by Becca Anderson When asked how often that
happens, Dutchak said it was a pretty typical problem for an extended care facility. “Most of our residents have dementia of some form or other, and they drop things into the linen bags. They can block the valves open.” Items like silverware, hearing aids and other personal things can get into the system if not caught in inspect ion, but the UniLinc alerts them to the situation. In addition to maintenance
The Lodge at Broadmead WIRELESS MONITORING IN AN OPL
It is the nature of things to go wrong when least expected – but for the OPL at the Lodge at Broadmead on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, ‘someone’ is always watching. Said to be the first OPL in Canada to install the UniMac UniLinc wireless management system, the facility gets a quick warning when things need fine-tuning. Broadmead is a 229-bed care facility complex providing housing, social and health services
for veterans and seniors requiring care in Greater Victoria. The laundry handles all linens for the facility, as well as all resident personal laundry, with a staff of four full-time people, oper- ating seven days a week. “We do about 900,000 pounds of laundry at this facility annually,” said Merv Dutchak,
director of support services for Broadmead Care, which operates three care facilities in Victoria. He’s been with the company since 1995 and came with a background in facilities maintenance. “It’s been very helpful, and I’m interested in keeping the laundry up-to-date and operating efficiently.”
EQUIPMENT The laundry includes three industrial washers (125-lb., 65-lb. and 60-lb. – all UniMac) with the 125 and the 60 having been replaced in the last few years. The other one is scheduled for replacement next year. Also on call are three dryers – a 170-lb. UniMac that is 14 years old, and two other dryers
(Milnor and Wascomat) that are each about 18 years old. “We have a robust maintenance program to keep them going,” Dutchak said, “but we’ll be replacing these in the near future.”
THE MAGIC PART OF THE SYSTEM Two of the washers are equipped with the UniLinc monitoring system, which keeps a con- stant eye on what is happening wi th the machines, their cycles, and how they are being used. “For instance, if doors have not been clos- ing properly, or there are load balancing issues, we’ll know about that and can react with mainte- nance or training necessary to fix the problem,” Dutchak said. “Or if a valve is not closing proper- ly, we’ll know about it before we lose too much expensive water.”
Building systems technician James Whitehouse studies report from UniLinc system.
16 FABRICARE CANADA July/August 2014
issues, the UniLinc also gives reports that help track down issues that require further train- ing, or reprogramming of the machines. “If laundry workers are doing a quick-advance on a program, we’ll know about it and can figure out what the reason is for it,” he said. “We have a large contingent of casual staff, and people may be put with equipment they’re not as familiar with. That’s why we have so much programming al ready in the machines. Reports show us where we’re running into problems so we can clarify the processes.” The UniLinc system sends its
notices directly to Dutchak and to Benny Lopez (the laundry supervisor) on their desktop computers. They receive auto- mat ic repor ts weekly and monthly, and machine error reports on a daily basis. Facili- ties maintenance technician James Whitehouse also uses the information for diagnostic purposes, and can deploy the right people to fix problems quickly.
EYES OVER THEIR SHOULDERS Another benefit of the UniLinc is that Haddon Equipment & Supplies in Vancouver, the dis- tributor for Broadmead’s equip- ment, also has remote access capabilities and can help with diagnostics, training and other information from off-site. “This is really beneficial to us,” said Dutchak. “We’re on an island. Having Haddon do tech sup- port for us remotely saves us a lot of money on ferry tickets, hotel bills and so forth. Proba- bly saves $400 right off the top on a service call.”
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