Dosing compliance and traceability

Who does this apply to?

Laundries processing textiles for the healthcare sector, care homes, schools, collective catering or any customer with traceability obligations should keep records of the following (the specific requirements are set by each customer's contract or tender specifications):

• Products used (brand, reference, batch number)
• Dosing applied per cycle
• Temperature and duration of each wash
• Periodic calibrations of the dosing system
• Safety data sheets and technical data sheets on file
• Incidents and corrective actions

Recommended monthly record template

How to set up the log step by step

A useful log does not have to be complicated: what matters is that it is kept consistently and that anyone on the team can fill it in without having to ask. A good starting point:

• Product inventory: every time you connect a new drum to the pump, note the product, the pack size and the batch number shown on the label.
• Calibration sheet: date, machine, product, programmed volume versus the volume measured in the cylinder, and who carried out the check.
• Programmes and temperatures: copy the settings of each programme (temperature, duration and which product each pump doses) and update them whenever you change anything.
• Documentation folder: technical data sheets and SDS in their latest revision, filed by product. Keep old versions in an archive subfolder rather than throwing them away.
• Incident book: what happened, on which machine, what was done and whether it happened again.

What a customer usually checks in an audit

When a care home, a hotel or a contract catering company trusts you with its linen, it may ask for evidence of how you work. The questions usually revolve around three ideas:

• ✓That the product used is the one agreed and that its SDS is available.
• ✓That dosing is under control: calibrations with a date and a person responsible.
• ✓That deviations are dealt with: incidents recorded together with their corrective action.

If yours is a pure self-service laundry where every customer washes their own clothes, nobody will usually demand this level of detail. Even so, keeping it protects you if a complaint arises and helps you spot a pump that is drifting out of adjustment much sooner.

Common mistakes

• Calibrating only when a problem shows up: a log with gaps loses almost all its value.
• Switching product or supplier without updating the data sheet folder.
• Adjusting the dose "by eye" on one machine and not writing it down: afterwards nobody knows which setting is the right one.
• Keeping the records only on paper next to the machines, where they get wet or lost. A digital copy is far safer.

Frequently asked questions

Am I legally required to keep these records?

It depends on the customer and the sector. In most cases the requirement comes from the contract or tender specifications and, in contract catering, from the customer's own HACCP plan, not from a specific rule for laundries. That is why it is worth asking what evidence they will need before you start working with them.

Who can help me calibrate and document everything?

Instaquim's Technical Service carries out technical visits to check dosing equipment and provides on-site training for your staff, and it answers technical queries in less than 4 hours. SDS and technical data sheets are supplied with the first delivery, and you can request the latest revision whenever you need it.