How to Increase Productivity in Mat Processing While Reducing Risk

If part of your laundry business involves mat processing, topping your list of concerns are: How to Increase Productivity, How to Increase Worker Safety, and How to Reduce Third Party Liability.

A cost-effective option for you to consider is to automate this process. The system requires only that the worker place the mat onto a feed board, where upon the machine automatically takes up the mat, rolls it and drops it into a waiting cart (or, optionally, returns it to the feeder).

Automating the mat rolling process gives your business productivity a big boost. Depending on what options you select for your system, an automated system can process 400-600 pieces per hour. Increased speed also means a reduction in inventory investment of mats thanks to quicker turnaround of the product. Plus, by reducing on-site inventory, you are able to free up plant square footage for other purposes.

There are some safety benefits to be achieved as well. Because an automated system performs all the movements automatically, back, neck, repetitive motion and other injuries for laundry workers are reduced, thereby lessening workers comp claims and days off the job.

For your customers, when mats are rolled, instead of folded, there are no creases nor folds and mat edges are beveled toward the floor, all of which reduces trip and fall hazard at on-site third party locations.

One large North American laundry and rental service came to CLM specifically with the goals of increasing productivity and worker safety and decreasing third party liability. With CLM’s automated mat rolling system, they were able to increase the number of mats processed by as much as 500%. And they are meeting the safety goals they had set.

As the laundry industry changes, and moves toward into inserting RFID chips into mats, an automated system that can read these chips will speed up sorting and distribution—which not only means sorting in route stop order, but allows you to track and monitor your inventory for loss replacement. These are benefits that some companies are profiting from right now.

When making your decision to upgrade to an automated mat rolling system, base your decision on the volume of mats you process, your exposure to worker comp claims, capital investment inventory, 3rd party liability claims, and even need for additional square footage in your plant. Do the math for yourself and you may find this presents some measurable solutions to your productivity and safety concerns.

Martin Pharis,
President, Consolidated Laundry Machinery (CLM)
(323) 232-2417