Imagine getting peak performance out of your flatwork finishing equipment with the touch of a finger.

Following Chicago’s tradition of innovation, our in-house design and IT team has created the next generation of finishing equipment featuring the most advanced PC-based touchscreen control system on the market: CHI•Touch. Our control system allows you to automate operations, test equipment, diagnose issues, track performance and increase efficiency in ways that were simply not possible before.

The rest of the industry has a lot of catching up to do.

CHI•Touch takes the familiar control sequences our equipment is known for and packages them together in a new intuitive touchscreen interface, making our systems the easiest in the industry for operators to learn and work with every day.

Our goal in creating CHI•Touch was to design powerful, useful software that was neither too complex nor oversimplified. We believe we achieved the perfect balance, offering you complete functionality and ease of use. We know it’s right, because we know laundry. CHI•Touch was created, refined and manufactured in house by Chicago systems engineers. We listen to customers, understand their needs and build systems that solve real world problems. And because CHI•Touch was designed and created by Chicago, we don’t have to rely on outside software vendors whose standards, priorities and product availability may vary over the long lifespans of our equipment. As long as you own a piece of Chicago equipment, your CHI•Touch has our full support. CHI•Touch is just our latest way of setting industry standards for innovative finishing equipment.

It starts with the screen—which is no small thing.

CHI•Touch offers a large 12-inch, full color display. Program options and adjustments are clearly labeled (bilingual systems option available) and the display features a pictorial diagram of the machine, allowing operators and engineers to see what’s going on inside without so much as touching the machine. This is the real-time map to your machine.

But CHI•Touch is more than that. It increases functionality, allowing operators, managers and engineers more flexibility than ever before. With password management, the system has multiple access levels, so operators aren’t bogged down with options designed for engineers and managers.

And although each CHI•Touch is designed for a specific machine, the foundational framework is the same across our product lines. That means you really only have to learn the system once to be able to use it across our line of machines.

The system can be programmed to recognize and respond to different sizes of towels, sheets, pillowcases, linens, napkins, blankets, patient gowns, scrubs and other specialty items. Programs can also be copied and transferred to different machines through a flash drive. Operators can then adjust the programming based on linen type and fold requirements, the number of operators manning the machine and the production time.

 
It’s simple: You can adjust the machine to operate in dozens of different ways depending on your needs.

CHI•Touch also offers a number of different operator productivity metrics that floor managers can use to optimize their operations. Individual counters track the number of items processed, and can be broken down by day, shift and hour. Pacing indicators on the home screen provide an at-a-glance indication of machine and operator efficiency in real time. Your operation’s overall efficiency is expressed as an easy-to-read percentage.

The fault display shows operators whenever a machine stops, for how long it stopped and the reason why. This gives managers and engineers an opportunity to see if there’s specific issues with personnel, products or the way the machine is used, and test for solutions.

Finally, engineers can run diagnostics, view schematics and test the machines to assess and resolve issues quickly. And should you need a better understanding of the machine or CHI•Touch software, we’re there to help. We even offer updates and modifications, sent directly to you over e-mail, so you can download and install them using a flash drive.