Certification of laundries

Like other European countries, the Czech Republic boasts a certification system for industrial laundries. This proves to our clients that the branch is able to meet the same criteria for service quality as any laundry in the European Union. Although the certification has been a voluntary initiative from the beginning, during its existence it has clearly proven its contribution to the laundry industry.

The quality of services has increased significantly and this trend continues. The importance of certification is shown, for example, in tenders, when (fortunately!) in addition to price, the quality of the washed laundry, evidenced by the fulfillment of Industry Specifications (OS), became a criterion. Behind all this is mainly the common interest and effort of all interested parties for the best and most responsible approach to customers and the highest possible guarantee for the quality of the services provided.

The branch specifications represent a fundamental technical specification of requirements for the quality of washing and its control. It is also a very important fact that the operation of a laundry that meets the requirements of the OS-01 Branch Specification also meets the requirements of Ministry of Health Decree No. 306/2012 Coll. in the case of processing medical linen and linen from social welfare institutions. This is a huge benefit, as OS has provided clear guidance on how to ensure that laundry is free of chemical and microbial contamination and how to verify that this is actually the case in routine practice.

WHY CERTIFIED LAUNDRY?

• The ČSN EN ISO 9001 and ČSN EN ISO 14001 standards work with general requirements for the quality management system and environmental management.
• They don’t have much to do with your own laundry treatment, they are “only the so-called general standards”. In contrast, the OS series 80 industry specifications and the ČSN EN 14065 standard are aimed directly at the requirements of the laundry industry.
• In industrial laundries, certification according to ISO 9001 and at the same time according to Industry specifications is ideal, because only then can the highest quality of services be guaranteed.
• In short, it can be said that ISO 9001 is an excellent starting point for certification according to Industry specifications, which “bring the system to perfection”.

The certification of the laundry consists of an own inspection of the operation, a microbiological inspection and a subsequent certification procedure. The entire course of certification depends on good cooperation between the controlled operation, the controller and also the certification commission. As a rule, it is possible to manage the entire procedure within 3 months from the submission of the application.

A brief description of the certification process in points:

1. The laundry, in cooperation with the APaČ secretariat, fills out and sends the signed binding application for certification to the email address info@apac.cz.
2. After paying the fee and receiving the application, the secretary of the commission will hand over the documents to the controller (TZÚ).
3. TZÚ will clarify the details with the laundry (customer) and conclude the Contract.
4. TZÚ will carry out an on-site inspection and process the results into a final report, which will be presented to the client and forwarded to the Certification Commission.
5. Based on these documents, the Certification Commission will decide on the granting/non-granting of the Certificate and ensure the issuance of an official document.

After payment of all financial obligations, the Secretariat of the Association will ensure the delivery of all documents to the customer.

The issuing of the Certificate itself is ensured by the Secretary of the Certification Commission, who sends electronic versions of certificates by e-mail and originals in written form by post.

All the documents used for certification according to the Branch specifications can be found below in the section Documents for certification.

On the basis of the cooperation of APaČ and TZÚ, the OS 80 series industry specifications were created, thanks to which the construction, technological, hygienic and personnel requirements for industrial laundries were set. Industry specifications are subject to regular revisions, taking into account developments in the industry as well as comments from practice, so they are always alive and contain current requirements.

During the last revisions, which took place in 2015 and 2016, comments regarding the relation of the OS to the German RAL-GZ standards were incorporated into the OS. Before release, the OS is discussed with interested parties, i.e. hospitals, hotels, food manufacturers, or their associations. The publishing and distribution of the OS is done according to the rules approved in advance by the associations (e.g. APaČ and ATOK).

OS are available free of charge on the website www.tzu.cz, their commercial distribution is prohibited.

OS are in the form of ČSN standards, which, among other things, greatly facilitates work with them. This was made possible thanks to the fact that TZÚ became the Technical Standardization Center (CTN) for textiles.

OS are non-binding but become binding when they are referred to in a commercial contract or when they are part of the technical requirements of tenders.

The documents that are required for certification according to the Branch specifications are:

• Rules of Procedure and Organization of the Certification Commission for Industrial Laundries
• Guidelines for industry certification of industrial laundries
• Procedure for obtaining Certification according to OS_RAL
• Procedure for obtaining Certification according to OS_TZÚ
• Application for Certification according to Branch specifications
• Decision of the APaČ Certification Commission for industrial laundries
• Indicative prices of TZÚ services for the certification of industrial laundries