Keeping Your Laundry Safe & Profitable Too

Elsewhere in this issue, the News is offering advice on how laundry owners and operators can protect themselves and get their laundries ready to be sold. There is another avenue that should be followed for the overall safety and comfort on the laundry customers that use your coin or card operated laundry. We want every laundry to be a safe place to visit. Those of us in the laundry business all know the benefits of operating a “safe” laundry. First, no one ever wants to see an injury to a customer, an employee, a member our family or ourselves. We don’t ever want to experience the horrific effects of a major fire or another type of serious property loss. Even when we have sufficient insurance to protect us, we don’t want to see anyone hurt in out business. Claims are difficult at best, and there is no way anyone but attorneys makes money on the kinds of suits that take place after damages are done to people using the laundry. Collectively, insurance rates are impacted by “loss experience” of all laundries as a type and class of business. Insurance companies look at how frequent and costly insurance claims in all laundries are when they determine what to charge your business. So, all of us in this industry have a stake in keeping insurance losses as low as possible. Also, the claims history for your laundry business will affect your rates, and maybe even your ability to secure insurance in the future. There are laundries that have been forced to close, or have even lost their lease because they have been unable to get insurance. Check your own lease and you will see that it requires you to have certain protection limits in your insurance policies. No policy, no lease. Today offers one of the toughest insurance markets we have ever seen for the laundry industry. Premiums are rapidly rising and insurers are getting very strict about the things operators must do before they offer coverage. Underwriting, which is the process by which insurance companies make decisions, is getting more strict. One of the things they look at is a laundry’s claims history. Also, if there are any claims, either the premium goes up big time or they offer no insurance at all. It’s true that accidents can happen, and that is one of the reasons we have insurance. We also have to assume a responsibility to our laundries and the laundry industry. There are some steps each of us should take to keep our losses low and our insurance claims as rare as possible. A. Quality Video Surveillance Systems are a necessity for every laundry today, especially those that are not attended. Video surveillance cameras help laundry owners either halt or slow down potential robbers, con artists staging phony slip and fall events, and employees who are less than honest. It’s really tough to argue with pictures provided by the system, showing what happened, how it took place and who did it. Fewer clothing items are stolen from other peoples dryers, fewer notes are left claiming out of order machines, fewer minor vandalism acts take place in laundries with good camera systems. Dollar for dollar, security cameras are a win - win for any laundry. B. Stop Laundry Dryer Fires It is said that laundry dryer fires are the ninth leading cause of non residential fires in the country. Dryer fires do constitute the most costly property insurance claims for self-service laundries. So often this type of fire devastates entire shopping centers by spreading though the air spaces between shops. Over time too many laundries have been lost as a result of fires that have begun in a laundry dryer. Usually because the dryers have not been properly maintained. Good maintenance begins with good habits and concentration on controlling the dryer lint in the ducts and lint boxes. Good habits include doing things on a regularly scheduled basis. Develop and stick to a schedule to keep lint screens clean. Don’t allow lint to accumulate inside the dryer’s cabinet. Clear out and clean out duct work on a schedule. Of course laundry operators will want to insure that their dryers have been properly installed. That includes having a sufficiency of make up air in the system. They also need to check the various thermostats to be sure that their settings are safe and they actually work as designed. If thermostats are not working as they were designed to, keeping the dryer temperatures cycling between the high and low temperatures, a lot of unintended things can happen. Spontaneous combustion isn’t a myth. It can result when things containing grease, cooking oil, etc. are over heated. That can be when the dryer’s high limit thermostat doesn’t work as it should. Clothes also get singed and when it happens, unhappy customers are a result. One of the best sources for information on whether your dryers have been properly installed is for you to review the dryer service manual provided from the manufacturer. Were things done by the book? If not, why were short cuts taken and are they dangerous? C. Bill Change Machines and Coin Vaults must be protected by an Alarm System. After fires, the next most costly claims in laundries are from burglaries, that usually take place overnight, where the bill change machines are vandalized and broken into. The costs can add up quickly. Damage is done to the changers. Then there is loss of cash from inside the changer. Breaking and entering can damage the building too. And, quite often those who broke in for the changer money don’t stop there. Other machines get damaged and broken into as well. Install a perimeter alarm system so that any time the laundry is entered, by whatever means, the alarm rings in your systems central alarm station. They call you and the police. Ask your security firm to set alarms on changers or special security doors, such as the entrance to the rear of the changers. Since you already should have a camera system in place, cover the bill changer area at all times. That helps deter those attempting to put in illegal bills. People instinctively know they should avoid being caught on film trying to break the law. D. Dangerous Laundry Floors A laundry’s floors must always be kept free of water. Most slip and fall accidents result from water leaks that have not been promptly mopped and dried. If there is a leak that gets to the floor, correct it as quickly as possible. Also, broken or chipped floor tiles could cause serious injury to customers and employees alike from trip and fall accidents. When you have broken or chipped floor tiles, replace them as quickly as possible. If you replace your laundry’s floors, use slip-resistant tiles and follow the manufacturers recommendations for maintenance. F. Conduct a Risk Survey Take this opportunity to scour your laundry for problem areas and develop a plan for correcting problems as quickly as possible to protect your customers and employees. A twice yearly inspection of your laundry can save you thousands in deductibles and future increases in premium. More importantly, regular inspections can help reduce the chances of someone being injured as a result of visiting your laundry. E. Protect your laundry by properly training attendants and other employees. Attendants are a means of protecting the money you’ve invested. They should be trained to prevent injuries to customers, but when an accident does occur, have you given them a written procedure for dealing with problems in your absence? They should be trained in how to use fire extinguishers, know how to shut-off machines and utilities quickly and know how to contact emergency services. Are your attendants ready to handle a fire? What do they do in case there is a hold-up? What if there is an injury to a customer? As an owner of a place of public accommodation, you have a responsibility for the people who enter your laundry, whether they are your customers or not. That is a fundamental part of the law in most states. As a host, you have a responsibility for their safety. And, you are the host for many. F. More scheduled maintenance means you will have fewer insurance claims. Many insurance claims will be prevented when you run a good operation. The more often and better we work at keeping our laundry and its equipment safe, the fewer claims we will likely experience. As an example, a burst fill hose can seep through the walls and cause thousands of dollars in property damage in a nearby business. Not only that, a slip and fall accident can occur. Won’t that make hoses one of the things you will need on a check list? G. Inspect Parking Lots, Sidewalks and Doorways frequently. Many slips, trips, and falls happen just outside your laundry. Parking lot cracks, potholes, and uneven sidewalks all can be spots where your customer can be injured. Just look at the story on page 1 as an example. Even as a tenant, you could be seen as liable for any injuries occurring to customers coming to your business. When you see these things, notify the landlord. A smart thing to do is to send it via certified letter. That gives you provable wiggle room if a court case comes as a result of injury. H. Check equipment and door locks to know that they work as designed. We’ve had some high-profile accidents when safety door locks don’t operate properly. These have resulted in loss of limb and other serious injuries. No one should even be able to open a front load washer door while the washer is in operation. No top loader should continue in cycle after the lid is lifted. Keep all top loader lid switches and front load washer door locks in proper working order. As for dryers, the kill switch must stop the basket from tumbling quickly when doors are opened. Many things are out of our control. It is why we have insurance. As laundry owners we must do all we can to make our places of business accident and claim resistant. Be proactive and benefit from owning a safer laundry and you will have greater peace of mind. You will likely make more money too.