PerforMAX case study

PerforMAXrru
sheetslowerrag-outratesby 7Lo/o
andcut
conditioning
timein half,savingPHSC
moneyandtime.
PHSC
replaced
theirtraditional
blendedsheetswiththe PerforMM100%
syntheticsheets,loweringdry times,energyuseand replacement
costs. This
resultedfromfasterironerspeeds,lessconditioning
time,lessstainsandlonger
productlife.
About Poftland Hospital Seruice Corporation
PoftlandHospitalSeruice
Corporation
is a cooperative
laundryin Oregonthat processes
pouMS
23
million
over
annually.Theyseruice
13 hospitals
and60 medical/dental
clinics,and havebeenin business
for 38 years. PHSC
ownstheirtextilesand rents
productsto theircustomers,
theychargeby the pound.
PHSC's Laundering Process
in a tunnelwasherwith 18 modules.Eachmodulecanprocess
Sheetsarelaundered
pounds
150
of linen.Thewaterextractor
at the endofthe tunneluses35 bars. PHSC
theirsheebfor two minutesandthereis no cooldownstage.Thedryer
conditions
process.Thereareabout
cannotbe bypassed
at thistime,because
it is an automated
(24
30oloblendedsheetsin circulation monthsafterimplementing
PerforMM)that
requireconditioning
for dryinganduntangling.Thefeederandfolderaremanufactured
by Chicago
andthe ironersby LavaTec.
The Case for Evaluating Energy Efficient Textiles
PortlandHospitalServiceCorporation
wasfacingseveralchallenges:increasing
energy
costs,shrinkinglinens,anda highpercentage
of rewashes
andragouts. Twoyearsago
(1000/o
PortlandHospitalServicebeganorderingPedorMAX
synthetic)
flat sheetsto
problem
areasin the laundry.Withovera quarterof the
combattheirbottlenecks
and
linenpoolconsisting
of flat sheets,anyimprovements
wouldgenerategreatbenefitsto
theirbottomline.
Deborah
Lark,PHSC's
C.O.O.,
soughtanyopportunity
to reducethe amountof rag-outs.
yellowing,
Manythingscancontributeto rag-outssuchas staining,fabricdegradation,
poly
tears,andexcessshrink. PHSC
wasrunningall blendedsheets(55o/o
coftonl45o/o
o/o
poly)
plementi
g
and70o/ocotton/30
before im
n PerforMAX.
for the highrag-outrateon the blended
washavinga toughtimeaccounting
PHSC
stained,ripped,andyellow,
sheets.Theyfoundthat the productswerebecoming
productwasnot asstrong,
in highrag-outs.Theyalsofoundthatthe blended
resulting
productwasalso
whichcaused
the sheetsto teareasierandwearout faster.Shrinking
at least25o/o,
causing
the laundryto lose
sheetswereshrinking
an issue:the blended
with shortersheets.
revenueand upsettheircustomers
initiallyimplemented
A visitwasmadeto the laundryin May2008,two yearsafterPHSC
comparison
the PeforMAXsheets.Thefollowingdatawasgatheredfor a side-by-side
PerforMM.
of the keymetricsbeforeandafterimplementing
Getting Stafted with PedorMAX
couldliveup to its promises.
that shehadinitialdoubtsthat PerforMAX
Larkmentioned
and
thata sheetwouldbetoughto stainin herindustry
Shehada hardtimebelieving
so shesentsamples
of PerforMAX
to the high-stain
wouldlastnearly300processings,
hospitalareasto put themto the test. Shewasamazedwhenthe productcameback
thatthe sheetsdid
cleanandwhitewithonlyoneregularwash.Shewasmostsurprised
numerous
sheetswitha tapemeasure
shewasshocked
to
not shrink.Aftermeasuring
seethe sheetswerethe samesizeas the originalsafter30 processings.
of PerforMMsheets,PHSChadto dedicateone
Afterinjectingthe iriitialquantities
the newsheetsproperly.It
to be ableto process
engineerto workwith the machines
were
no glitches.The main
the
folders
and
ironers
so
there
took4-5 daysto adjust
wereto addtrackingtapeon the beltsof the folderto providea bettergrip
adjustments
ribbon.
the ribbonson the ironerwithrubberized
on the sheets,andto rep.lace
Significantly Reduced Rag-Out Rate
of PerforMM,PHSChasseentheirrag-outratego from7o/o
Sincethe implementation
in rag-outs.Larkmentioned
that theystillhave
decrease
downto 2o/o.Thisis a 7Lo/o
andbelieves
that her rag-outswill be even
25o/o-30o/o
of blendedsheetsin circulation,
productis fullycycledout. Thelowerrag-outratenaturally
has
loweroncethe blended
rate. PHSC
wasreplacing
eachmonthandnow
an impacton the replacement
$30,000
to $25,267,
whichis 160lo
overall.
it hasdropped
FasterDry Times- Ironers
PerforMAX,
PHSCironersran at 130feet per minute.With
Beforeimplementing
theyare nowup to the highestspeedof L70feet per minute.This
PerforMAX,
a3to/ofasterspeed,savingbothtimeand money.DaleWalden,PHSC'S
represents
plantengineer,
noticedhowthe PeforMAX
sheetsslideagainsteachotheranduntangle
polyester)
aresoakingwet, and
with ease,whilethe blendedsheets(70%cotton30o/o
the peoplefeedingthe
requiretwo handswithforceto untangle.Thisattributeallowed
ironto workmorequicklyandefficiently.
FasterDry Times- Conditioning
Waldensaidthat the PerforMAX
sheetsare practically
dry afterextraction
fromthe
tunnelwasher.conditioning
the sheetscouldbe bypassed,
but the planthasan
automaticsystemthat will not allowthat to happen.Theywereableto cut the
conditioning
time in half,fromfour minutesto two minutes.Again,two minutesof
conditioning
is necessary
because
thereis stillsomeblendedproductin circulation.
IncreasedCustomerSatisfaction
Larkrealizes
that no changewouldbe successful
withoutthe approvalfromher
customers
at the numerous
hospitals
andclinicsthat PHSC
services.Before
implementing
PerforMAX,
shereceived
frequentphonecallsfromcustomers
with
complaints
on the blendedsheets.Sheis delightedthat sheis nowableto offerher
customers
a sheetthat is whiter,brighter,and keepsits sizeandweightthroughoutthe
lifeof the product,and hasgreatlyimprovedcustomersatisfaction.[ark saidlhat the
timespentmakingthe initialadjustments
to the machinery
waswellworththe end
resultwith PerforMM.
ConditionineTime
$25.267
Summary
OverallPHSC
estimates
that theyare saving$15,000annuallyby utilizingperforMAX
syntheticsheets.