Atlanta-Area Cintas Shares Safety System with the Industry

A group of over 20 TRSA member and nonmember operators gathered Nov. 9 for a TRSA half-day seminar titled “Wash Aisle Safety: Automated Solutions and Facility Tour” at Cintas Corp.’s Lawrenceville, GA, location.

Joel Bell, Cintas’ senior director, quality & engineering, kicked off the morning meeting with an overview of the company’s Wash Aisle Safety System (WASS) and the planning that took place in implementing this initiative companywide. Cintas engineers visited locations throughout the United States and Canada to customize the WASS to that specific plant.

“All the preplanning is what made it successful,” Bell said. “We worked with all the plants to come up with a customized solution – not just shoving it down their throat.”

Bell went on to discuss the differences between the company’s semiautomated wash aisle safety system and its automated system, which attendees got to see a demonstration of later in the tour. The 10-year-old Lawrenceville plant was the first facility outfitted with the safety system that used G.A. Braun Inc. equipment in its wash alley. Matt Gallagher, national accounts manager for Braun, was at the meeting and talked about the cooperative efforts that took place between the two companies to get the safety system rolled out.

“We really appreciated the team approach Cintas took with us,” Gallagher said. “There were many meetings with our engineering staff to come together on a solution.”

Following Bell’s presentation about the WASS system, Rick Gerlach, Cintas’ director, safety & health, took over to discuss the WASS training and procedures in place for the company’s employee-partners. Gerlach spoke about the company’s system for limiting access to the wash alley to certain authorized partners and the extensive training that is given to these credentialed partners. Not only do they receive initial training on how to properly use the system and stay safe while working in the area, they also receive weekly refresher training so the knowledge remains fresh in their minds.

Next up was Eric Ayanegui, director, engineering solutions, at Cintas, who has worked extensively on the company’s combustible lint and dust control program. The initiative is currently being rolled out at Cintas locations across the country to keep the company in compliance with OSHA’s national emphasis program on combustible dust. The company uses specially engineered portable SuperSonicAire fans from Integrated Environmental Solutions (IES), as well as ceiling mounted units, in its facilities to keep its ceilings clean and lint under control. Ayanegui talked about how Cintas worked with IES to come up with a customized design for the portable fans and detailed how the system works in its plants.

After Ayanegui’s presentation, the attendees broke into two groups and got to view live demonstrations of the systems in the plant. While one group saw a demonstration of the company’s WASS, the other viewed the portable SuperSonicAire unit, before the groups rotated to the other area.

This is the third facility that Cintas has shown the industry this year in an effort to educate textile services operators on safety. The company presented its semiautomated WASS at its Harahan, LA, plant in May and opened the doors to its Chandler, AZ, facility at TRSA’s Annual Conference & Exhibits in October.