CHICAGO — The hidden cost of inefficiencies in a drycleaning plant’s workflow can be a drag on both the plant’s productivity and profitability. Every step an owner can save a worker in the process of cleaning is a step no longer wasted.
In Part 1 of this series, we looked at the compound effect small inefficiencies can have on overall plant productivity, and in Part 2 we examined how attention to detail can streamline a plant’s workflow.
Today, we’ll conclude by exploring creative workarounds when space is an issue, along with questions owners should ask when considering their plant’s processes.
Space Constraints and Creative Solutions
Not every plant has the luxury of unlimited space for optimization. Drycleaning consultant Liz Davies works with many clients that cannot expand its building but still needs to increase capacity.
Her first recommendation is, literally, to clean house. “Clean out the junk,” she says. “If you no longer do wet-press starch jeans anymore, get rid of the equipment and free up that space.”
Also, when horizontal space is maxed out, Davies suggests going vertical. She’s seen creative solutions that use ceiling space for trolley systems and air-dry items like wedding gowns, comforters and wet-clean garments.
“It’s hotter up there, so they dry quicker,” she says. “If you can’t go out, go up.”
Some of her clients have even built mezzanines to create second-floor production areas. While it can be costly, this approach can effectively double usable space.
Questions to Ask
For plant owners wondering whether their layout is helping or hurting their business, Davies suggests they start by understanding their metrics.
She asks about the plant’s pieces per operator hour (PPOH). If the owner can’t answer, she says, “That’s not good.”
Other questions to consider:
- Are employees taking multiple steps between operations?
- Are garments piling up at certain points in the process?
- Do some areas seem perpetually congested while others sit empty?
Bill Stork, owner of Dry Clean Design and recently retired plant layout consultant, recommends owners go and see their workflow for themselves. “Stop and observe an operator,” he says. “Watch how many steps they take, whether they can reach equipment with a quarter-turn and where delays occur.”
The consultants emphasize that owners should be ready to entertain new ideas, even if they might challenge long-standing practices.
“I’m going to say an operator should be open-minded to advice,” Stork says. “If somebody comes into the plant and says, ‘I could show you a way that, if you spend a few dollars, you could save tons,’ hear them out.”
Worth the Investment?
For plants considering layout changes, doing the math often quickly justifies the investment. Moving equipment might cost money in mechanic fees, but Davies believes that the efficiency gains typically pay back that investment rapidly through labor savings.
“It’s going to cost you $2,000 to bring a mechanic in to rearrange it,” she estimates. “It’s worth it.”
The alternative of continuing to operate with inefficient workflows can carry a much higher cost that compounds over time.
“If they haven’t been exposed to other layouts and workflows,” Davies says, “then they’re thinking their layout is fine.”
Stork’s advice to plant owners is straightforward: “Get help. Somebody who knows what they’re doing.”
The first action in pursuing a better workflow is understanding that those three extra steps per garment really do matter, Davies says. The second is doing something about it.
Davies recalls working with operations that have been following the same layout for years, even decades. When she suggests changes, some employees resist: “They say, ‘Every time you come, you’re changing things.’”
Her response is clear: “Why do you think that’s happening? Clients change, manufacturing changes, chemistry changes. We have to constantly pivot.”
For Part 1 of this series, click HERE. For Part 2, click HERE.
Have a question or comment? E-mail our editor Dave Davis at [email protected].
