Building for a brighter future - GHA Central

Review of Operations: Warragul Linen Service
Production Statistics
Over the year production has been
consistent at 117,760 kg per week,
slightly above the budget of 117,500 kg
per week. There was 18,053,967 items
processed, including sheets, pillowcases,
face washers and towels.
Financial Performance
The business returned a net profit
slightly higher than budget. This
result was achieved despite several
unfavourable variances in lower income
due to changed work practices by a
major customer and the higher than
budgeted costs for fuel, long service
leave, sick leave and enterprise
bargaining agreement costs. Increased
demand from February by several
healthcare customers was easily
accommodated with the newly
commissioned equipment.
This Year
The linen supply agreement to supply
linen to Southern Health sites ended
Profile
The Warragul Linen Service (WLS) is one of the largest and most efficient linen
services in Victoria, employing 183 staff. The WLS is a successful business unit
of the Group and is highly regarded as a laundry operation by the industry
and the market. Clients include the Caulfield General Medical Centre,
Monash Medical Centre, The Alfred and Dandenong hospitals and the
Parkview-on-St Kilda Road and Enterprize Hotels. The Linen Service is
co-located on the West Gippsland Hospital site.
Objectives
1. Complete major re-development of washroom and achieve efficiency targets
2. Reduce water usage by 6m litres
3. Continue to grow the business
4. Enhance staff training programs
5. Maintain linen supply to current customers that have contracts ending
during the year
6. Implement production monitoring and measuring tools
Outcomes
in June. Southern Health represents
55,000kg per week of the WLS
customer base. WLS successfully
retained the tender to supply linen
directly to Southern Health, including
the new Casey Hospital at Berwick.
The $1m upgrade of the washroom
was completed in February. The
upgrade included a state of the art
pre-sorting linen transfer system linked
to a fully automatic monorail bag
storage system that loads a new
continuous batch washer. The upgrade
reduced water consumption by 5%,
created cost savings and increased
capacity to allow the business to
continue to build on past sound
financial results. A key result has
been energy reductions.
A highlight this year, was the
announcement of WLS as the winner
of the ‘service providers’ category at
the prestigious Savewater! Awards held
in October. The Awards, held during
1. $1m upgrade of washroom completed
2. SaveWater Award received in recognition of water usage saving of 12m litres
3. Targeted business growth strategy developed
4. Eight staff completed Certificate IV in Frontline Management
5. Successfully retained Southern Health contract
6. Production measuring and monitoring group established
National Water Week, recognise and
reward outstanding achievement in
water conservation across Victorian
businesses, community groups,
individual and government
departments and agencies.
A key objective of the business is staff
training. Eight supervisors and senior
staff undertook and successfully
completed Certificate IV in Frontline
Management.
The change in focus from “Service
and Quality” to “Excellence in Linen
Management” is marketed well and
our Customer Service Team regularly
monitor customer linen usage to make
savings at customer sites.
Quality
The WLS successfully maintained its
certification with AS/NZS ISO
9001:2000 Quality Management
Systems. The annual customer survey
results illustrate compliance with quality
goals.
Occupational Health and Safety
Ongoing risk assessments and reviews
ensure a transparent and co-operative
approach to OH&S compliance. This
provides the opportunity to continually
adjust work practices to address any
identified changes to improve the safety
of our staff and contractors.
Outlook
The WLS business is well placed to
continue its financial contribution to
the Group. This opportunity has been
enhanced through the investment in
new equipment and supporting the
quality people that staff the
organisation. The marketing plan
to expand into Gippsland will be
developed and applied in order to
augment further business opportunities
in the region.
WLS staff Sharon Mildren and Scott Morrison
place linen at the beginning of the new
washroom system installed in February.
Future Directions
➤ Identify production improvement systems
➤ Expand linen management to sites with bulk linen delivery systems
➤ Review employment process to ensure recruitment process supports the
culture of the organisation
➤ Continue to grow the business in the Gippsland area
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