Case Studies
Oak Lodge Care Home, Hampshire
Download our Miele case study for Oak Lodge Care Home, Hampshire, by clicking here.
Sentinel Healthcare provides quality care with Miele Professional
Sentinel Healthcare is a privately owned group of nursing homes situated in and around the New Forest. There are five nursing homes within the group, all fitted with the latest facilities to provide the highest standards of care to their clients.
An essential part of the day-to-day running of Sentinel Healthcare is providing clean bedding and towels for residents. Therefore, the team at the care home need to ensure they have the right equipment to thoroughly wash items and help prevent the spread of infection.
When the decision was made to upgrade the on-premise laundry facilities, Sentinel Healthcare contacted local dealers Allsop & Francis to seek advice on which products to invest in. The nursing home had purchased Miele Professional machines through Allsop & Francis before, and had always been delighted with the service. After consulting with Allsop & Francis, the decision was made to stick with the esteemed brand.
Across the Sentinel Healthcare homes there are now four tumble dryers (models PT7136, T6251 and PT8253), three washing machines (models PW6065, W6073 and PW6107), five dishwashers (models G8072, G7856 and G7855), and two rotary ironers (models HM16-83 and HM16-80) installed onsite. All of these machines are tested to the highest standards to ensure safe, efficient and cost-effective cleaning for care homes.
Commenting on the new machines, Lynne Hargett at Sentinel Healthcare said:
“All of our Miele Professional products are delivering excellent results and we are so impressed with the quality of washing and drying. Allsop & Francis continue to deliver great service and are on hand to provide training and support.
“Miele Professional machines are so reliable and robust that they allow us to operate our laundry without interruption on a daily basis. They keep our homes running the way they should be and we would definitely recommend them to other nursing homes.”
For more information on Miele Professional’s products, please phone 0844 8936907, visit www.miele.co.uk/professional or follow the company on Twitter @MieleProf.
Hilltop Hotel, achieving best quality finish with Miele Professional
Hilltop Hotel is a small family run business situated in the village of Stansted in Kent. Sometimes described as a restaurant with rooms or a private club, they provide clean and comfortable accommodation with charming surroundings offering an interesting mix of eclectic decor. An ideal base for those on a short stay, visiting or working in the area, the hotel is also the perfect venue for a special occasion.
The owner of Hilltop Hotel, Darren Sefter, began using Miele domestic equipment over 30 years ago. He was impressed by the quality that the brand offered and by the reliable nature of the machines. When it came to upgrading the on premise laundry facilities, the natural choice was to invest in Miele Professional equipment because of their reputation for reliability and exceptional customer service.
Darren sought advice from his local dealer, Allsop & Francis, who provided an excellent service. After consultation, Darren decided to order the Miele Professional PW6080 washing machine, which arrived the next day. The PW6080 is ideal for small businesses needing an efficient washing machine with a small footprint. With a large 8kg drum capacity, the PW6080 can process large loads of laundry, and when paired with an equivalent Miele tumble dryer, can wash and dry a full load in just 80 minutes. What’s more, the trademark Miele Professional honeycomb drum helps to protect laundry and prevent fibre damage by creating a thin layer of water around the interior; perfect for those needing a gentle clean to a high standard.
When commenting on Miele Professional products, Darren Sefter said; “I would definitely recommend Miele Professional products, they live up to their reputation for a being a reliable brand. We have no doubt that we can rely on them to last for years! The machines work so efficiently we can ensure our guests receive the highest quality of soft linen and towels.
The service that we have received, and continue to receive from Allsop & Francis, has been fantastic. If they ever do break down we can have full confidence that they will be fixed quickly. We never have to wait long for an engineer to arrive after logging the call and there has never been a problem with the supply of parts.”
For more information on Miele Professional’s products, please phone 0844 8936907, log onto http://www.miele-professional.co.uk/ or follow us on Twitter @MieleProf
Bracknell Forest replace Miele laundry after 15 years!
Bracknell Forest Homes, a sheltered housing group with 11 sites, has chosen Miele Professional for the second time as their laundry supplier. ‘We had our old Miele machines for 15 years,’ says Julie Rose, Supportive Housing Manager. ‘Miele machines are so reliable they can literally be installed and forgotten about, which is what you need from laundry machines. That is why I recommended Miele again.’
Bracknell Forest Homes is a housing association which owns and manages around 5,600 rented homes, including 400 sheltered housing flats, as well as 1,100 leaseholder properties. Residents enjoy a friendly secure environment where they can enjoy their independence, privacy and company of other residents as they wish.
When looking to replace their laundry equipment, Bracknell Forest Homes considered three different suppliers as well as domestic machines. Domestic were quickly ruled out because they do not conform to the EU directive as well as the false economy of having to buy new equipment each year. The others were all compared by the Finance Director and Miele came out top in every area. Sheltered homes have to produce reports on every area to show the cost per resident and, as Miele machines are very economical and very reliable, the cost of ownership per resident is very low.
‘We are so pleased to represent the Miele brand,’ said Allsop & Francis, the supplying Partner. ‘The combination of Miele machines and our own industry leading customer service levels make for a partnership that is, quite simply, second to none.’
As sheltered schemes are paid for by the residents, the fact that the residents liked the old Miele machines went a long way. They find them very easy to use and reliable. When considering how best to service the residents, Allsop & Francis suggested moving the machines onto 30cm high plinths to assist with loading and unloading the machines. ‘It really makes such a difference, especially when the machines are being used by elderly residents so often,’ said Peter Hosking.
Bracknell Forest Homes installed 33 Miele Little Giant washing machine and tumble dryer pairs across 11 sites.
Miele’s Little Giants are the ideal machines for small in-house laundries, taking up little more space than a domestic machine. The washer and dryer can even be stacked, requiring only 600 x 700 mm of floor space.
The PW 6055 has a capacity of 5.5 kg and benefits from Miele’s unique patented Honeycomb drum which enables the laundry to glide on a thin film of water and affords it unparalleled levels of protection, extending the life of garments and linen. With spin speeds of up to 1400 rpm and a G-factor of 526, water extraction is very efficient, so laundry can be dried quickly and efficiently in the matching tumble dryer afterwards. New Profitronic L Vario controls offer a wide range of standard programmes, and the multifunction selector makes programming easy, while the large graphic display shows useful information such as programme duration.
The washers are complemented by the 6.5 kg capacity PT 7136 tumble dryers which also have the Honeycomb drum to ensure fast, gentle and energy efficient drying. The reverse drum action gives tangle-free results, while the electronic sensor controlled drying eliminates operator guesswork, saves energy and means that the drying emerges with the exact degree of dampness necessary for subsequent ironing.
The Little Giants are designed with efficiency and economy in mind. The controls offer a selection of 21 languages, making them extremely easy for staff to operate. The fast programmes mean that more cycles can be run each day, reducing the amount of time waiting for a clean load. Low consumption levels keep operating costs to a minimum.
‘The whole purchasing and installation process was so easy with Allsop & Francis and we know that if there are any problems their customer service levels are second to none. We look forward to another 15 years with Miele,’ Julie Rose concluded.
Busy veterinary practice keeps it clean with Miele
When Surrey-based veterinary practice, Fitzpatrick Referrals, required laundry machines for their new premises, the only brand they insisted on using was Miele Professional.
Fitzpatrick Referrals is a dedicated referral-only centre specialising in orthopaedics and neurosurgery for animals. Set up by world-renowned veterinary surgeon, Noel Fitzpatrick, the centre is setting new standards in cutting edge medical and surgical techniques.
Supplied by Miele Professional Partner, Allsop and Francis, four machines were installed on site – a 16 kg washer extractor and tumble dryer (PW 6161 and PT 7401) and a 20 kg washing machine and tumble dryer (PW 6201 and PT 7501).
“The customer wanted a laundry for their new building, which has in excess of 80 ‘beds’ for small animals. Their requirement was to have reliable, high quality machines that could cope with washing and disinfecting items generated by a very busy practise such as: theatre scrubs, towels, blankets and animal bedding and other ancillary veterinary items,” said David Lawton, sales director at Allsop and Francis.
Miele washer-extractors and tumble dryers guarantee trouble-free and efficient laundry care even when working at full capacity.
With the capability to programme 199 extra programmes in addition to the standard range, these machines may be programmed to suit any purpose. Specialist programmes make obstinate soiling disappear into thin air and ensure laundry is hygienically cleaned quickly. Matching dryers ensure that laundry, once washed, is ready for use again in next to no time.
All large washer-extractors and tumble dryers feature Miele’s patented honeycomb drum. This drum’s most striking feature is its sculptured, honeycomb design. In the washer-extractor the arched hexagonal sections create a film of water on which laundry glides. Fabrics are protected because the number and the size of holes have been reduced and during spinning, individual threads are no longer forced through the holes in the drum by centrifugal force.
In the tumble dryer, tiny air pockets in the hexagonal sections between laundry and drum cushion laundry during tumbling action. The secret to such successful drying are the Air Recycling Plus controls which automatically alter the position of a baffle which regulates the ratio of recirculated to vented air, increasing the range of items able to be processed.
Miele’s own freely programmable Profitronic M controls offers a common interface on both washer-extractors and tumble dryers. All wash and drying programmes are visible in the graphic display and with the aid of the programme selector switch, the user can choose the most suitable programme and directly modify individual parameters. A machine told before the start of the cycle that the load size is only half full automatically optimises the washing process accordingly to conserve energy.
The installation of these four machines required the ingenuity of everyone involved, from the product experts at Miele Professional and the team at Allsop and Francis to the architects, project manager, structural engineer and the building contractors.
“We had to overcome a number of distinct hurdles during the installation process. The first issue was that the total power required for all of the machines was more than what the site had to offer. Our solution was to use Peak Load Cut Out. This is a standard option on Miele machines that detects current demand and switches power between the machines accordingly.
“The second issue was to have the washing machines installed on the first floor. This involved close consultation with the structural engineer who also consulted a vibration expert. The first floor was then re-engineered to include reinforced steel joists for the washers to be fixed on,” explained David.
The next problem faced by the team was equally as challenging – getting the equipment onto the first floor. The machines had to be individually ‘craned’ up to the window opening (2.4m) and over a MRI plant area, and placed on spreaders until the floor was ready.
Finally the team had to ensure that the equipment would not interfere with the imaging on the MRI scanner located in the room below. It was necessary to have a five metre MRI exclusion zone, yet due to space limitations, the laundry machines would only be 3.2 m away. Testing was undertaken at the Miele Test Wash Centre, a dedicated testing facility at Miele Professional’s head office in Abingdon, Oxfordshire. The tests showed that at two metres, there was minimal interference and installation could proceed.
“We were very pleased that the tests were positive, especially when we took into account that the machines were already on site and that the structure of the building was changing to accommodate them!” stated David.
Bespoke washing and drying cycles were then programmed into the machine. The programmes – Express 30°, Normal 40°, Scrubs/Towels Normal 60°, Scrubs/Towels Soiled (with pre-rinse and thermal disinfection), Vet Bed Normal 60° and Vet Bed Soiled (with pre-rinse and thermal disinfection)) were stored on the six direct access buttons on the front of the machines to enable any staff member to operate them.
Allsop and Francis have been a Miele Professional Partner since the mid 1980’s when the scheme was launched. “Allsop’s was one of my accounts during my time with Miele Professional and there has always been a strong partnership between the two companies. We work very closely together to fulfil the needs of our customers and provide them with the best solution. We were very proud to be able to meet the needs of Fitzpatrick Referrals,” said David.
“Miele Professional is renowned for its quality and reliability and this is what we required for our practice. Both Allsop & Francis and Miele Professional went out of their way to accommodate all our requirements and the service they provided was excellent,” said Noel at Fitzpatrick Referrals.