Workwear service that facilitates everyday life
The co-operation between Lindström and Turku City Hospital began in January 2018. With Workwear Flex Service personal protective clothing was replaced with common-use garments. The intelligent workwear solution has brought a lot of benefits to the hospital.
“The transition from personal protective clothing to common-use garments has reduced the need for large volumes of workwear, streamlined the use of textiles, and created cost-effectiveness,” Elisa Vuorinen, Procurement Manager of Turku City Hospital, explains the benefits of the change.
Vuorinen is happy about the decreased number of workwear items and the resulting environmental and economical benefits.
The Workwear Flex Service was implemented in the existing old storage space. “Lindström was strongly involved in creating spatial planning and shelving solutions, and in calculating the maximal use of space as well as lighting. The planning went very well, and good cooperation resulted in transforming the old warehouse into a Workwear Flex Service room. Both parties allocated plenty of time for the deployment, making it run very smoothly,” Vuorinen says.
Katja Huukkola, Project Manager for textile services at the Turku City Hospital, adds: “In our daily work, cooperation has been excellent: the account representatives are easy to reach, and they are very quick to react.”
Clean garments are always available
The introduction of the workwear service has improved the tracking of textile usage. With the Workwear Flex Service, the circulation of garments has accelerated, allowing for the storage of smaller volumes. The amount is being optimized all the time based on the data available from the Workwear Flex Service. The quick circulation of textiles has also improved the hygiene level. The personnel must always have clean workwear available, for example, in the event of a sudden epidemic.
“The availability of textiles is the most important factor for us, which has improved considerably with Lindström. To ensure proper hygiene, there must be a sufficient amount of clean garments available,” Vuorinen says.
The tracking of garments also creates a sense of confidence for both the hospital as well as the employees.
“Lindström monitors the workwear stock status 24/7, which creates an overview for the user that there are always enough garments available for their use. This means that there will not be a situation where the user is uncertain about the cleanliness or availability of the garments to be worn,” Huukkola says.
“Before our co-operation with Lindström, it was a habit that employees took as much clean workwear arriving from textile services as possible and place them in their lockers to wait for a potential need. Hence, the amount of workwear varied accordingly, and there was always a shortage of garments somewhere. But now that we have been able to ensure the reliability of circulation and delivery of the workwear, there has been no need hoard and stash garments. If there has been an issue with garments not circulating, then Lindström has provided us reports on the workwear which have not been circulating in the wash. This has allowed us to take action in case any of the units are starting to show risks in maintaining the hygiene level or the health of employees,” Vuorinen states.
The employees are very satisfied with the workwear solution
The tracking of garments and the change have also facilitated the work of supervisors. They no longer need to make orders separately, as Lindström handles this on their behalf via its automated system, utilizing the technology of the Workwear Flex Service. The new workwear solution has enabled the centralization of facilities and the transport and storage services.
“There is no longer a need to run around the hospital on different wards and floors,” says Vuorinen, because the technology of the Workwear Flex Service always enables us to see the location of each piece of workwear.
The employees have also been happy with the new workwear and the service. “The common use of workwear coming along with the introduction of the new service ensuring a consistent quality level of the garments. All garments taken off the shelf are good to go,” says Huukkola. The color has changed from white to turquoise, and the new workwear has also been found delightful at care homes for the elderly: “Elderly customers have noticed the new garments and praised them. It was wonderful to see that they liked the appearance of the garments and were happy for the employees. Away with the cold, clinical feel; and in with the warmth and cozy atmosphere!”
