The following article was written by Pariser Industries President Scott Pariser for publication in a large nursing home chain’s newsletter:
Avoid Playing Laundry Room “Beat The Clock”
Without proper linen inventory levels at your facility, you’re probably losing more than soil down the laundry drain.
Consolidation of the laundry day is dependent upon the proper linen inventory levels and can lead to significant cost savings. Too often, “penny wise” linen purchasing allows in-house linen levels to drop below what is needed for an efficient laundry program. Why? Because inadequate quantities of washcloths, towels, diapers or pads create situations where laundry rooms need to process laundry under the stress of a shift-to-shift basis.
If linen is slow to return to the laundry, or if a washer or dryer breaks down, linen shortages and/or overtime costs typically follow. Laundry room labor and operational hours stretch to meet demand – an expensive example of the laundry “tail” wagging the labor “dog”.
Performing timely and accurate linen inventories is a must! Their relationship to your facility’s daily linen requirement is critical in enabling your laundry to operate at an efficient level.