from peers who have blazed a trail of success. That’s why the American Reusable Textile Association (ARTA) will feature operator roundtable sessions—on sales and controlling linen losses—each day of its 2012 Education Conference next week in Memphis, Tenn.

The Tuesday through Thursday conference is titled Marketing Reusables in 2012: How Clean is Clean, How to Sell Clients – and Control Losses After the Sale. In addition to operator roundtables with Q&A, ARTA will host speakers from the Mayo Clinic, 3M, Encompass Group, the Healthcare Laundry Accreditation Council (HLAC) and more.

A technical service representative from 3M will address Standards of Clean – How Do We Measure It? Francis Zieman, RN, BSN, MS, CSPDT, will provide an overview of tools and methods to measure cleanliness and then invite members of the audience to test different items, based on written instructions.

HLAC Inspection Chair Judy Reino, Reino Linen, will review best practices during Infection Prevention 101: Practices for the Laundry. Her review will include facility design, personnel, equipment and processes, transportation and clean-linen storage.

Mayo Clinic’s Cindy Molko, RLLD, director of linen services, will offer practical advice you can take back to the office in the session, Infection Prevention and You.

Some other sessions include an update on Cotton and Textile Issues in 2012: What to Expect from Tom Langdon, vice president of sourcing and purchasing for Encompass Group, and Hotel Guest, Hospital Patient or Visitor: Is Your Health at Risk? by Steve Tinker, vice president, Gurtler Industries.

The two operator roundtables planned, Capturing the Healthcare Sale and Case Studies on Stop-Loss Strategies, will feature profit and not-for-profit, regional, and national operators sharing their strategies for selling reusable surgical textiles and controlling losses. All sessions will leave time for Q&A from the audience.

ARTA’s conference will take place at The Peabody Hotel and is open to members and nonmembers, as well as all sister associations.

The Welcome Reception hosted by MIP and Encompass kicks off the event on Tuesday. Attendees who arrive that afternoon can sign up for a tour of Methodist LeBonheur Healthcare Laundry or visit Graceland.

The education program starts Wednesday with sessions running all day, and includes a group lunch. Attendees can mingle and network at the Sponsors’ Reception that evening at The Cotton Museum and Exchange.

The conference ends at noon on Thursday. Continental breakfast is included both days before education sessions begin.

Registration is still open. Visit the ARTA website or contact Executive Director Nancy Jenkins at njenkins@arta1.com for more information.

March 22, 2012

TRSA Hosts First in Series of Executive Roundtables

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — TRSA and Walt Disney World host roundtable discussions involving

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — The Textile Rental Services Association (TRSA) last month hosted the first of six Executive Roundtables planned for 2012, providing members with benchmarking information designed to improve operations, performance, productivity and safety.

TRSA President Joseph Ricci says his association’s members are always looking for opportunities for innovation. “Differentiation with unique goods and services provide a niche for new market entry and the financial premiums associated with those opportunities,” he explains.

This gathering covered issues impacting the restaurant/food-and-beverage and hotel/lodging markets. A representative of Darden Restaurants—the world’s largest full-service restaurant company, including the Red Lobster, Olive Garden and Longhorn Steakhouse brands—took part in the roundtable discussion, promoting the exchange of information from customer to service provider.

Industry consultants from Pertl & Alexander led discussions on linen loss and replacement for hospitality and food-and-beverage (F&B) applications. Attendees were invited to tour three Walt Disney World laundries, each with a special application and purpose.

The Housekeeping Plant processes rooms linen and pool towels for the nearly 30,000 Disney World hotel guestrooms. It produces more clean linen than any other single laundry location in the world—nearly 120 million pounds annually. The 16-year-old facility operates seven tunnel washers (that are targeted for replacement) and an automated open-pocket cell.

The emphasis on throughput production is clear, but not at the risk of sacrificing quality. Quality control is ongoing, including a station that randomly evaluates linen before shipment.

Bob Corfield, president of Laundry Design Group, appreciated the production and efficiency of the housekeeping plant, but was eager to see how Disney handled its considerable costume and uniform requirements.

After a short bus ride, the group toured the Costume Facility that processes 29,000 costumes and cast member uniforms every day.

Curt Gray, chief administrative officer for AmeriPride Services in Minnetonka, Minn., says he felt more at home in the uniform plant environment. His goal was to better understand how a world-class organization like Walt Disney World integrates its service culture into the industrial laundry environment.

After going through the plants, Gray commented that the net result of what Disney accomplishes appears to be the sum of doing a lot of little things right.

The Costume Facility tours like a morph between a large drycleaning shop and a production industrial plant (it also processes all walk-off mats used in the theme park). Equipment includes four drycleaning machines, two wetclean washers, and an assortment of washer-extractors.

Terri Amey, Disney’s costume plant manager, attributes the production and quality to the plant’s “cast.” Average term of service among full-time employees there is 19.5 years.

Pablo Lucchesi of Crown Linen, Miami, was particularly interested in touring Disney’s Food and Beverage Plant, as F&B is a growth center for his company.

Disney’s F&B facility provides table linen for the 200 park restaurant outlets servicing 32 different color options.

F&B delivery drivers arrive at work at 2 a.m. Pickups and deliveries are made in the early-morning hours using lowboy trailers. They are equipped with ramps that eliminate lift-gate requirements, reducing delivery times and improving operator safety.

The next TRSA Executive Roundtable is scheduled for May and will involve operational and market issues specific to national textile services companies.

May 24, 2011

Maintain Equipment Now or Pay Dearly Later (Part 1 of 2)

“What are the qualities of a good preventive-maintenance program? What are the most important tasks to perform? How much time should we allow for routine maintenance, and when? How much maintenance should my staff be doing, and what should we leave to the pros?” Answers from David Chadsey, Phil Jones, Gary Clifford and Jesse VanOven ...

November 23, 2010

APIC’s Bjerke to Chair HLAC Board of Directors in 2011

FRANKFORT, Ill. — The Healthcare Laundry Accreditation Council (HLAC) announced its Board of Directors for 2011 during its board meeting earlier this month.

Officers include Chairwoman Nancy Bjerke, BSN, RN, MPH, CIC, Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) representative; Vice Chairman Rocco Romeo, CEO, HLS Linen Services; and Secretary/Treasurer Rob Potack, vice president, Unitex Textile Rental Services.

Other board members will be:

November 3, 2010

Capital Requests Hinge on Just Three Letters: ROI (Part 3 of 3)

“How can an on-premise laundry manager most effectively demonstrate to administration (or a for-profit textile rental operator demonstrate to financiers) the need for capital improvements and renovation in his or her plant?”

Long-Term-Care Laundry — Gary Clifford, Pines of Sarasota, Sarasota, Fla.

June 22, 2010

TRSA Seeks Broad Participation in Industry Safety Survey

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The Textile Rental Services Association (TRSA) is urging all uniform rental and linen supply companies to participate in the Industry Safety Survey, a project now under way that quantifies launderers’ success in reducing workplace illnesses and injuries.

The survey questionnaire is available for download at www.safetrsa.org. Deadline to respond is July 15.

May 6, 2010

All Textile Products Are Not Created Equal (Part 2 of 3)

“How can we tell if we’re getting our money’s worth from the textiles we’re using? What are the characteristics of a high-quality textile after it has been processed a dozen times, 50 times, or more? And can item type — flatwork or garment — actually influence textile durability?”

Long-Term-Care Laundry — Gary Clifford, Pines of Sarasota, Sarasota, Fla.

April 2, 2010

Laundries Find Various Means to 'Go Green'

CHICAGO — “Going green” in the laundry industry can mean lots of different things. It can relate to using enviro-friendly detergents, installing certain equipment dedicated to conserving energy, or choosing specially constructed textiles. The act of laundering itself is inherently green.

Often, one can discover new ways to improve by watching what their colleagues are doing. So, this month, we’ve profiled some representative laundries of varying types to examine how they’ve made their operations “greener.”

February 11, 2010

Danger Is Lurking Around Every Corner (Part 2 of 3)

“At what points during the laundering process are workers most vulnerable to injury or even death, and what precautions should be taken to minimize the risk? I want to make sure I am doing everything I can to protect my staff.”

Chemicals Supply: Matt Koloseike, Procter & Gamble Professional, Cincinnati, Ohio

November 21, 2008

“I’m concerned that we’re not doing all we can to handle our laundry chemicals safely. What chemicals pose the greatest hazards? How should they be stored? Are there records we should be keeping? What kind of personal protective equipment is recommended?”

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

May 25, 2007

Vendor Pays Hefty Price for Devaluing 'Human Element'

Recently, one of my major vendors made a sudden and unexpected change in representation. I had received excellent service from the sales representative for this company for four years and found him to be a reliable source of information about his products and the local market. The company’s move to terminate the services of a long-time, effective employee only reinforced in my mind the lack of value so many people place in the “human element.”

February 1, 2007

Preventative-Maintenance Program Requires Commitment to Protect Your Investment (Part 4 of 4)

I want to set up a preventive-maintenance program in my laundry. What kind of resources will I need in place to keep my equipment operating well? How much time should I allow for routine maintenance? Can I get any help from manufacturers or distributors?

August 1, 2006

Plant Inspections Offer Opportunities to Shine (Part 2 of 2)

I know that my laundry operation is due to be inspected sometime this year, but I'm not sure how to get ready for it. Where do I start? Where should my focus be? In what areas am I most likely to face criticism or sanction if our plant is deemed substandard?

June 3, 2006

Penny-Wise and Pound-Foolish

It always amazes me how poorly we managers treat our laundry chemical representatives. We hammer them on cost from morning until night and will change vendors in a heartbeat because someone else says they can do it for less.

May 1, 2006

Water Quality Change Cause for Concern (Part 2 of 3)

Some unknown factor has increased the hardness of the water entering my laundry. How can we combat this change so we can produce high-quality linen without jeopardizing production efficiency? What options are available to me to address this hard-water problem?

March 5, 2004

Value of Large-Group Contract Still Depends on Manager

Has the advent of large purchasing groups diminished the laundry manager’s role in purchasing textiles and laundry chemicals? My answer is a simple and resounding NO!

There is still a need for someone to manage the process of using the product and checking the product to make sure it matches specifications. Even more important is the feedback that a good manager can give purchasing about how well or how poorly the product meets the customer’s needs.

February 1, 2004

A Quality Chemical Program Can't Be Run by Telephone or Drop Shipment (Part 2 of 2)

When looking for a laundry chemical supplier for my plant, what questions should I ask? What characteristics and abilities best define a leader in supplying laundry chemicals?

Technical Support
Dan Lansford

January 12, 2001

NAILM Chapter Ponders Dryer Safety

CHICAGO – Regular maintenance and educated use of dryers and tumblers will go a long way in keeping a laundry’s drying operation efficient and safe, a representative from a leading laundry equipment manufacturer advises.

Andy Lubahn, a regional parts and service manager for Alliance Laundry Systems, Ripon, Wis., spoke to the Illinois chapter of the National Association of Institutional Linen Management (NAILM) during an educational meeting at the Hyatt Regency Chicago.