All kinds of businesses prefer to keep a laundry on the premises rather than send out to a linen rental operation. Whatever their reasons for this – it could be wanting control over the process, worries about cost or simply because they have always done it that way. Some in hospitality and healthcare catering for overnight stays may well choose to send bedding out which needs a really professional finish, while keeping hold of the towel and bathrobe laundering which they see as not as complicated to manage. Whatever the reason, quality and cleanliness is top of the list of results they will be aspiring to.
For a full OPL laundry solution, Girbau, using its Sapphire software and the Disinfection Monitoring Package (DMP), has launched its ‘Total Control On-Site Laundry Solution’ combining disinfection monitoring with an advanced yet easy-to-use cloud-based laundry management system using highly efficient, programmable washers and dryers
This new turnkey OPL solution allows organisations and companies to ensure disinfection of linen, says Girbau and has been designed for use in small and large establishments alike, from food processing plants, hospitals, care homes, to hotels though to correctional facilities and military bases. Girbau’s ‘Disinfection Monitoring Package (DMP)’, ensures compliance with the parameters necessary for proper textile sanitisation.
Benefits of the Total Control solution include, among others, reducing or eliminating laundry outsourcing costs; mitigating the infection risk from contaminated laundry; easily adhering to country or global cleaning and health standards; avoiding the loss of sheets, uniforms and other linen; extending the longevity of laundered items; lower replacement costs; reduced exposure to external hazards; and ensuring laundry meets disinfection specifications.
In addition to the DMP, the Total Control solution also features Sapphire, Girbau’s cloud-based management system, which allows users to completely monitor, manage and configure their on-site laundry.
The Total Control system teams Sapphire and the DMP with Girbau soft-mount HSSeries Washers and ED Dryers. Designed to lower water, electrical and gas costs while boosting productivity, HS Washers feature automatic chemical injection, high-speed spinning, unmatched durability and the ultimate in programmability within a small space. The soft-mount design contributes to easy installation and same-day operation. Girbau washers can adjust to suit the precise needs of each load type, using the minimum required water, energy and chemical consumption.
According to Mike Floyd, Girbau global marketing director: “The costs for laundry outsourcing are increasing rapidly and so is the need for more control over how laundry is processed, especially since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. By bringing laundry processing on-site with the new Total Control solution, facilities not only gain complete control over how their laundry is handled and cleaned, they better ensure the safety of their employees and customers, while enjoying significant cost savings.”
Meanwhile, the Professional division of Miele echoes the importance voiced by Girbau re sanitisation, saying: “It is clear that laundry processes have played their part in preventing the spread of infection during the Covid-19 pandemic. Businesses looking to implement the safest, most cost effective and streamlined laundry processes during this time should consider implementing an OPL.”
Miele advice is to take control of infection and hygiene standards as an OPL gives you full control of laundry processes, ensuring wash cycles are set to recommended temperatures, and for thermo or chemothermo disinfection, wash cycles are used with the prescribed quantity of detergent.
A real bonus of an OPL is that you can minimise outside contact by keeping laundry processes onsite, so the risk of cross-contamination with external organisations is significantly reduced. For those businesses that require staff uniforms, an OPL reduces transfer of infections as staff don’t need to take their uniforms home to wash.
Over at Electrolux Professional, Mick Christian, regional training and demonstration manager for laundry, has ergonomics and the optimum staff working environment firmly in mind. Christian tells LCN: “With the on-premises laundry sector still very much reliant on human involvement for the loading and unloading of machines, the long-term impact of this manual work on operators is a major industry challenge. It goes without saying that the bigger the machines, the heavier the load, and the greater the risk to operators. However, as the ergonomic impact of a washing machine is not as transparent as utility consumption, cycle time or other financially quantifiable metrics, it can often be overlooked.
“Musculoskeletal disorders are the biggest cause of injury in the laundry and drycleaning industry. As such, when it came to the design and development of Electrolux Professional’s latest commercial washing machine, the Line 6000, we took the decision to go down the road less travelled, and ensure that the machine’s positive impact on the operator would match its impact on bottom line.
“The Line 6000 range of commercial washers is now the only machine in its category that has been awarded the prestigious 4-star rating for ergonomics by Ergocert. Key innovations that minimise tension and strain include a new mounting position for the dosing dispenser – which can be manually or automatically configured – to improve access and visibility, as well as an easy-to-open door and optimised drum height. All of these factors combine to deliver an evidencebased and third party-ratified reduction in the development of work-related musculoskeletal disorders.”
As well as the ergonomic benefits of the Line 6000 range the machines offer intelligent monitoring and utility-saving programs, all of which combine to deliver long-term cost savings and outstanding productivity over the operational life of the unit. The washers offer auto dosing, power balancing of the load and will also tell you when they are overloaded.
And, new to the UK market, is Industrial Laundry Equipment, a company that only came into being effectively from last August. Its range of Premium washers, ideal for OPL, range from 10kg-120kg with dryers in the same capacity range.
According to ILE managing director Richard Brown,the Premium range can be compared to the highest quality European brands and can be supplied with standard controls or full touch screen to suit. Components are readily available from the High Street and include well known and trusted brands such as Mitsubishi, Schneider and Dependo.The larger machines are available as tilting models. Wetcleaning machines are also available in the Premium range.
LIVERPOOL WEDDING VENUE SAYS ‘I DO’ TO MIELE
In pre-Covid times, Dorfold Hall would host around two weddings a week. The Hall previously outsourced to a laundry service before realising that standards would improve if the laundry were to be taken in house. The Hall’s 600 thread cotton and sateen bed linen required careful washing to prolong its life and quality.
Outsourcing laundry was also causing slow turnaround times, with bed linen and towels taking up to three days at the laundry, making it difficult to line up clean items in time.
The owners of the Hall called on Miele Professional partner, Liver Laundry, to assess equipment needs through an initial site survey before delivering a proposed specification of equipment and layout.
The proposal included the Miele PW 818 washing machine and the PT 8407 tumble dryer, and the PM 1217 rotary ironer to provide a crisp finish to the bed linen.
Liver worked with the Hall to turn an unused basement room into a fully functioning laundry room installed in just one day. Liver Laundry also provided a thorough training briefing to the housekeeper.
Now, says Miele, the housekeeper can wash, dry and iron items within hours, speeding up room preparation. This means that when the next wedding party arrives, Dorfold Hall will be well prepared to deliver the deluxe experience it promises.
