Smart Sorting: The Use of AI In Our Laundry Facility
In today’s digital landscape, a two-letter acronym infiltrates our everyday lives: AI. Better known as Artificial Intelligence, you might be surprised to learn that our industrial laundry facility leverages this technology through our Jensen Auto Sort System. After extensive research and coordinating closely with the Jensen-Group, installation was completed just before the onset of the 2020 global pandemic. The integration of this system stands as a significant undertaking that has revolutionized our garment management processes, ensuring smarter and more efficient operations.
What is the Auto Sort System?
The Jensen Auto Sort System is a specialized equipment designed to streamline and automate the sorting process of garments. Developed by the JENSEN-GROUP, renowned for its cutting-edge technology in large-scale laundry operations, this system utilizes AI technology to effectively track each garment's lifecycle and other pertinent details, such as the age of the garment, number of washes it has received over its lifetime, need for repairs or return dates. Each garment is assigned a barcode that is scanned multiple times as it moves through the facility, enabling the system to monitor their location and develop the most efficient sorting approach. This ensures that garments needed earlier are prioritized and allocated to routes that optimize efficiency. Additionally, the system allows us to swiftly retrieve garments from the processing line when customers require their uniforms sooner than expected.
Efficiency
Efficiency is one of the most significant improvements since integrating the Jensen Auto Sort System. By leveraging advanced technology, the system ensures precise garment sorting, minimizing the inherent risks of human error in manual processes. Previously, manual sorting required a team of up to 10 individuals. With automation, this number has been reduced to just 3.5 personnel. Since adopting the Jensen Auto Sort System, we can now process over 25,000 garments daily with only 1.5 operators. This not only accommodates our growing customer base in Manitoba but also enables our team to reallocate their focus on other critical areas of the facility.
User-Friendliness
The Jensen Auto Sort system incorporates complex technology to enhance efficiency, while remaining remarkably user-friendly in our daily operations. The equipment is robust and less prone to breakdowns, making it easy to maintain. Its easy-to-use interface enhances usability, making our team feel more comfortable and confident using the system. Additionally, the system allows us to use our own high-quality hangers to secure garments, especially beneficial for heavier items like Fire Resistant (FR) uniforms. This prevents garments from falling off during processing, reducing the need for rewashing and helps maintain our high-quality standards.
For our customers, the system offers enhanced flexibility. We can promptly communicate when a garment is received and when it leaves our facility, providing real-time updates on the status of their uniforms. Additionally, we track each garment's lifecycle, including wash frequency, repairs, and replacement needs.
Importantly, the system enables us to quickly locate specific uniforms among thousands of garments, ensuring prompt response to urgent requests from customers requiring their uniforms on short notice.
Technology
With the Jensen Auto Sort System's AI technology, the system continuously improves over time, learning our preferences for garment organization and identifying the most efficient routes. This adaptive capability enhances our operational efficiency by ensuring garments are sorted and routed in the most optimal manner each day.
Moreover, the system seamlessly integrates with our customer management system and our repair app, ensuring smooth data flow between systems. Our Customer Management System directly feeds crucial customer information to the Jensen Auto Sort System, including details such as assigned employees, delivery schedules, routes, and repair requests. Garments flagged for repair through our repair app, customer service inquiries, or garment quality inspection are automatically removed from the processing line, and transferred to the mending and repair department. This streamlined process enables us to manage repair requests efficiently, ensuring garments are swiftly returned to the sorting process.
The integration of the Jensen Auto Sort System has revolutionized our operations, significantly boosting efficiency and reliability through innovative technology. By seamlessly capturing data from our management software, the system optimizes the sorting and organization of garments, enhancing our customer service capabilities. Committed to continuous improvement, we are actively exploring and implementing innovative systems that streamline our operations. If you are interested in seeing the Jensen Auto Sort System in action, or other innovative equipment we use in our facility, please feel free to contact us to schedule a facility tour.
Explore why local uniform providers might offer better service and satisfaction compared to national companies, highlighting key differences to help you make an informed choice for your business.