TMUK’s team members regularly send their uniforms to the laundry to ensure high levels of cleanliness throughout the plants. But for the workers in Burnaston’s paint shop, their overalls are sent to an extra, unusual destination.
At the end of each day, they remove their overalls and place them in a freezer, where the garments are chilled to sub-zero temperatures. Although this might seem like a strange step to take, it actually has an important purpose. How?
Some of the coatings the paint shop uses in the vehicle finishing process will, when fully dry, adhere strongly to the overalls, but can easily be removed by freezing.
“By freezing the clothing before any paint specks have completely cured, the stains and marks can be successfully removed later.”
From the freezer, the overalls are taken in a refrigerated van to the laundry, where stain removal, washing and drying takes place. By the end of the laundering process, the overalls are 100% clean, ready for another shift in the spotless environment of TMUK’s paint shop.
To discover more about TMUK at 25, see 25 Objects: Celebrating Toyota Manufacturing UK’s 25th anniversary
