Authors (including presenting author) :
PANG WS
Affiliation :
Tuen Mun Hospital Laundry
Introduction :
1) Taken a medium-to-large sized Laundry as an example, Tuen Mun Hospital Laundry (TMHL), a traditional well running Laundry. There are already a variety of standalone machines assisting us to the daily repetitive manual works. To zoom it all out, however, the Operation Flow is found considerably broken. High man:machine ratio has been playing a significant role in connecting the flow in among and keeping it moving. 2) Great technology development is something that cannot be ignored. The good of technology to our workfloor without sacrificing quality is something that we cannot resist. This study has shown a highly automated Laundry to be achieved by the application of Radio Frequency Identification technology (RFIDs) and that of some fantastic ancillary equipment as a result of it.
Objectives :
1) Arouse attention to the developments on laundry infrastructure and technological advancement, its influence to the industry. 2) Get a picture that the RFIDs application has changed a traditional Laundry in every level. 3) Let have our Big Data ready. It is sure that Artificial Intelligence technology (A.I.) will be applied extensively in our future Laundry operation, just a matter of time and it shall be soon. 4) Differentiate automation level from automated Laundry equipment to a Laundry of High Automation.
Methodology :
To aim at an overview of how RFIDs application has changed a traditional Laundry in every level and that outstanding details can further be highlighted with an actual example comparison. By comparing all those major Laundry tasks in TMHL, a projection of a highly automatic Laundry that applied the RFIDs technology is done. After a descriptive work flows study on both, a comparison on their different Means and Efficiency (Time & Manpower) in completing the same tasks is studied.
Result & Outcome :
With RFIDs, a Laundry might have an entirely different positioning Today as well as the Tomorrow of it when A.I. is in place. There will be a Laundry of high automation, rather than ones of mechanized automated Laundry equipment. Because of the feature of RFIDs, pre-set information is being captured when laundry items are passing through our area. It serves as signals to activate I/O functions of key machine systems and the ancillary equipment for a continuous uninterrupted machine flow in all the areas of: Check-in & Irregularity/ Sorting/ Washing/ Drying/ Ironing/ Marker/ Packaging/ Warehousing. Along the whole Production line, simultaneously, the feature of data collection allows strengthening the following functions: Counting & Checking/ Customer Service/ Quality Control/ Rewash & Repair/ Efficiency/ Reporting/ Stock-taking.
