Abstract
Many establishments are faced with the decision to do laundry on-premise or off-premise. To make the right decision considerations are made on what benefits one stands to reap and what set backs one may encounter. On- premise laundry will ensure flexibility in scheduling, more control over the whole process and reduced costs.
Laundry issues are a real concern for most establishments including hospitals, food service industries , hotels and manufacturing industries. In order to decide whether to operate an on-premises laundry or to out- source one considers quantities of laundry and frequency of need. The laundry selected should handle the items carefully, use laundry agents that are suitable, follow correct laundry processes, maintain speedy operations and maintain proper records so that there are no shortages.
According to Stanfords (2009), one of the advantages of doing laundry in house is that you are in charge of the whole process thus able to ensure health and safety standards are met. You also have control over the type and amount of chemicals used.On-premises laundry allows for reduction in the time taken to do laundery, important because it prevents incidences of spoilt items as well as making it easier to handle emergences.Although the initial cost is high in the long run it is cheaper to have on-premise than off-premise laundery,this is especially where you have to deal with fluctuating supplier prices due to unforeseen issues that you have no control over.Finally with on-premise laundery one will have peace of mind as you can make schedules that fit your needs and also fewer or no cases of lost and misplaced items.
According to Jones (2008), on – premise laundry has its disadvantage in that getting quality machines, installation and to some extent maintenance can be relatively expensive.It is also expected that with on-premise laundry expenditures such as energy costs and staff wages will increase, not forgetting that one will need to have adequate space to put up the laundry.
It is clear that the advantages of on – premise laundry out way the disadvantages, this is especially for those establishments that have large quantities of linen.
Work cited
- Stanfords, P.J. (2009) Why Businesses Are Turning Towards On-Premises Laundry Services.
- Jones, T.A. (2008) Professional Management of Housekeeping Operations.
