TECHNOLOGY THE FUTURE OF WASHROOMS
As interconnected cleaning devices and the ‘Internet of Things’ concept become more prevalent in the cleaning industry,
we caught up with Anna Königson Koopmans, of Tork manufacturer SCA, to discuss the Tork Easycube, SCA’s own innovation that aims to revolutionise washroom maintenance.
At this year’s ISSA/INTERCLEAN Amsterdam show, SCA unveiled the Tork Easycube to the cleaning world – a digital service which connects washroom dispensers with cleaning operatives, allowing for a more streamlined service, as cleaners can see exactly what work needs doing and where. It’s just one of a host of changes to the industry that utilise the ‘Internet of Things’ concept, but the first of which dedicated primarily to washroom maintenance.
It’s a fascinating concept, and one that looks set to completely change the way that washrooms are maintained, so naturally we wanted to find out a bit more about it. With that in mind, we caught up with Anna Königson Koopmans, European Marketing Manager for Tork Solutions at SCA, for a chat about Tork Easycube, the Internet of Things, and technology in the cleaning industry.
Tomorrow’s Cleaning (TC): Before we get into the Easycube, can you tell us a bit about yourself? How long have you been with SCA?
Anna Königson Koopmans (AKK): I’ve been with SCA for 15 years now, which makes me feel very old! And I’ve been in this role for one and a half years. It’s a very new area for SCA, going into digital areas as opposed to products, and I’m responsible for marketing for Tork Solutions, which is mainly Tork Easycube at the moment.
But I’ve been in the away-from-home professional area here in Sweden, and I was head of marketing for Australia
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and New Zealand for a few years, I’ve been in the incontinence division where I was the global brand director, and I’ve also been in the baby diaper business. So I’ve been with SCA for a long time, but in many different divisions and different roles.
TC: Fantastic. So, the Tork Easycube has been gaining a lot of plaudits since it was unveiled – can you tell us a bit more about the thought processes behind its creation?
AKK: The starting point for Tork Easycube was that we heard from many, many customers that the major complaint when it came to cleaning was around washrooms, and the absolute worst complaint was when there was no paper – that’s the worst thing that can happen when you’re in the washroom. We also heard from end customers and from cleaning companies that cleaners spend a lot of time on washroom maintenance, they frequently go and check the dispensers to see if there is paper and soap, which can be quite onerous work, and it’s really hard for them to know what’s needed at what time, so it becomes very reactive work. And when a complaint does happen, you’re already too late.
After speaking to our customers, an innovation group in our research and development team started looking into it and thinking ‘OK, this is what the challenge is in the industry, with the major pain points being centred on washroom maintenance and in particular around lack of paper, how can
we fix this?’ In combination with that insight, they also then found that sensor technology was starting to become both more available but also more cost effective an option. So they started looking into our current dispensers, working with sensor technology, teaming up with partners in industrial design, in that sensor technology and looked to see how they could create a new offer where we can provide more value for customers.
TC: And how has it been received by customers? What benefits have they shared with you about the system?
AKK: What we hear from customers is that it’s a totally new way of working that then enables cleaners to do more cleaning, because now they know what is needed, where it needed and when it is
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