For most people, a hospital laundry is an invisible engine quietly keeping things running. But without it, hospitals can’t function. At University Hospitals Sussex, where over 240,000 pieces of linen are processed each week, efficiency and reliability are absolutely essential.
At the heart of the operation is Kannegiesser’s Supertrack monorail bag system, which keeps everything moving smoothly from soiled to clean. “I think of it as a giant train set,” says David Smith, Laundry Production Manager. But this Supertrack is much more than that – it’s a vital part of keeping hospitals running smoothly and patients cared for.
Based at St Richard’s Hospital in Chichester, the laundry doesn’t just serve one facility—it supports four hospitals across the trust, including Worthing, Princess Royal in Haywards Heath, and Royal Sussex County in Brighton. To keep up with that scale, the team relies on Supertrack including the Servolift and EasySort system to streamline processes, improve safety, and reduce manual handling.
Supertrack: The Unstoppable Backbone
Kannegiesser’s Supertrack monorail system is built to run continuously – even a minor disruption could grind hospital operations to a halt. Made from solid stainless steel, its rail is seamless and thickened in high-stress areas, offering unmatched durability. The enclosed, self-lubricating trolleys glide lint- and maintenance-free, and the robust laundry bags are engineered to stay attached, no matter what.
“Supertrack is a brilliant system,” Smith explains. “It enables us to prioritize what we want to go through the laundry and have a good laundry flow so that it keeps our clean side busy.”
Servolift: Power and Precision
Once bags are loaded, Servolift takes over – lifting laundry high into the monorail system using a chainless, high-torque drive that’s been tested over a million cycles. It’s faster, more stable, and built to bridge greater height differences, even across multiple floors. And thanks to a retractable hood, it maximizes ceiling clearance while keeping operators safe.
“We use the Servolift from time to time – it means we can keep producing,” says Smith, emphasizing the importance of redundancy in laundry logistics to keep operations running even when one component is under maintenance.
EasySort: Sorting Made Simple
Designed for facilities with lower ceilings, EasySort is a platform-free solution that eliminates manual sorting and loading. Smith praises it for its “safe and managed way of sorting the laundry” – a major health and safety win that has impressed their internal safety teams.
“We touch it once, it goes into the EasySort, and then it goes off on its journey until it comes out the other end of the dryers,” he says. “That saves us time and saves us money.”
The Data Advantage
Using Kannegiesser’s eVue and SmartLaundry (SLX) tools, Smith tracks productivity across shifts, encourages healthy competition among staff, and quickly identifies opportunities for improvement. It's laundry, but it’s also data-driven performance management.
“We can tell by eVue how much has been sorted by category. SLX shows how much has been processed. That gives us great tools to say, ‘This is performing on target – we need to improve here,’” he explains.
Reliable Service and Partnership
When things don’t work as they should, Kannegiesser’s support team is just a call away. “Even at 5:30 on a Friday afternoon,” Smith says, “they’ve been able to log in and solve problems for us then and there.”
It’s not just about machines – it’s about keeping hospitals running, ensuring patient comfort, and empowering the staff behind the scenes.
“Kannegiesser should be proud of the product they’ve introduced here,” Smith says. “It’s reliable. It’s a positive step forward for health and safety. And it makes a difference.”
Watch the full video to see the technology in action and hear more from the people making it happen.