Linen and laundry management seems on the surface to be a fairly cut and dry concept. It’s only after facility managers embark on this mission that the many moving parts are revealed. The complexity surrounding linen management is a big part of the reason so many facilities outsource. If you aren’t familiar with these crucial principles of linen management, your process may need to be reevaluated. Share on X
Effective Linen Management
Quality and quantity of linens received in a timely manner are critical to the functions within almost every kind of facility. Knowing the needs of your staff and customers or patients is critical to achieving optimum performance. Here are 5 principles of linen management that are essential to ensure success:
- Maintain Supply
- Monitor Inventory
- Meet Regulation Standards
- Track Costs
- Review Regularly
1) Maintaining Supply
Maintaining your supply requires setting up benchmarking so it’s clear what costs are being incurred, as well as the utilization of linens. It is important to measure linen use to cut back on linen hoarding or excess linen use. Tracking usage of clean laundry, as well as the percentage of products removed for rewashing, is imperative to know how effective your linen management strategy is.
2) Monitoring Inventory
No matter how attentive your staff is, linens and facility products will inevitably disappear or be damaged beyond repair. Hotels lose an average of 5 to 20 percent of their towels alone each month. It’s crucial that you monitor your inventory in order to identify problems and initiate programs to address linen loss.
3) Meeting Regulation Standards
Maintaining a healthy and safe environment for employees and customers is paramount. The guidelines established by OSHA provide protection for employees, and the CDC provides regulations for healthcare linens that must be followed to prevent the spread of infection.
4) Track Costs
Running a facility likely means that your laundry invoice is not something that receives significant attention. However, before you skim through your laundry service bill, take a deeper look at the numbers.
Pro Tip: Next time you receive your laundry invoice, take the time to study the specific charges and see if they match up with your weekly linen load.
5) Review Regularly
Just like any of your facility processes, your linen management requires regular reviews. You cannot fix a problem that you aren’t aware of. Make a plan to review your processes every quarter, identify areas of improvement, and streamline where possible.
Wilkins Linen
Linen management may seem simple from the outside looking in, but most managers recognize that it’s a crucial process that can make or break your facility. Using a reputable linen service and laundry provider is the first step in streamlining your operations.
Contact Us to develop a winning strategy for your Houston facility’s linen management.
