{"id":2886,"date":"2014-07-09T14:58:00","date_gmt":"2014-07-09T14:58:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/?p=2886"},"modified":"2014-07-16T18:39:11","modified_gmt":"2014-07-16T18:39:11","slug":"laundry-by-the-ton","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/?p=2886","title":{"rendered":"Laundry by the ton"},"content":{"rendered":"

Every good set of instructions on washing clothes includes the advice to wash whites with whites and not use bleach on colored items. It is doubtful however, that most of those instructions delineate how to wash thousands of pounds of laundry \u2013 all at once. For Tillis Brett<\/strong>, \u201959 industrial management, and his brother Gene<\/strong>, \u201964 electrical engineering, that\u2019s all in a day\u2019s work.<\/p>\n

\"laundry\"<\/a>More than four decades ago, the Brett brothers pooled their resources, which amounted to roughly $500, and began selling real\u00a0estate. They partnered with Tommy Robinson, who had experience in construction, and formed Brett\/Robinson Realty \u2013 an Orange
\nBeach, Ala., business that today is a full-service development, construction and management company. Well known for its commitment to quality construction that can withstand the periodic storms and hurricanes of the Gulf Coast, the company\u2019s signature properties are the nearly 20 high-rise Phoenix condominiums. These buildings, plus a number of other rental properties, translate into hundreds of units and thousands of beds \u2013 that\u2019s a lot of linens. Add towels and washcloths, and you literally have tons of laundry.<\/p>\n

As their rental units have multiplied, the brothers saw the need for an in-house laundry facility that would cut the cost of \u201csending their laundry out\u201d and provide a more efficient means to wash, dry, press and fold the vast amount of linens their guests use every day. As a result, they set about creating a laundry facility, in close proximity to their condominiums, that could handle the load.<\/p>\n

Last fall, the Bretts invited engineering students to tour the facility and see first hand its processes and machinery. Along with Alice Smith, W. Allen and Martha Reed professor in the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISE), 11 undergraduate and graduate students traveled to the facility to witness the result of engineering ingenuity on the mundane task of doing laundry.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe facility was amazing, who knew that there was that much engineering involved with washing linens,\u201d said Yousif Abulhassan, a graduate student in ISE. \u201cI was very impressed with how automated the process was for washing the linens and having them transferred from the huge washer to the dryers with minimal human interaction with the machines.\u201d<\/p>\n

The facility functions with about 90 percent automation. \u201cIt was interesting to see how they have set up their in-house plant to drive the laundry process with so much automation,\u201d said Prashant Malyala, also an ISE graduate student. \u201cIt is incredible how that small footprint of area can result in such tremendous cost cutting in operations, and allow for greater system control compared to an external vendor.\u201d<\/p>\n

For students studying manufacturing processes, the tour was a real-world look at industrial systems. \u201cThis experience was both educationally valuable and inspiring for the students,\u201d said Smith. \u201cThe facility was impressive with its advanced technology and its streamlined operations, both important aspects of industrial engineering.\u201d<\/p>\n

The story of the Brett brothers\u2019 humble beginnings and their hard work to build a company based on integrity and customer service resonated with many of the students. \u201cThe most important take away for the students was learning about the Bretts’ high-achieving careers and lifelong dedication to embodying the Auburn spirit,\u201d Smith said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was amazing to hear how they were able to use the skills they gained as students from Auburn to live the \u2018American Dream,\u2019\u201d said Abulhassan.<\/p>\n

The brothers also shared the lessons they learned at Auburn. \u201cMy engineering degree has served me well,\u201d said Gene. \u201cUnderstanding engineering principles has been important in our work. You have to be concerned about what you produce. Make your work reliable, and people will notice.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tillis echoed that sentiment noting that their business found its roots in providing a product that people value. \u201cPeople must know that they can trust you,\u201d he said. \u201cThere is no better place than Auburn to learn to do the right thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

View more photos of the laundry facility<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Every good set of instructions on washing clothes includes the advice to wash whites with whites and not use bleach on colored items. It is doubtful however, that most of those instructions delineate how to wash thousands of pounds of laundry \u2013 all at once. For Tillis Brett, \u201959 industrial […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4],"tags":[529,530],"yoast_head":"\nLaundry by the ton » Auburn Engineer<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/?p=2886\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Laundry by the ton » Auburn Engineer\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Every good set of instructions on washing clothes includes the advice to wash whites with whites and not use bleach on colored items. It is doubtful however, that most of those instructions delineate how to wash thousands of pounds of laundry \u2013 all at once. 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