case study - Cosalt

“The bottom line is
that we have seen
an uplift in how we
manage the provision,
laundry and delivery
of our PPE while
reducing costs.”
Adam Eckley
ECFRS Deputy Chief Fire Officer
www.cosalt.com
Said Carlton Greener, Managing Director of Cosalt’s
Workwear division: “Our fully managed service is a
partnership between Cosalt and the customer. It is
based on the simple premise of delivering maximum
service at minimum cost. When buying safety critical
kit it is important to look after what can be a major
investment. Over many years we have developed a
robust system for managing every aspect of looking
after a customer’s kit.
“Of course different customers require different
levels of managed service and we can accommodate
that. Our contract with the South East and Eastern
Region Fire Consortium is a good example of our
most comprehensive level of service but we also offer
parts of the service to organisations like Network Rail
and Hanson Aggregates.”
/ A complete service
Under this type of contract Cosalt will manage the
complete process of testing, sizing, fitting and
supplying personnel with the correct garments.
Throughout the service life of each garment Cosalt
takes care of its laundry, maintenance and repair.
Cosalt will provide a local stock holding facility to
ensure garments can be supplied quickly and if
required Cosalt offers a rapid response service with a
24/7 emergency hotline.
At the heart of Cosalt’s fully managed service is its
bespoke state-of-the-art IT system. Cosalt has spent in
excess of £800,000 on IT to create an advanced paperless
system that can integrate seamlessly with a customer’s
own enterprise, resource and planning systems.
It comprises a number of different modules
that come together to provide a comprehensive
management, control and reporting tool. This
sophisticated technology maintains all the wearer
level information required to run a contract with full
track and trace capability plus integration with other
supply chain partners.
/ Personnel management
Cosalt’s central wardrobe management system
stores the fitting details and history of each individual
wearer. It even archives information on all staff past
and present. This allows Cosalt to control the number
of garments issued to a wearer over an agreed period
of time. Because every item that leaves Cosalt’s
production line is also given a unique code, putting
the garment code and the wearer code together
generates a unique barcode that tells Cosalt who
has been issued with what and when. Cosalt can also
track the production records of each garment back
to the manufacturer and the original batches of raw
materials used which is important when repairing
items.
The system tracks a garment for the rest of its life,
from cradle to grave. Cosalt and its customer can see
how many times these products have been laundered
and how many times they have been replaced or
repaired. This facility means regular audits can be
carried out to check clothing and equipment at every
customer location as well as items going through the
laundry. Personnel movement is also monitored and
recorded to ensure laundered garments are always
returned to the correct location.
/ Laundry and repair
Laundry and repair is managed and controlled
by a dedicated team within Cosalt using the IT
system’s Garment Service Care (GSC) module. This
was specifically written for Cosalt to ‘track and trace’
PPE. The Customer Services team monitor weekly
collections and ensure processes are followed for
the correct inspection of garments. Collections
are carefully mapped out to ensure they fit in with
a customer’s operations with drivers following a
checklist to ensure all health and safety requirements
have been complied with. If repairs are necessary
only original fabrics and components are used. Pre-
set cleaning codes ensure garments are washed
correctly and with the right type of detergent. The
system logs every laundry cycle and repair so it is easy
to see when a garment needs replacing.
/ Stock holding and planning
A key benefit of the managed service option for
customers is that responsibility for holding stock or
transporting items to different site locations can be
passed on to Cosalt. For the customer, this reduces
operational costs and spreads expenditure on
clothing and equipment over the life of the contract.
Cosalt holds product at its UK National Distribution
Centre in Barnsley and if required this can be supplied
very quickly through a local service centre facility.
In addition, customers can opt for Cosalt’s rapid
response service, which offers a 24/7 emergency
call-out service.
Underpinning this service is a detailed stock IT-
based planning system that covers raw materials as
well as finished garments and takes into account
both manufacturer and raw material lead times.
As well as its overseas production facilities Cosalt’s
own GORE ® licensed and Article 11B certificated
production facility in Barnsley is able to meet urgent
requirements if required. This is an invaluable back up
for ensuring target lead times are always met.
/ ‘ExtraServe’ extranet
All the data held on Cosalt’s wardrobe management
system is accessible to customers through the
company’s bespoke ‘ExtraServe’ extranet which can
be accessed over the internet from anywhere in the
world at the click of a mouse button.
Customers can log in to place orders, exchange
delivery directions, log queries, request replacement
garments and generally manage their account. They
can see at a glance how the service is measuring up
to agreed key performance indicators and by using