Processing a large volume of work
Part 3
his series concludes with the methodology for
moving the work from the finishing area through the
inspection/assembly area, through the bagging and detailing
area and finally to the distribution area.
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As the drycleaned/wetcleaned garments for
a designated source are pressed and initially inspected by the
presser, they are conveyed, or pushed, to the designated
inspection/assembly area. In my production plant, this area
consisted of four “split rail” assembly bays.
The invoices were hung above the assembly
slots in numerical order by marking tag order since I used a
six-piece, giant number strip tag for identification.
Each bay had a “back up” rail
for the second lot of the particular source being inspected and
assembled. Only 50 invoices were hung at one time. When the lot
was completely assembled, any incomplete orders were
transferred to the “short line” for
“straggler” control by the plant manager.
Remember that the work was processed in
the order of priority of the source (store or route) and
conveyed to the finishers in that order.
Every presser finished the same source in
order to expedite the lot as quickly as possible. This
procedure ensures an efficient delivery system to the sources
to avoid piece meal delivery to the several stores.
Pre-inspection by the individual presser
before he/she sends the garment to the inspection/assembly area
cuts down on rejects by the final inspector for poor pressing.
And post inspection by the cleaner/spotter after cleaning
definitely cuts down on returns for stains by the final
inspector.
Therefore, pre- and post- inspection by
the drycleaner/spotter and pressers speeds up the assembly
process and helps to maintain continuity in movement of the
lots.
The garments are assembled into customer
orders and conveyed to the bagging area where the marking tags
are double-checked for accuracy, the order is detailed and then
bagged.
After bagging the order, the clerk
distributes the orders to the various sources in one of two
methods:
1) A series of slick rails fan out from a
narrow point to a wide area located near the loading door
2) The order is hung on the distribution
conveyor in the designated slot, and the order is dispatched to
a designated drop-off rail in the delivery area.
Note: The second method was used at
my plant. The driver prepared a manifest sheet in duplicate
with the order numbers being shipped to the particular store.
The CSR at the store signed for the delivery and received a
copy after checking the manifest with the driver.
Efficiency in the laundry washing and
finishing area
Since it is impractical to inspect
laundered garments for stains after washing it is most
important that the wash cycles contain the proper chemical
action that removes tannin stains (which are set by
alkalinity), protein stains, body oils, vegetable oils and
mineral oil.
Since these stains are the most popular
ones, their removal in the laundry washer will significantly
reduce the amount of post finishing spotting, re-washing and
re-pressing. This formula was published in my National
Clothesline article of May 1989, titled “Removing
Spots in the Laundry Washer.”
The biggest mistake with most wash
formulas is that they set the tannin stains and do not remove
the body, vegetable and mineral oils.
The washed shirts and pants are laid out
in lots with priority similar to those in the
drycleaning/wetcleaning area.
In my plant, the wash person placed a
number of shirts into a custom made bag which was held together
by velcro fasteners and had a copper grommet at the top.
When a shirt or pants unit’s damp
box was over three-fourths empty, the operator pressed a button
attached to the press table which caused a light to shine in
the wash room over the number of the unit to be serviced.
The wash person then hung the custom made
bag onto the proper hook of the distribution conveyor, and the
bag was dropped into the designated damp box.
If no distribution conveyor is available,
the supervisor of the laundry operation should keep a constant
watch over the finishing units’ production to ensure that
there is always another load of garments to be pressed.
In other words, never let the units get
out of work because a lot of production time is wasted when a
laundry finishing unit has to begin the sequence of lays from
the beginning.
In this regard, the lunch periods of the
pressers should be staggered so the units can continue their
sequence of lays with a quick exchange of the pressers.
As with the dryclean-ing/wetcleaning
finishing area, the laundry pressers should quickly
“eyeball” the finished garment to ensure that it
was properly pressed and any stains to be noted for the
inspector/assembler.
In other words, the pressers should not
have the responsibility to stop their operation to call for
someone to pick up the garment.
If a stain is found during the pressing
sequence, the garment should be hung up on the conveyor or rail
for the inspector or spotter to expedite.
If the shirt does not properly fit the
cabinet body-bosom-yoke-(sleeve) press, and it requires
considerable touchup, it should be sent down to the inspector
assembler for further action.
Very few normal size shirts should require
touchup if checked by “eyeballing” the garment
after it has been pressed and before going to the
inspector/assembler.
If the unit is required to achieve a very
high production rate, production will actually drop due to
numerous touchups and re-pressing since quality is measured
mostly by the finishing and collar forming.
In my plant we averaged close to 10,000
shirts and 7,000 laundered pants per day, and very few were
touched up.
Inspection/assembly and bagging the
laundered garments
After the shirt and pants are finished,
they are hung on the distribution conveyor or the finished rail
for transport to the laundry area’s inspection/assembly
area.
Shirts requiring touchup are worked in
this area, and shirts requiring spotting or re-pressing are
returned to their respective operation.
Orders are assembled by the
inspector/assembler with checking of tag numbers for accuracy,
detailing and bagging performed by the bagging area as with the
dry cleaning/wetcleaning.
The marking and assembly system for
laundry garments will not be discussed herein, however, no
matter what system is used, a double check before final bagging
is most important.
By repeating the number softly to yourself
you will not make a mistake since no two numbers SOUND alike,
although they may LOOK alike.
Never use a system that does not require
the invoice in full view.
Management is most important for control
I always said that if you control the
dirty work, the clean work will come out right. That is why I
began this series with the methodology of bringing in the dirty
work and organizing it while it is still in the pickup bags.
Cleaning and washing in the proper
sequence according to priority set by management, and
maintaining lot control for more efficient assembly and
distribution, is critical to achieve smooth workflow and final
distribution to the various sources.
Close inspection for stains after cleaning
is a critical part of the work flow in order to reduce
“stragglers” and incomplete orders within the lots.
And a good wash formula is critical to reduce spotting after
the garment has been pressed.
The plant manager must see that these
procedures are carried out.
The manager must constantly oversee the
finishing areas to ensure good quality along with the
production standard achieved.
In a lot system, it is very important for
all finishers to be dedicated to completion of the particular
lot being worked on.
This means that when a presser is
finished, he/she must take some work from a neighboring presser
rather than start a new lot. The manager must see that this
form of discipline is strictly maintained.
The “short lines” in the
assembly areas must be constantly overseen by the plant manager
to ensure customers’ orders are kept together in their
respective lots.
The general manager/president/owner should
monitor the production process by comparing the Daily
Production Report to the Daily Production Chart, and when there
is a bottleneck observed it must be corrected as soon as
possible.
If the operation is very large the general
manager/president/owner should appoint enough capable working
supervisors to assist the plant manager.
Note: My spotting textbook that
accompanies my stain removal video describes this procedure in
detail.
As the garment is inspected for spots, the
easy-to-remove spots are immediately taken out on the spotting
board, air-dried and hung on the distribution conveyor’s
respective slot to be conveyed to the respective finishing
unit.
Note: If your plant does not use a
distribution conveyor, the spot-free garment is hung on the
“unfinished rail” alongside the inspection board
within a grouping formed in accordance with the particular
finishing unit required for its pressing.
My production plant used a distribution
conveyor to move work from the cleaning/spotting/wet cleaning
area through each step of production to the distribution area
for delivery to stores and route. It is amazing how much time
can be saved by not manually pushing work around the plant, and
how much more production can be obtained from the pressers
since work is always piled up behind them. This eliminates
“pacing” by the pressers which is the worst
consumer of time.
If a branch store (source) had a volume of
orders greater than 75, then the work was broken down into two
or more lots within that source.
Next month I will continue with moving the
drycleaning work from the pressers to its final destination at
the distribution area.
Note: My spotting video, “The
Caplan Method of Stain Removal,” which includes my
comprehensive text and handy spotting board reference available
in English, Spanish and Korean (video only in Korean) from the
Golomb Group, c/o Dennis McCrory, 7664 Plaza Court,
Willowbrook, IL 60521, phone (800) 679-5856. A lecture and
demonstration are presented similar to my classes over the
years at IFI and SDA. This video and text are ideal for
training inexperienced spotters as well as a good review for
experienced spotters. Digesting with enzymes, bleaching,
oxidized oil stains and caramelized sugar stains are discussed
and demonstrated. An article on “Removing Spots in the
Cleaning Machine” and an article on “How to
Increase Production in the Spotting Department” are
included in the comprehensive text book.
Also available from the Golomb Group, in
English and Spanish, is my video on step-by-step shirt
finishing which includes my comprehensive text in loose-leaf
form outlining each procedure for single-operator and
two-operator cabinet shirt unit using a cabinet sleeve press.
Proper forming of the collar using heated collar formers is
demonstrated. Each lay is demonstrated for top quality with
very little effort by the operators. Attractive detailing and
packaging of the hangered shirt, padding, steam pressures and
timing are all discussed. A unique wash formula for whiter
whites and brighter colors and removal of grease and body oils
is included in the loose-leaf text book.
My experience with shirts spans over 55
years with US Army as a principal laundry and dry-cleaning
concessionaire at Ft. Meade, MD, where average shirt volume was
approximately 10,000 per day. We were constantly
“sampled” for excellent quality in both finishing
and washing in laundry and drycleaning and in tailoring. We
operated our own 40,000-sq.-ft. plant for over 35 years.
Stan Caplan has over 35 years experience
in his own high volume dry-cleaning, laundry and tailoring
plant and two package plants with adjoining coin-operated
laundry and drycleaning. Stan is the former chief instructor at
the International Fabricare Institute, the Southwest
Drycleaners Association and various other trade
association-sponsored schools throughout the US and courses in
Canada, Mexico, South Africa, Singapore and Hong Kong. Stan
offers consulting, training and engineering services in all
areas from customer service area to the boiler room since 1981.
His complete system withtotal quality management will produce
maximum efficiency, economy and product excellent quality. Stan
can be reached at 3601 Clarks Lane, Suite 307, Baltimore, MD
21215-2731, phone/fax (410) 358-0870. His e-mail address is stancap100@aol.com.
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