16.04.24

Workwear: an essential partner for hygiene

In the world of healthcare, workwear plays a central role whose functionality and benefits go far beyond the first glance. It is a fundamental element of infection prevention.

Workwear: more than just protection

The importance of workwear in the healthcare sector and for service providers extends far beyond its primary function of protection. In addition to ensuring the safety of employees, it also plays a key role in reflecting the corporate identity of the respective organization. Individually designed workwear promotes a uniform and professional appearance of the teams and enables organizations to represent themselves appropriately and attractively while strengthening the sense of belonging within the teams. In addition, workwear provides basic protection against everyday exposures and thus differs from personal protective equipment (PPE), which is designed for specific protective functions, such as barrier protection against liquids and pathogens or protection against radiological radiation. In contrast to PPE, workwear aims to support the wearer in their work and protect their private clothing. This distinction underlines the different roles of workwear, which has to fulfill both functional and representative tasks, all of which must be taken into account when evaluating and procuring workwear. In addition, it is equally important to consider hygiene requirements, especially in the healthcare sector.

Workwear and hygiene

Wearing private clothing in healthcare institutions is problematic, as only professional reprocessing of workwear with monitorable and traceable processes can ensure the necessary standard of hygiene. Strict separation of private and work clothing supports infection prevention and also makes it easier to clearly assign employees to their organizations and work areas. To ensure adequate hygiene and prevent workwear from being taken home, appropriate wardrobes and lockers are required for on-site storage.

Workwear for healthcare organizations must be chemically and/or thermally disinfectable. In addition, the choice of durable and sustainable materials is of great importance when procuring workwear in order to ensure its professional preparation, long-term usability and cost-effectiveness.

Strategies for the procurement of workwear

Given the essential role of workwear in healthcare, covering hygiene as well as safety and representation, it quickly becomes clear that its procurement is a complex task. This task requires a deeper understanding and a strategic approach – challenges that are exacerbated by the rarity of such procurement projects in the everyday lives of many managers. The guide to the procurement of workwear in the healthcare sector developed by Noemi Müller as part of her Bachelor’s thesis in Facility Management at the ZHAW (Zurich University of Applied Sciences) is a comprehensive resource for healthcare organizations and service providers. Based on expert interviews, the content of the guide is geared towards the real needs of the procurement process. It explains various financing and reprocessing systems as well as the necessary framework conditions and clarifications for economical and effective procurement. The guide thus provides solid support for both experienced procurement staff and those just starting out in the profession by addressing all the key aspects and making a decisive contribution to infection prevention and safety in healthcare organizations.

To learn more about successful workwear procurement in the healthcare sector and benefit from the insights gathered in the guide, the full guide is available here.