JANUARY 2016
Late News Washing Systems completes recapitalization LOVELAND, Ohio — Washing Systems LLC, a provider of chemicals and technical services to the commercial laundry processing industry, has completed a recapitalization with Gryphon Investors, a San Francisco-based private equity firm, the company reports. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. According to the company, the partnership with Gryphon will provide Washing Systems with increased resources to fuel growth within the commercial laundry industry. The Washing Systems executive management team, including CEO Bobby Fisher and President Terry Shoreman, retain a significant ownership position in the company and will continue to lead the business, managing all day-to-day operations. “We are entering an exciting stage of the company’s evolution,” Fisher says, “looking to create more opportunities for our people and, most importantly, to serve our existing customers even better. “We are very excited to partner with Gryphon to pursue these initiatives, and we look forward to delivering even more innovative technologies in our products and services for the benefit of our ALN customers.” Volume 42, Number 1
Patient care at stake when moving processed healthcare linen BY MATT POE, EDITOR CHICAGO — After linens and textiles are processed, it’s important that the goods remain clean from the laundry to the customer or to the shelf—and to the end-user. Clean transport is even more important when it comes to healthcare linens. “If your healthcare organization and those in the laundry industry are not doing known, evidence-based clean procedures at 100%, that could have an impact on the patient level,” says Dr. Fontaine Sands, an associate professor at Eastern Kentucky University. In other words, if hygienically clean healthcare linens aren’t transported and moved properly, they could become contaminated and possibly lead to patient infection. Appropriate transportation systems, packaging/storage means and handling methods are key to maintain the cleanliness of healthcare linens. According to Randy Wendland, CLLM, corporate director textile management services/ TSR at ABM Healthcare Support Services in St. Clair Shores, Mich., the integrity of clean
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linen starts within the processing plant—the laundry. Wendland says that processes must be in place to ensure cleanliness of work areas,
See MOVERS on Page 11
Have bottlenecks? Time to look at big picture BY MATT POE, EDITOR CHICAGO — A bottleneck is defined as “a point of congestion or blockage.” Most laundries have encountered points in operations where workflow suffers from congestion, slowing or even stopping. Those are bottlenecks in the process, which can reduce cost-effective operations. There are many reasons a bottleneck can develop. J.R. Ryan, president of laundry consulting firm TBR Associates, Saddle Brook, N.J., says bottlenecks are constraints created either internally by equipment, people and policies, or externally by market demand being greater than capacity.
He says bottlenecks occur when a process downstream has less capacity than a preceding process. “Think of your daily commute to or from work: Is there always a roadway or intersection where traffic builds up, causing everyone to slow down or even come to a stop?” he asks. “This is a bottleneck.” Chip Malboeuf, president of Turn-Key Industrial Engineering Services Inc. in Charlottesville, Va., says that bottlenecks appear in many different areas throughout different laundry operations. “It is hard to say definitively ‘it is X,’” he says. “We do, however, see common themes causing bottlenecks.” One common theme Malboeuf
says his company encounters deals with actual throughput based on finished product making it out the door and to the customer. Bottlenecks caused by equipment malfunctions, downtime and lack of operator training result in rework for the laundry, Malboeuf says. The rework places additional pressure on the troubled areas to process the same items two and sometimes three times. “This rework exacerbates the lack of machine and/or employee capacity,” he says. Lack of production scheduling is another cause of bottlenecks in the process, says Malboeuf. “One department over-produces, causing downstream bottlenecks,” he says. “The old phi-
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INSIDE Columnist at Large Eric Frederick suggests setting hard-to-reach goals for 2016.
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processing stations, finishing equipment and material-handling devices.
losophy of ‘see bag, wash bag’ in the soil area creates bottlenecks throughout the finishing areas of the laundry.” For Ron Hirsch, president of equipment distributor Direct Machinery Sales Corp. in Hicksville, N.Y., the biggest problem contributing to laundry bottlenecks has to do with production and workflow. “A good laundry is a study of time and motion,” he says. “It is important to make sure that the equipment works in conjunction with all phases of the operation. For instance, if the washroom outpaces the finishing floor, the work can pile up to a point that the See BOTTLENECKS on Page 10
The Newspaper of Record for Laundry & Linen Management
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HX Show Report Find out what happened at the ‘new’ HX trade show in NYC.
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Panel of Experts
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Meet our newest Panel members who are ready to answer questions.
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