FEATURE TECHNOLOGY Meanwhile in China, public washrooms are beginning to incorporate everyday technology to allow users to top up their fuel and calorie levels along with their wallets when they visit the loo. The new Fifth Space toilet facility in Beijing features vending machines, ATMs, wifi and electric scooter charging stations. In contrast our UK public washrooms are relatively dull, with few offering anything more high-tech than toilets that automatically flush themselves and taps that turn on and off on their own. However, there have been one or two other technological developments in recent years. TOUCH Computer gaming has been popular since personal computers came into circulation, and there are a handful of men’s toilets around the country featuring video games that can be operated via a urination stream. Two Liverpool nightclubs have recently installed these “hands-free” video games where men can take part in activities such as skiing, racing, cricket and penalty shoot-outs as they relieve themselves. More pragmatically there has been an increasing use of touch-free hand towel and soap dispensers to complement the automatic taps and toilet flushes. These are ideal for washroom visitors who are keen to avoid touching any potentially-contaminated surface. But in an ideal world, technology should be used to improve the overall 24 MAY 2016 CLEANING HYGIENE TODAY efficiency of the washroom from a cleaning and maintenance point of view as well as from the user’s standpoint. This is what we at Tork had in mind when we developed our new line of technologicallyadvanced dispensers. Tork EasyCube dispensers contain sensors that allow facilities management staff to find out via their smartphones when the paper or soap supply is running out. This keeps the need for refill checks to a minimum and allows staff to carry out other tasks, safe in the knowledge that there will be no break in the washroom consumables supply. PRODUCTS Another new product launching this year is Tork SmartFresh, a self-cleaning system for toilets and urinals that also features automatic air-freshening. Tork SmartFresh incorporates smart screens as well to broadcast advertisements to washroom users. Washroom technology is developing at a pace. Some Japanese loos now incorporate medical sensors that measure sugar in the urine and take the visitor’s pulse, blood pressure and body fat content readings. Toilet developers are now looking to take this further and use a built-in internetcapable cellular telephone to send this data automatically to a doctor. Technology appears to be an unstoppable force and in the case of the washroom, it generally appears to be a force for good. It allows people to shun the dirtiest, least hygienic of public washrooms: it helps to drive up standards as people share their good experiences of away-from-home washrooms, and it alerts washroom providers of the advantages of equipping their facilities to high standards. Technology can also be used to monitor health and allow cinema-goers to plan their toilet Technology appears to be an unstoppable force and in the case of the washroom, it generally appears to be a force for good.” breaks. All this and urinal video games too. But besides enhancing standards and providing useful and entertaining services for the washroom user, technology also plays a vital role in helping to streamline cleaning and maintenance. Smart systems such as Tork EasyCube will ultimately make the toilet experience more seamless for the washroom provider, the facilities manager, the cleaner and the visitor.
Cleaning Hygiene Today May 2016
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