Keyword or Search: <% Dim MyValue2 Randomize MyValue2 = Int((6 * Rnd) + 1) Set Conn = Server.CreateObject("ADODB.Connection") Conn.Open Session("trsa_ConnectionString2") MySQL = "Select * From HouseAds Where HouseAdID Like '%" & MyValue2 & "%' " Set Conn = Conn.Execute(MySQL) %> "> " alt="" width=130 height=85 border=1 align=top> <% conn.close %>	Canadians in the counting house Computers say good morning, don't get backaches, and save lots of time and money as soil counters. By Joseph R. Schuh How can I make sure that I get an accurate soil count?" Probably this is a question heard daily in the industry and a priority in many textile rental operator's minds. Marcel Theroux, vice president of Jolicoeur Ltee. in Montreal, Canada, has found an answer to this question. Theroux was primarily responsible for the development and installation of the company's soiled textile counting operation. Jolicoeur Ltee. has just completed the final phase of its "state of the art" system for soil counting. The system is designed to eliminate the human element wherever possible in basic decision-making and/or interpretation. No longer does an employee count, record counts, determine which line the count should be written on, determine the price of an item, extend the price by the amount served, or record this in-formation to the customer's history. In every detail the soil counting operation is a "hands off" procedure from the time the soiled linen is sorted to the issuance of a priced delivery invoice. How did this all come about? What motivated this textile rental company to forge ahead into a generally unexplored area of textile rental operations? According to Theroux, "We had serious complaints from our service department that more than five per cent of our plant counts were inaccurate. This is very bad when you consider the vast majority of counting being done by our route salespeople. "I really couldn't believe this was happening; so I personally went into the soil room and counted. After working there just one-half a day I realized that the soil room was receiving the least attention from management The general attitude that prevails in the textile rental industry about soil rooms prevailed in ours. "Just working there for half a day brought to my attention all kinds of minor problems: The tables were too low and I developed a backache; I couldn't read the tags on soil bundles; and all sorts of other small things. "The employees didn't respect the merchandise, and I decided that this was caused by the working conditions. On top of all this, the route salespeople were doing the majority of the soil counting. Our highest paid people did the counting and they controlled what was happening. "It didn't make sense. I knew somehow or other that I had to have a full plant count. Something had to be done but I didn't know what" Another problem Theroux ran into was difficulty in getting top management to agree with a major change, since they really didn't believe the problem was in the soil room. In the end, perseverance won management's blessing for Theroux's suggested changes. Just having management's approval was not enough. In January 1981 there wasn't a viable system in place that Theroux could see in operation. So, he had to start from scratch. He went to a company in Montreal that had built a light frame for a competitor. Jolicoeur's only experience with computers was the contracting of its work to a service bureau. All proposals submitted to Theroux for the development and installation of a fully automated system were too expensive. However, he knew what he wanted, since he had met with an industry consultant to discuss the concept of devising a tool to get an accurate soil room count. From this meeting an acceptable design was developed including drawings and coat models covering various situations. In the first six months. after this meeting the company purchased and installed four light frames. The light frames were installed primarily to get an accurate count and eliminate inaccuracies in human counts. The light frames gave Theroux the accuracy he wanted, but it was a far cry from the total system he had decided he needed. Finally, after his ideas for a computerized system had been rejected by several service bureaus, he met with a company that develops in-house computer systems. After Theroux explained his idea, the computer company agreed that it could be done. "The installation of a system like this is not easy," Theroux said, "Consider that we started in June of 1981 and from then until October 1982 we had to get the system operating and all the bugs out." Was all of this time and effort worth it? According to Jolicoeur, the answer is yes. Theroux said, Originally we had six people in our soil room. We presently have six people with this new system. In other words, no change. "However, 98 per cent of the merchandise was counted by the drivers while the soil room personnel only counted two per cent d used the remainder of the time just sorting. Now we are counting 100 per cent in the plant and have no increase in plant labor. "Our counting is extremely accurate. We will only accept a plus or minus two per cent inaccuracy from any employee feeding this system. "Our real savings came in the decrease in office and route personnel and the savings on merchandise. When we had a manual office system, -we employed 26 people. By installing a computer we are down to 12. Out of 20 routes, we eliminated four through time saved by not having the drivers count. "Our savings in the cost of merchandise replacement was startling. From 22 per cent we are down to 14 per cent which includes an increase in sales of 10 per cent per year from new customers. In 1983 we are looking for a merchandise replacement cost of 11 per cent. "We keep accurate records on how much of our replacement figures go for new business growth. It averages two per cent. In other words, our replacement figure including increases and decreases is actually at 12 per cent if you don't include new business. Next year it will go to 9 per cent." What about the return on investment? Theroux said, "The total cost of the system can be recovered in one to one-and-a-half years through employee reduction alone. This does not include the savings in merchandise or customer and company satisfaction with the increased soil count accuracy." How does the system work? At the first floor (ground floor level) a standard hook and conveyor system begins the soil counting operation. Bags of soiled merchandise are placed on hooks using the straps on the bottom of the bags. From there the bags move upward until they reach the ceiling of the second floor. At this point the bags are routed onto a series of storage rails adjoining the soil room. When bags are needed at any counting station in the soil room they are diverted from the rail's storage onto the rail feeding the soil counting station. Once the bags have been emptied and the merchandise sorted, then each piece of merchandise in a sorted pile is individually and rapidly thrown through the light frame and automatically counted. Once it has passed the light frame it remains in the soil counting station container until all units of that item have been counted. It is then removed as a lot and placed on the conveyor belt behind the sorting tables. From this conveyor belt, the individual piles of soiled merchandise are removed and stored in slings until approximately 200 pounds have been accumulated. Then the slings of soiled merchandise are wheeled over to a lift rail, lifted and weighed, weight adjusted, and stored on the rails near the chutes to the wash machines until needed. The soil counting station has flat table on the front, spacious enough to receive the contents a bag of soiled merchandise while still allowing room for sorting the merchandise into individual text tile groups. From this table the work moves through the light frame and into the receiving container at the back of the table. Mounted at the side of the table containing the light frame is a clipboard on which the bar-coded invoice, taken from the bag con taming the soiled linen, is placed Beneath the clipboard the bar code reading unit is mounted. It is used to input customer information into the computer system. At the top of the light frame the computer controller accepts and stores the information from the bar-code reader and the light frame. It does not send information to the computer until directed. The light frame is designed with a built-in delay so it will not double count any item. This is especially helpful when counting items such as aprons. The performance of the light frame tests out to be extremely accurate. At the work station, the computer lines are opened by the employee using a bar-coded identification card (see Exhibit 1). when the scanner reads the first line of the identification card, it logs in the identity of the operator using the system (Entree). If for some reason the invoice has some destroyed bar-codes that can't be read by the scanner, it can be by-passed and programmed from the identification card. Bar-coded lines on the invoice (see Exhibit II) are used for the invoice number ( Facture) , bag number (Sac) and the line number that identifies the item (Ligne). Also, if an error occurs for some reason, the previous entry can be cancelled by scanning the bar-coding on the identification card marked 'Canceller'. When the employee is finished using the system a bar-coded line (Sortie) is scanned on the identification card to notify the computer. All this information is displayed on the readout of the computer controller. It also displays the count as it accumulates. This provides the operator of the system with a visual check against the bar-coded entries and the count received by the computer. Once an item is completely counted, the information can be forwarded to the computer area. Like any good system, checks and balances have been built into it. The efficiency of every employee counting is monitored daily. This is accomplished by using "control" soiled merchandise bags. When routes are being unloaded, several bags of soiled merchandise are held to one side and physically counted by management personnel. They record these counts and forward them to a control point in the office. These "control counts" are stored in the computer along with the invoice number and bag number. The soiled merchandise after being counted is replaced in its bag and sent to the soil room. The same procedure is followed with all bags set aside as "control count" bags. The unidentified "control count" bags reach a soil counting station sometime during the operating day. They are counted by the person at that station just an any other bag of soiled merchandise. However, when the computer is notified of the invoice number and bag number, it makes a comparison for the accuracy of the items and counts with the information it received earlier. If everything is in order, nothing happens. If there's an error, then an exception report prints. This exception report is also summarized into a weekly soil count control report. On this report (see Exhibit III) employees counting in the soil room are listed along with the accuracy of their counts each day. The report shows how many times per day the counts are over or under the control count. The report also shows the absolute total of differences in the counts and the percentages of deviation. It is from this report that the efficiency of an employee, plus or minus two per cent, is determined. Grand totals from the whole department for each day and for the week are also summarized (see Exhibit IV). This report shows the number of pieces that are off from the total count and the percentage of error. Since the number of "control count" bags during the week is large enough, randomly selected, and randomly dispersed to the counting stations, the weekly totals of accuracy or discrepancy are statistically valid for the total soil counting operation. Another exception report is the bag and pick-up ticket control (see Exhibit V). If a particular account should have five bags of soil returned to the plant, then five bags and five soil pick-up tickets must be returned. The computer reads the input about the bag being counted and about how many bags should be received from the customer. If a bag is missing, then it shows on an exception report the total number of bags that should be received from the customer, which bag was not recorded, and the ticket number applying to that particular bag. Immediate action is taken in the plant to account for the missing bag. Sometimes the missing bag is on the premises, but the invoice has been lost. Although this doesn't happen too often, it does necessitate counting the merchandise in the bag and identifying the count to the particular customer. Another control analyzes if merchandise was picked up from a customer. Since each item is bar-coded on the pickup ticket, it is expected that soiled merchandise will be returned to the plant in each category. If an item is not scanned and counted, then the computer will report any discrepancies in an exception report (see Exhibit VI). This could include a soil count with the description of the item not being recorded, or the complete absence of the item and count. The report allows management to double check on that day's transactions. To protect against emergencies, management receives a printout of all information going to the computer before the computer receives it. This provides a check and balance against the computer refusing information. It is also a protection against the computer losing information (possibly by an electrical outage) that has been stored. Theroux also uses this information in another manner — to implement his textile management program. The following day, after all input from the soil counting room has been received, the computer renders a soil reasonability report. This report measures plus or minus 30 per cent of the average soil pickup from each customer by item. Theroux or the service manager manually analyzes all deviations from the above parameters. From this analysis, immediate customer action is taken. The 30 per cent value is not fixed in concrete. It was judged to be a starting point and will be refined as more history is accumulated. Another use of the computerized information is the analysis of one route per week. On a selected route the customer's soil history is measured against his inventory. The computer automatically measures the average seven week soil pick-up history times a ratio of 2.5 against the customer's inventory for a once a week stop. This comparison shows when a stop needs to be physically inventoried. The triggers built into the system are a minus 20 per cent or plus 40 per cent deviation. As an example, if a customer is using an average of 100 towels per week then it should have a 250 towel inventory (100 times 2.5 equals 250). If for some reason the usage drops enough to indicate a 20 per cent minus inventory deviation (200 towels), then a physical inventory is immediately taken. When the usage indicates a plus 40 per cent inventory deviation or the need for a 350 towel inventory, then a physical inventory is triggered. Using this method to measure every customer on a route every 20 weeks, the account either fits the computer profile or is physically inventoried. Theroux is experimenting with the profile to develop more accurate deviation figures for each type of customer. He now believes that the restaurant and hotel profile operates better using a plus 33 per cent, while other types of customers fit the profile better at plus 40 per cent. This textile management system automatically develops a customer history in the computer. If a customer calls in for any reason, the customer history is easily viewed on a terminal. The history can be printed out onto an action report if required (see Exhibit VII). The customer history contains a description of all items the customer uses, unit prices he pays, circulating inventory assigned to the customer, previous soil pickup, soil to be returned, and several other details relating to billing cycles and per cent minimums. It also gives the customer name, address, account number, route number, telephone number, frequency of delivery, and day of the week served. Recorded on the history is every complaint the customer ever made. This history lists the type of complaint, the date the complaint was resolved, and how. If a complaint has not been handled at the moment, the computer shows that it is still pending. This report shows- how many times the same customer has had the same complaint. It can certainly define for management why a customer would become disgusted and quit if he constantly has the same complaint about his merchandise or service. Asked if he had any other plans for the system, Theroux replied: "Certainly. We still have a lot of refinement to do. And, other things can be done now that we can rely on the accuracy of the information we are getting. "There are also physical changes we intend to make. One item on the drawing board is to completely automate the receiving of soiled merchandise from the counting stations to the washwheels, including weighing and transportation." Theroux went on to say, "When you put in a system like this, it's easy to get discouraged and stop. It seems as if there is no end to problems and delays. I was personally determined to get this system installed and get it right. In the end, I can honestly say with confidence that it is well worth it." Certainly the figures prove its worth — with an eight point reduction in textile replacement percentage and with six employees counting 98 per cent more merchandise than before the system was installed. Not to mention the myriad possibilities for improved customer relations. Even though these Canadians could justifiably sit on their laurels like a king in the counting house counting out his money, Theroux presses for even greater results. "I finally want to see a totally 'hands off' soil counting room with a high degree of accuracy and no need for employees to make basic decisions," he said.