February 2021

In our experience, the best architects and contractors have the ability to look at all the design aspects of a new project, taking into account every challenge they may face and uncovering every possibility open to them. Nevertheless, when the new build or refurbishment includes an on-premise laundry, even the most seasoned building experts need and benefit from our specialist advice…which this commercial laundry planning guide aims to provide.

Location

Ideally, the laundry should be situated on the ground floor of a build, to facilitate easy commercial laundry equipment access and to alleviate structure-borne vibration which could cause damage. The chosen site should consist of at least one external wall to receive dryer exhaust ducts and air inlet panels without the need for expensive and troublesome fan assisted systems. Natural light is always preferred to provide laundry staff with pleasant working conditions. However part of the external wall should be window free so tall dryers or stack towers do not obscure natural light.

For infection control, always plan the laundry away from the kitchen, ensuring that food and soiled linen do not share the same corridor.).

Flooring

Where possible the laundry floor should be a solid concrete ground floor slab – even if the rest of the ground floor is suspended PCC beams. Timber floors should be avoided, and underfloor heating must be omitted from the area where heavy duty washing machines will be installed. An insulation layer between the structural floor and the screed must be omitted from the area to receive the washing machines – under-screed DPMs should be avoided.

Where PCC floors or block and beam floors are unavoidable, your appointed structural engineer must be consulted. In most cases a concrete plinth will need to be cast on top of the structural floor (not the screed) to receive holding down bolts.

Layout

The laundry room should have a ‘soiled/in’ door and a ‘clean/out’ door. Regardless of dimensions, the room should be designed with 1/3 of the space available for the ‘wet’ side and 2/3 for the ‘dry’ side – each with sorting and storage area.

A fire exit on the external wall should be included, which could also satisfy the machine access requirement, should machines may need to be swapped or upgraded after the completion of the build.

Machines

Commercial or industrial grade equipment is a must in on-premise laundries – both for practical and regulatory reasons. Using our vast experience and insights built up over decades of listening to our care customers, we have developed a full and varied range of WRAS-approved, washing machines, energy efficient tumble dryers with a unique S.A.F.E (Sensor Activated Fire Extinguishing) system, ironers, finishing equipment and detergents – as well as our ground-breaking OTEX ozone disinfection system which enables commercial settings to be HTM01-04 or HACCP compliant from the outset and minimise a site’s carbon footprint in the long-term.

Our ever-growing portfolio means always have the right equipment solution for any client need – and our planning team have the direct resource required to feed equipment into all types of project following the scoping and design stages of a build.

Utilities

A foul drainage SVP or stub stack (min. 100mm diameter) should be situated in the ‘wet’ side of the laundry. The portion of external wall to receive the dryer ducts and air inlet panels should be in the ‘dry’ side. As a rule of thumb each washer and ironer will be three phase, generally around 32 amps per phase. Dryers tend to be single phase 13 amp if gas heated or three phase if electric heated.

Hot and cold water supplies which supply up to 24 litres per minute at 1.5 bar minimum are required under normal circumstances. JLA washers are fitted with a built in type `A` air gap, which means dedicated water services and back flow prevention devices are no longer required.

Exhaust outlets and inlets

For dryers…

A commercial tumble dryer operates as a forced draught unit. That is to say that the fan inside the dryer actually draws air out of the room and into the dryer. The air is then passed over the heat source (gas, electric or steam coil) and into the drum to dry the linen, therefore being forced outside via the exhaust duct. This is why the exhaust duct and the air inlet panel into the room are always the same size irrespective of the type of heating the dryer uses.

The duct size and air inlet panel size increases in proportion to the size and number of the dryers in the laundry. JLA can provide exact details and sizes of these once the specific dryer types and quantities have been agreed.

The dryer outlet to atmosphere (even for gas dryers) is completely harmless, albeit unpleasant and musty in odour. The duct can be vented out at any point, high or low, where the odour is least likely to cause offence (away from open windows and the air inlet panel).

It is often believed that the exhaust from a gas dryer is harmful due to the presence of combustion gases. Whilst this is technically correct, because the dryer is a forced draught unit the air passed over the heat source has diluted the combustion gasses to the point where they account for less than 2% of the total volume of the exhausted air and are therefore harmless.

For boilers…

The discharge or flue from a boiler is different to an exhaust duct from a dryer in that its content is made up entirely of combustion by-products such as carbon dioxide. The flue must always be terminated at high level out of harm’s way and must always travel in a vertical direction – 45 degree bends may be employed to adjust its route, but never 90 degree bends.

If you need expert support or project management assistance for your on-premise laundry facility, or learn about our Total Care subscription plan which removes the need for upfront capital outlay on machines, contact our advisors to book a no-obligation consultation.

When visiting food processing sites to talk about the many laundry solutions we offer here at JLA, almost without exception the person we meet is keen to hear all about the alternatives to outsourcing laundry – and the majority are open to installing an on-premise laundry (OPL) in order to cut costs. However, even though the potential for savings is huge, many mistakenly assume that the move to OPL will be risky and fraught with hassle.

At face value, it’s perfectly natural to err on the side of caution and air concerns about transitioning from one way of working to another – after all, every penny counts and every minute matters in the food industry. Indeed, one or two of the common misconceptions listed here may be niggling away at you as you weigh up the possibility of laundering on-site. But by addressing your likely concerns, we hope to reassure you that on-premise laundering is, without doubt, in your best interests.

“Doing everything myself? Sounds expensive…and difficult!”

It really isn’t…especially when the alternative is to continue using a commercial laundry whose prices will continue to rise and rise over the next decade. By outsourcing you are paying thousands of pounds more than you need to each year by committing to substantial clothing stocks, hidden supplementary charges and unexpected price rises. All that disappears when you take control of your own laundry, and you’ll benefit from reduced clothing stocks, transparent pricing and lower processing costs, while escaping harsh penalties or surprise charges.

“What about the hassle of HACCP?”

We have our own technicians and chemists who can advise you on the best practices, and we work closely with experts from the industry who can help you form a plan of action and assist in the actual development of fit-for-purpose HACCP documentation. With JLA OTEX Ozone Disinfection technology you have access to immediate verification to prove that your wash has been disinfected, with either a printed receipt, helping you to complete your HACCP/ISO documentation quickly and easily.

“I don’t know what equipment I need”

Not a problem. We can specify any laundry of any size in any setting. In the main, there are two types to consider, and we have the washers, dryers, barrier systems and disinfection innovations to help you get the best out of one or both.

The ancillary laundry

An ancillary laundry will allow you to process all the items your linen provider won’t touch – items that can potentially be damaged by traditional thermal disinfection. These include specialist clothing materials, microfibre cloths and mop heads, slash guards and your drivers’ & engineers’ clothing.

The full on-premise laundry

This will give you a full laundry facility for 5 to 5,000 employees in both low risk and hi-care production units. A full laundry facility will disinfect as well as clean, and will ensure you meet strict compliance regulations in the process.

“But what if it breaks down?”

Simple, just call our emergency call-out line and one of our engineers will be with you inside 8-working hours as part of your Total Care agreement – 7 days a week. If you opt to purchase machines outright, we can provide equally quick response with a standalone service package.

“I don’t have the staff to operate a laundry.”

You do if you redeploy the employees who are currently counting in and out, collecting laundry from locker rooms, waiting for deliveries and storing all the spare sets of workwear you need. Plus, if you

manage your laundry by trusting someone else to do it…can you be sure that they’ll meet your expectations? Once laundry leaves your site, it’s open to a number of risks – and the third party could fail to reach guidelines that must be adhered to in order to comply with BRC best practice. 9 out of 10 customers we’ve helped to install an OPL have needed no extra staff to run it.

“I don’t have the space.”

Strangely enough, when we explain to companies just how much we could save them, space is no longer an issue. You’ll be surprised by the amount of space needed, and in reducing the clothes stock ‘PAR’ needed you can simply use areas of your business that would otherwise be used for storing spare workwear.

Our approach is to simply get the best out of the square footage you have, rather than reinventing the wheel. JLA planners and designers will gladly discuss all the options open to you, and will never over-sell or under-spec. If you need a small machine to take care of occasional ancillary laundry, that’s all we’ll recommend. Equally if you need a full high-hygiene facility, we have the expertise, machines and experience to make sure you have everything you need.

For advice on bringing laundry in-house, and more details of how the ozone laundry disinfection system can help you stay HACCP-compliant, book a free consultation here.

Successful prevention, detection, extinguishing and evacuation requires a holistic, ‘cross-premises’ approach, with expert support for risk assessment and compliance, professional inspections and installation, and reliable servicing with breakdown cover for every area of your buildings.

This fire safety equipment checklist provides a useful overview of what you need for best practice protection, and a good reference guide for all the things you need to check regularly to ensure your most critical systems are it for purpose in line with fire regulations in particular, the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.

If, as expected, the proposed Fire Safety Bill goes through parliamentary process successfully, the new legislations is expected to be named the ‘Fire Safety Act of 2020’ – which will effectively be an amendment to the The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.

NB: The bill applies to England and Wales – separate fire safety legislation is in place in Scotland and Northern Ireland. Fire Safety is devolved in Wales but the Bill amends the shared legislation, with the same delegated powers applying to English and Welsh Ministers.

To help you cover all of the above, we’ve put together a guide on how to make a fire safety plan – including advice on compartmentation, training and preventative maintenance for your key equipment.

If you need support in any aspect of fire safety, contact our experts today. From fire risk assessments and one-off safety audits to installation and breakdown cover, we can help with all your safety and compliance obligations.

In response to the Grenfell tragedy in 2017, the proposed Fire Safety Bill is anticipated to come into effect in England and Wales soon. This is set to amend the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, and represents the biggest change in building safety for a generation.

Currently awaiting House of Commons consideration of House of Lords amendments, the purpose of the Fire Safety Bill (2019-2020) is to minimise fire safety risk to tenants of domestic residential properties with multiple occupants, such as apartment blocks and student accommodation.

If, as expected, the Fire Safety Bill goes through parliamentary process successfully, the new legislations is expected to be named the ‘Fire Safety Act of 2020’ – which will effectively be an amendment to the The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.

What are the key elements of the Fire Safety Bill?

The emphasis in the new bill is on placing accountability on the Responsible Person for managing and reducing the risk of fire, with the onus on them to focus on the below areas in particular:

Structure and external walls (such as balconies and windows) throughout the building
Entrance doors that open into communal areas – compulsory regular fire door inspections will be mandatory (there is currently no specific legislation on this)

The bill’s focus on these areas will provide clarification on critical responsibilities which have until now been a grey area. For example, until the proposals now in place, it has been unclear whether fire safety legislation applied to the actual structure of a building and its external walls.

Enforcement

With the above amendments in place, building owners will soon be formally held to account on all of these areas by Fire and Rescue Authorities if they do not comply with updated fire safety legislation once passed. Enforcement action is expected to rise as a result of the bill, and duty-holders can expect to face severe penalties if prosecuted.

How can you prepare for the changes?

With the passing of the Fire Safety Bill now imminent, it is important to ensure that the review and upkeep of your premises’ fire safety solutions is put firmly back on the priority list, despite (and because of) the recent disruption caused by COVID-19. Four key measures that you should take include:

Making sure evacuation plans are reviewed and regularly updated – and personal evacuation plans are in place for residents whose ability to evacuate may be compromised

Considering whether your building is likely to fall short of the new legislation, particularly when thinking about fire doors and external walls and engage with a fire safety partner to discuss how to address any changes you may need to make.

Checking the annual servicing of your fire safety equipment hasn’t expired and if so, book it in now. Fire safety engineers and categorised as key workers and are able to visit your premises during lockdown periods.

Ensuring your Fire Risk Assessment is up to date and reflects any adaptations you have made as a result of Covid-19

If you need support in any aspect of fire safety planning, contact our experts today. From fire risk assessments and one-off safety audits to installation and breakdown cover, we can help with all your safety and compliance obligations.

Send fire safety enquiry

Infection control is a top priority for businesses right now – so we commissioned our very own report into how hygiene (or lack of) could impact businesses throughout 2021 and beyond. Below are just some of the key findings we uncovered – for more, you can download the full report for free.

Key headlines:

77% said they harbour greater levels of concern about hygiene and infection control than last year
Four in five customers (80.5%) reported that tangible proof around their infection control procedures would be reassuring
A strong reputation for hygiene and infection control is critical to public trust with 87.6% of respondents reporting it being important to them
67.6% of sports fans would not be comfortable attending live sporting events with 7.8% suggesting a feeling that elite sports organisations do not treat infection control as a priority
38.4% of care home customers would remove their loved one (and boycott the home from then on) if they were to witness poor hygiene methods first-hand

Critically for the struggling hospitality sector in particular, our new, nationally-representative survey into 2,000 members of the public shows that almost two thirds (65.1%) of Brits will boycott restaurants, bars, pubs or hotels with a poor reputation for hygiene and infection control.

The findings also revealed that more than one in three (34%) people would both never use ‘offending’ businesses again, and also tell as many people as possible to avoid these businesses too, through channels such as word-of-mouth and social media, further increasing reputational damage.

It’s clear that customer trust will be key for businesses looking to retain and grow their customer base over the coming months, with 87.6% of Brits now deeming it important that a business has a good reputation for hygiene and infection control. Furthermore, 58.1% of these proclaim a positive standing for hygiene “extremely important”. This indicates that hygiene ratings – traditionally a significant indicator of quality for many businesses – have also become more important than ever before in the eyes of the public.

A further 33.6% of the public admitted that they are less likely to use a business with a poor reputation for infection control, with only 6.3% of the population stating that hygiene and infection control ratings are still not an issue for them.

The events of the past year have laid bare the potential consequences for companies that do not demonstrate the highest standards in infection control, as well as the growth opportunities for organisations that do invest what is needed now to reassure worried customers.

Expectations of the businesses customers will trust their money – and their health – with are virtually unrecognisable from even a year ago and, as our findings demonstrate, consumers will be quick to condemn any business that does not meet their heightened standards when it comes to infection control.

At a time where businesses across a range of industries need the continued loyalty of their customers more than ever before, it is crucial that they use the coming weeks to action all possible infection control measures to put their minds at ease. Those that take the time to do this now will reap the benefits once doors are able to reopen properly, offering potentially millions in boosted revenues, as well as the loyalty of customers both old and new, for years to come.

Ben Gujral, JLA Group CEO

Perhaps unsurprisingly, it was revealed that the events of 2020 have prompted a nationwide change in attitudes towards hygiene and infection control overall, with 77% of the public holding greater concerns in this area than a year previously – attributing this change directly to COVID-19. Notably, four in five customers (80.5%) also report that tangible proof of businesses prioritising hygiene and customer safety, such as an industry accreditation mark denoting infection control excellence, would be reassuring.

JLA can support businesses of all shapes and sizes in levelling-up their infection control processes. From a range of ozone disinfection and air purification solutions to thermal disinfection dishwashers and cleaning essentials, we’re here to help you earn and keep the customer trust that will clearly be so vital to post-Coronovirus recovery.

Total Care

Existing customers

Month: February 2021