One major way commercial laundries can save money — is by instituting stronger commercial laundry maintenance processes.
We've talked about how unplanned downtime can be a major drag on your plant's performance, bottom line and even employee morale.
But commercial laundry maintenance program doesn't have to be a financial black hole.
On the contrary ... a robust commercial laundry maintenance program should actually serve as a profit center for your operation.
In this article, we'll review some of the benefits of a strong commercial laundry preventive maintenance program, in addition to some of the principles that impact decision-making.
For a quick breakdown of why commercial laundry maintenance matters and can be a source of financial prosperity for your plant, check out the short video below.
In previous articles, we've used various analogies to convey what taking care of a commercial laundry can be like.
Whether it's your car, your home or your own body, most things require maintenance at regular intervals.
Putting it simply, it's a matter of proactive versus reactive thinking or, in even simpler terms, short-term versus long-term thinking.
First, a quick note on short-term versus long-term thinking, because that dichotomy is the crux of any commercial laundry maintenance effort.
By implementing regular maintenance, you're thinking long term. By not doing so, you're thinking short term (i.e., "We can get by for now," "We don't want to disrupt production right now," "We'll get to that later when there's a better opportunity," etc.).
There are many studies out there that delve into this very dynamic. Unsurprisingly, there's an economic component to it.
A 2004 Princeton study delved into the relatively young field of "neuroeconomics," or the study of how the brain impacts economic decision-making.
The researchers examined a much-studied economic dilemma in which consumers behave impatiently today but prefer or plan to act patiently in the future. For example, people who are offered the choice of $10 today or $11 tomorrow are likely to choose to receive the lesser amount immediately. But if given a choice between $10 in one year or $11 in a year and a day, people often choose the higher, delayed amount.
In classic economic theory, this choice is irrational because people are inconsistent in their treatment of the day-long time delay. Until now, the cause of this pattern was unclear: Some argued that the brain has a single decision-making process with a built-in inconsistency, and others -- including the authors of the Science paper -- argued that the pattern results from the competing influence of two brain systems.
The researchers studied 14 Princeton University students who were asked to consider delayed reward problems while undergoing functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), a procedure that shows what parts of the brain are active at all times. The students were offered choices between Amazon.com gift certificates ranging from $5 to $40 in value and larger amounts that could be obtained only by waiting some period, from two weeks to six weeks.
The study showed that decisions involving the possibility of immediate reward activated parts of the brain influenced heavily by neural systems associated with emotion. In contrast, all the decisions the students made -- whether short- or long-term -- activated brain systems that are associated with abstract reasoning.
Most important, when students had the choice of an immediate reward but chose the delayed option, the calculating regions of their brains were more strongly activated than their emotion systems. When they chose the immediate reward, the activity of the two areas was comparable, with a slight trend toward more activity in the emotion system.
You can read the entire summary at the link above, but the premise is simple: when you make these types of decisions, different parts of your brain are competing against one another.
When it comes to relevance for the commercial laundry plant, it's best to make decisions based on long-term, logical thinking, rather than emotion.
This requires some level of abstract thinking ... which takes us to our next section on the concept of unrealized losses.
Take any of the analogies mentioned earlier in this article. If you put off routine maintenance on your car, sure, you'll save money in the moment.
However, even if you don't realize it, you are likely taking on an unrealized loss.
When you delay maintenance, whether intentionally or unintentionally (i.e., you don't have the visibility to even know when maintenance is needed), you are costing yourself money down the line.
For a car, that might mean routine maintenance becomes a more significant repair to your vehicle that will cost you more money. Even worse, there's the downtime associated with not having your car, which impedes your day-to-day life, as you probably need it to do what you need to get done (run errands, take the kids to and from school, get to work, etc.). 
The same goes for your house. Given the various types of technology and machinery an average house has, from your appliances to your HVAC system, putting off maintenance likely means a more costly repair — or even a costly replacement — looms down the line.
In the most personal example, the same also goes for the human body. Put off routine checkups and let smaller aches and pains linger and you, unfortunately, are setting yourself up for more serious health issues down the line. In a literal sense, you could end up facing downtime as a result of your health issues and a disruption in your ability to be productive, whether it's at your job, caring for your family or doing any of the things you like to do.
Now think about your commercial laundry plant and how many pieces of equipment you have. Each one of those is at varying stages of health: some might be in excellent condition, others mostly functioning properly with occasional hiccups, others might be on the verge of chronic problems and others still might already be breaking down continually.
Your goal is to keep as many of those pieces of equipment in the first category as possible.
If you can do that, you're making money by mitigating unrealized losses.
We've reviewed the importance of long-term decision-making and the abstract concept of unrealized losses. Now, let's briefly run through the various ways commercial laundry maintenance can be a financial net-positive for your plant.
A strong commercial laundry preventive maintenance program offers numerous benefits, including:
Improved Equipment Lifespan: Regular maintenance ensures that laundry machines run smoothly, reducing wear and tear and extending their operational life.
Reduced Downtime: By identifying and addressing potential issues early, preventive maintenance helps prevent unexpected equipment failures, minimizing costly downtime.
Energy Efficiency: Well-maintained machines run more efficiently, consuming less water, detergent, and energy, leading to reduced operational costs.
Cost Savings: Preventive maintenance can reduce the need for expensive repairs and replacements, lowering overall maintenance costs in the long term.
Consistent Performance: Regularly serviced machines maintain optimal cleaning performance, ensuring high-quality results and customer satisfaction.
Safety and Compliance: Preventive maintenance helps ensure that machines meet safety standards and regulations, reducing the risk of accidents or regulatory penalties.
Better Inventory Management: A scheduled maintenance program allows for better planning of spare parts and inventory, reducing emergency orders and ensuring timely availability of needed components.
Overall, a preventive maintenance program maximizes operational efficiency, ensures reliable performance, and minimizes costs and disruptions.
The actual dollar value of a strong commercial laundry maintenance program based on a long-term decision-making mindset can vary from plant to plant. (You can read about some long-term successes one Spindle customer realized after installing Spindle at their plant.)
If you take anything away from this, it's this: if you want to save money, improve performance and increase productivity as a function of the health of your equipment, you absolutely have to think long term.
Empower yourself and your team to make your commercial laundry maintenance program a money-saving powerhouse for your plant.
