Smarter Laundries, Higher Efficiency: How PieceCounter and Seeed Studio Revolutionized Workforce Management in Industrial Laundry
In the high-volume world of industrial laundry and dry cleaning, margins are tight, and labor is one of the largest expenses—and often the most difficult to control. Efficiency can fluctuate wildly based on the time of day, the day of the week, or simply how much attention management is able to pay to the floor at any given moment. For decades, plant managers relied on manual logs and day-old reports to gauge productivity. By the time a production manager realized a station was underperforming, the shift was over, and the money was lost.
Wesvic Systems, the creators of the PieceCounter, set out to solve this by digitizing the production floor. By leveraging the power of Real-Time Performance Feedback (RTPF) and moving to rugged edge computing hardware—specifically, Seeed Studio’s reTerminal DM—The PieceCounter is helping operators achieve 10-20% efficiency gains, and automated data collection provides additional cost savings.
The Challenge: The Visibility Gap
Managing a workforce without live data is like driving a car with a speedometer that only updates yesterday’s speed.
In traditional laundry operations, data collection is manual, monotonous, and prone to error. Operators working on ironers, folders, and presses often lack autonomy; they don’t know if they are hitting their targets until a supervisor intervenes. This lack of immediate feedback leads to:
- Wasted Labor: Production slows down when operators unintentionally drift below target speeds.
- Delayed Decisions: Managers cannot reallocate staff to bottlenecks because they don’t see them happening live.
- Low Morale: Without clear goals, work becomes repetitive and disengaging.
Wesvic Systems needed a hardware solution that was rugged enough to survive the heat, humidity, and lint of a laundry plant, yet smart enough to provide a seamless, interactive user interface for the operator.
The Solution: Automated Measurement with reTerminal DM
Wesvic Systems selected the reTerminal DM by Seeed Studio as the hardware backbone for PieceCounter 4.0.
The PieceCounter system interfaces with the machine’s PLC or uses add-on sensors to count items as they are processed. This data is processed at the edge and displayed instantly to the operator.
Why reTerminal DM was the perfect fit:
- Industrial Ruggedness: Laundry environments are harsh. The reTerminal DM’s fanless design is a requirement for the environment the units go into, while the IP65 front panel protection ensures it withstands dust, lint, and moisture.
- Integrated 10.1” Touchscreen: The interactive display makes it convenient for operators to quickly log in at their workstations, switch job types, or view their performance metrics without leaving their post.
- Wi-Fi Capabilities: With built-in Wi-Fi capabilities, installation is easy and flexible, eliminating the need to run network cables to each station.
- Versatile Connectivity: The device’s digital inputs allow the PieceCounter to directly interface with a machine’s existing sensors via a relay or add its own external sensors, making it adaptable for counting pieces in many different applications.
- Fleet Management: The compatibility with third-party IoT Fleet Management Services makes it easy to troubleshoot, update, and maintain the hardware deployed in the field without costly on-site visits.
- Versatile Mounting: The VESA mounting pattern on the back of the reTerminal provides many different mounting options, allowing the device to be ergonomically positioned at eye level for any station—from garment presses to massive multi-lane ironers.
The Science Inside: The Power of Real-Time Performance Feedback (RTPF)
The hardware is the vehicle, but the engine driving the ROI is Real-Time Performance Feedback.
Drawing on behavioral psychology research—similar to how fitness trackers motivate runners—the PieceCounter taps into the human desire for achievement. The reTerminal DM’s 10.1” screen displays a color-coded dashboard:
- Green: Exceeding Goal
- Yellow: Near Goal
- Red: Below Goal
The “Fitness Tracker” Effect: When an operator sees their efficiency percentage drop into the yellow, they naturally adjust their pace to get back to the green. This creates a self-correcting workforce.
“We knew through experience and psychological research that quality feedback results in better performance,” explains Chad Boucher, founder of Wesvic Systems. “When the feedback is relevant, accurate, timely, and automated, you get performance improvement with very little effort from management.
The Results: ROI and Automation
By deploying the PieceCounter on the reTerminal DM, facilities are seeing immediate, quantifiable results:
- 10-20% Efficiency Boost: Plants report significant increases in Pieces Per Hour (PPH) immediately after installation.
- Automated Data Collection: Eliminates 15-20 minutes of manual logging and recordkeeping per operator per day.
- Rapid ROI: Most clients see a full return on investment in 6 to 12 months.
- Self-Managed Teams: “Micromanagement” is replaced by autonomy. Operators manage their own pace, and supervisors can focus on training rather than counting.
Looking Ahead
With the robust capabilities of the reTerminal DM, PieceCounter is expanding beyond simple counting. This powerful platform makes future feature development simple, allowing Wesvic Systems to continue evolving the system to meet the diverse and changing needs of the industry.
By combining Wesvic’s industry expertise with Seeed Studio’s industrial-grade hardware, the PieceCounter is proving that when you put the person in the process with the right tools, superior performance follows.
Ready to unlock the potential of your workforce? Learn more at WESVIC.com.
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