| Lean
Enterprise – Lean Laundry
Running a laundry
operation lean and mean to meet a tough economy may simply
be a label excusing shortcomings in purchasing, production
and delivery. Boosting production, increasing the accuracy
of order fulfillment and speeding up delivery times don’t
always require hiring more people or spending for new equipment.
The first
step is to find waste and inefficiency. At our Peachtree City,
Ga., headquarters, we scoured our operation as part of the
Lean Enterprise program implementation and were amazed by
the impact of seemingly simple changes. Lean Enterprise, for
those that are unfamiliar, is based on the world-renowned
Toyota Production System (TPS) and is the most widely used
management methodology today.
 Ironer
covers, pads, waxes and other products, for example, were
reorganized with complete documentation for more efficiency
and accuracy in filling orders. Plus, with the Lean Enterprise
stocking system, reorders are now automatically triggered
and nearly every laundry product we stock is always in stock.
Setting them up on racks instead of in bins and on pallets
on the floor took better advantage of our warehouse space.
Simple
reorganization, such as moving the pick and pack department
for small parts and products into the shipping area helped
increase on-time deliveries by 14 percent.
Could
your on-time delivery rate be improved? Consider easy efficiency
changes. Are your shrinkwrapping machines near the folders?
Laundry carts near shrinkwrapping machines? Extra ironer covers,
pads, guide tapes and supplies stored near the ironers?
To take
a Lean Enterprise Workshop with Todd Nadler, click
here.
Latest
Innovations
Elastoliners and Covers
 These
smooth, reusable, washable, nylon liners keep your carts,
bins and utility trucks safe from contamination from soiled
laundry. They also keep your clean linens clean, preventing
contact with carts, bins and utility trucks.
Elastocovers
fit around the tops like fitted sheets to guard against dust,
lint and other contaminants. Sized to fit virtually any bin,
basket or truck, in rainbow of colors.
See
Elastoliners and covers here.
New
Sorting Table
How
many tables keep your plant going? From sorting soiled to
staging, finishing and cart makeup, tables may be the most
common piece of equipment in the plant but they also may be
involved in the most common causes of repetitive motion injuries.
With workers standing over tables for hours at a time and
reaching across them for linens, it’s important the
table size supports worker safety.
This new laundry
sorting and staging table stands at a comfortable 30 inches
high to position work between the waist and elbow height of
most workers.
Rising wings on
three sides help corral the laundry and keep it from falling
onto the floor to cut bending and reaching.
It’s also
rotationally molded in one, smooth piece of waterproof plastic
that cannot harbor mold or bacteria and wipes clean. And it
rolls and rotates on rugged casters to move from one sorting
line or department to another.
For pricing,
call 800.829.3864 or email Ty Acton at tacton@tingue.com.
See
more sorting table photos here.
Meet
Team Tingue
Next
scheduled appearance for Ty and Team Tingue: CSCNetwork Annual
Convention booth #103 at Aria Resort & Casino in Las Vegas,
March 9 – 11.
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