Laundry Ergonomics: Cutting Unnecessary Trolley Movements

A laundry can own suitable machines and still have a tiring workflow. Trolleys cross the same space repeatedly, textiles are put down and picked up without a clear need, and operators manoeuvre bulky loads around obstacles. Before rearranging equipment, map one batch's journey and count how often it is handled, moved or left waiting. Ergonomics is about safe, sustainable work as much as speed.

Trace a real batch through the room

Choose a representative order, such as hotel sheets, and follow it from intake through sorting, washing, transfer, drying, finishing, quality checking and dispatch. Mark every trolley movement and manual hand-off on a basic floor plan. If no plan is available, a diagram showing the working areas and arrows between them is a useful start.

Measure the distance travelled where possible, and mark empty return journeys. A short route is not necessarily a safe one. Tight crossings, conflicting clean and soiled flows, and awkward doorways may make an apparently direct path undesirable. Established hygiene segregation requirements remain constraints that the layout must respect.

Three measurements worth making

Transfers per batch: how many times are goods moved from one container to another? Trolley travel distance: how far does the load travel before dispatch? Unplanned stops: how often is a batch left in a passage because a working area or resource is unavailable? Measure these across comparable shifts before claiming that a proposed change will help.

Observation	Possible cause	Evidence to gather
Trolleys meet in a narrow aisle	Shared route unsuitable for traffic	Track movements and actual clearances
Goods are repeatedly unloaded and reloaded	Poorly positioned working points	Count avoidable handling steps
Staff make long empty return trips	Workstations or responsibilities are dispersed	Trace outbound and return routes
Batches are left in corridors	No defined staging rule or adequate area	Record waiting batch numbers and duration

None of these suggestions permits reduced emergency escape space or compromised service clearances. Any physical changes need assessment under the site's safety responsibilities and applicable requirements.

Working height cannot be chosen from one number

Low worktops, difficult-to-reach machine openings and deep containers may increase repeated bending and twisting. Yet there is no single ideal height for every worker and every operation. Consider the range of staff, textile weight and bulk, available handling aids and shift organisation.

Involve employees in the assessment and consult qualified ergonomics or health-and-safety specialists where needed. A quiet shift may disguise the problem: awkward movements often become more frequent at handover, during peaks and when bulky textiles are processed.

Equipment choices and layout belong together

When comparing industrial washing machines, consider the door opening, required operating clearances and the position of the sorting area alongside capacity and programmes. With industrial tumble dryers, service access, unloading space and the route for damp linen also matter. A plan that saves two metres of walking but obstructs maintenance is not an improvement.

Sizing the workspace means understanding real simultaneous demand: how many trolleys arrive at once, where they wait, who collects them and how clean goods avoid conflicting traffic. Simply pushing the machines as close together as possible does not solve those questions.

Test a reversible improvement first

Try changes that do not require moving heavy equipment: clearly marked trolley staging places, an agreed hand-over point, fewer intermediate transfers and a consistent traffic direction where feasible. Check that those changes do not block exits or conflict with site hygiene rules.

For a week, record the original three indicators and ask staff whether the altered route actually feels easier. If handling steps decrease but queue time increases, reassess the arrangement. Only after understanding the flow should the business consider different trolleys, lifting aids or a more extensive equipment layout change.

When specialist input is necessary

Escape routes, manual-handling risk, heavy loads and required machine clearances call for competent assessment. Do not make structural changes based on a simplified sketch alone. The objective is a working area where textiles move along a predictable route and people can perform tasks without needless carrying, bending or backtracking, while essential safety conditions remain protected.

For the wider dirty-to-clean flow, read the dirty-to-clean workflow layout.