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Aabha Dogra
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With the stupendous increase in the number of hotels mushrooming in India, Laundry Management is one of the key elements garnering attention for the role it plays in the smooth functioning of a hotel. Hotelier India speaks to Laundry Managers from a select few hotels.

What eco-friendly measures have you introduced for your area of work? Are they feasible and have they been implemented?
SHANKAR D: Some of the eco friendly steps suggested were with regard to the fuel used for running the boiler as well as the treatment of water that has been used for washing. We decided that we will use coconut shells for the boiler fuel and we are in the process of installing an automatic water treatment plant so that we gain back 90% of the water consumed, which we can then use for gardening and other purposes.

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JAGDISH BHATT: We use chemicals from Ecolab which is one of the reputed companies involved in manufacturing of Laundry Chemicals. The chemicals from Ecolab are Eco friendly and contain natural organic elements. These organic ingredients are not harmful for skin as well as for the linen. The detergents are also free from optical brighteners and are very mild. They are safer for the septic tanks as they do not cause oxidation and rusting.

AABHA DOGRA: As a part of the switch to “Go Green” and protect the environment almost all the latest laundry detergent are available in small bottles and in concentrated form, which helps protect the environment by introducing less plastic into it. Using a more concentrated formulation increases the number of washes per bottle and that further reduces the amount of carbon dioxide emitted.

Through some online forums, we have learned that automation and machinery are in some cases reducing the job opportunities in laundry departments? Has this been your experience and what is your take on it? Would you like to suggest a fair way forward?
SHANKAR D: Automatic machines ensure standard quality and working with them is easier. But laundry management is an art and it takes skilled manpower to play their role in specific stain removals. More specific training will help in using quality resources which can carry out the same tasks as automatic machines in getting high quality output.

JAGDISH BHATT: To some extent the answer to this question is yes as due to automation and the introduction of new sophisticated machineries, the job opportunities in laundry have reduced, but considering the other factors like rewashing of linen which subsequently leads to the increase in discarding of linen, we have maintained our manning to the optimum. We utilize our manpower in spotting and quality checking of linen regularly to maintain the high standards and also under no circumstances we would want to compromise on these aspects.

AABHA DOGRA: Looking at the actual figure it has been noticed that job opportunities have actually not gone down as more technical people are required to operate the machinery to run the laundry department.