Innovation in action: how one caregiver saved thousands of pounds of laundry from the washing machine

Meet Slavica Kutlacic, an innovation hero at Intermountain Health’s Laundry Services. She created a system that reduces the need to re-sort and rewash laundry, saving time, money, and resources.?

The challenge?

Intermountain facilities send dirty laundry to Laundry Services in large bags filled with a variety of items, like washcloths, sheets, pillowcases, and scrubs. Each item requires a unique cleaning process, so caregivers separate these items on a huge sorting belt. Sometimes items get missed; for example, a pillowcase might get tangled up with a sheet. If the pillowcase gets washed with the sheet, it ends up in the ironing section of the production floor. Since pillowcases aren’t ironed, they get thrown into a giant re-sort bin.?

The re-sort bin resembles a junk drawer you might find at home; if someone finds a piece of laundry out of place, they toss it into the bin. When it fills up, caregivers return the load of laundry to the sorting belt to re-sort, re-wash, and send through the dryers. This process wastes resources because each piece of laundry can only be washed so many times before it wears out. Laundry Services was rewashing up to 15 carts of re-sorted items every day, equating to over 22,500 pounds of laundry. For comparison, a full garbage truck weighs 16,000 pounds.?

Slavica’s smart idea?

Even after 14 years of service, Slavica?still looks for new ways to improve efficiency and reduce waste. “I think of Intermountain as my second home,” she said. “My job here allows me to pay my bills and go on adventures, so keeping the facility running smoothly and looking nice is important to me.”?

During her daily rounds as a production coordinator, she noticed several items in the re-sort bins that did not need to be rewashed. Some items needed another spin in the dryer, some were at the end of their lifecycle and ready to be recycled, and others needed to be moved to a different part of the facility.??

To solve this problem, Slavica?found several smaller unused bins from a previous project and placed them at each production station in the facility. Now, sheets, towels, pillowcases, and wet and dry items can be moved to the right station without going through the entire laundry process.?

Thanks to Slavica, the team now rewashes only five carts of laundry every week instead of 15 carts daily, saving 21,000 pounds from entering the washing machine each week.??

"This simple, no-cost change saves time, water, and energy," said Scott Schofield, assistant vice president of Shared Services. "It's like removing the weight of two elephants from their workload each week.”?

Team Spirit?

Slavica used practical demonstrations, visual cues with labels, and a little chocolate to convince her team to adopt the new process. Even when caregivers were unsure about the changes, Slavica’s patience and sweet treats won them over. Now, everyone loves the new system because it makes their jobs easier.?

A culture of innovation?

Laura Thurston, director of Laundry Services, empowers caregivers to share their ideas and take ownership of their work. “I like to use my leadership huddles as a safe place to identify problems the teams are experiencing,” said Laura. “Together, we brainstorm how to solve those problems. I’m always willing to try an idea at least once.”?

Laura’s emphasis on creating a culture of innovation has transformed her production floor into a more organized, efficient, and enjoyable workplace, proving that even small changes can make a big difference.?