It’s a well-known fact that facility managers are constantly facing pressure to run buildings more efficiently while also keeping investments at low levels. What is relatively new, however, is that the Internet of Things (IoT) can gather data that can be utilized to achieve these goals when the proper ecosystem is put together.

Although several companies have already attempted to achieve a positive return of investment (ROI) with IoT projects in this field, only a select few have had some success; this success has been driven primarily by a lack of aggressive costing sensors, and a robust and intelligent solution. This use case describes the challenges, results, and the approach taken alongside new technologies used to obtain a successful return of investment.

Tempel Technologies was born to meet specific needs through innovative technologies, with an emphasis on the development of devices with the LoRaWANTM network technology to help facility management companies (FMs) and consumables suppliers.

The huge number of restrooms in places like shopping malls and airports has always caught the attention of the team over at Tempel. They are at colossal quantities, with a single airport having upwards of 600 toilets. Some of the questions that FM companies constantly ask are: how can we measure, estimate, and control the consumables used in our operation? And also, how do we know the best time for our team to refill them?                                                             

The Challenge 

Facility management companies have an enormous difficulty in managing consumable materials efficiently, mainly due to the large number of consumables within a single client. In a satisfaction survey with a very large sample size, having more than 750 thousand samples collected in two years, we found that more than 23% of complaints occur due to a lack of toilet paper, paper towels and a lack of soap. After analyzing this research, Tempel was able to list the key challenges:

1. Controlling the stock of consumable materials, such as toilet paper, paper towels and soaps.

2. Improving the quality and replacement time of consumables in the restrooms, while optimizing the workforce of employees on the checklist routes.

3. Combatting waste, and inhibiting the theft of consumables and the depredation of dispensers.

4. Improving the satisfaction rates of restroom users and improving the relationship with facilities companies’ contractors.

The Solution

Through a partnership with Serdia and TagoIO, Tempel Technologies was able to design a very low-cost sensor to make the current dispensers smarter, without having to replace them.

          The sensor, which utilizes LoRaWANTM technology, can be installed quickly in any common dispenser for toilet paper and paper towels. These sensors are able to monitor the amount of paper being used by each dispenser, notifying you via an application when you have to change and count the quantities exchanged in each dispenser.

The company chose TagoIO as their IoT Cloud Platform due to their strong knowledge needed to develop all of the intelligence and processes behind the system. As well, the solution had to be delivered on a reliable platform, with excellent dashboards, cost, and support. The company will continue to count on the TagoIO team to provide continuous support for several future improvements.

TagoIO’s tools were instrumental in IouTility’s adoption of LoRaWANTM technology, and after an analysis of other services in the industry, they concluded that the platform would provide the best cost-benefit for their customers.

The Results

With a useful lifespan greater than 10 years, the designed sensors will bring many improvements for these facility companies; surely having the investment pay itself off in the long-run. The collected data is recent, but the improvements are already quite noticeable, and below we can see a list of some of these perceived improvements:

• Better control over consumables

• A decrease in complaint rates

• Closer relationships between facility companies and contractors

• A conscious consumption of materials, inhibiting theft and depredation of dispensers

• Innovative technologies for supplying companies

• Reports of quantities consumed by each individual dispenser

• Performance reports that indicate the time between exchanges

• Easy installation, with no need to replace current dispensers

• Having a “smile, you’re being filmed” effect with employees

• Inventory management and better purchasing predictability

• Decrease in cross-contamination by the employee due to route optimization