On a worldwide scale, excessive water consumption is a challenge which urgently needs to be addressed.


In developed countries, urinal flushing accounts for up to 18% of total water consumption and every year, each standard flushing urinal wastes an average of 157,000 litres of potable water at an approximate annual cost of £395 per urinal. In 2017, there were an estimated 60m urinals in the world and rising. Those numbers are unsustainable and simply too large to ignore when WhiffAway Group’s waterless urinal technologies provide a solution which not only saves water, but also takes pressure off overstretched infrastructure.


The future of washrooms


Beyond saving water and money, reducing the pressure on infrastructure and dramatically reducing washroom maintenance downtime, WhiffAway has used its experience as a market leader in waterless urinal technology, biological solutions and closed systems, to develop and install the world’s first fully connected smart washroom technology.


Rising washroom standards and customer expectations have driven facilities managers to find more innovative ways of monitoring performance. The emergence of the Internet of Things (IoT) has enabled service providers to collect data, track patterns and effectively manage resources to avoid run-to-breakdown scenarios. Better management reduces waste and makes a measurably major contribution to sustainability.


Delivered as a turn-key solution, WhiffAway’s Smart Washroom uses IoT-enabled sensors to collect data within the Smart Washroom. The application provides an interactive 3D washroom platform, while an easy to navigate user interface delivers data in a measurable way.


WhiffAway Smart Washrooms provide a scalable platform and delivery model which monitors usage patterns and generates reports, while helping to determine what drives the customer experience. Use of the data enables continuous improvements and drives efficiencies.


WhiffAway’s Smart Portal captures real time data, providing the status of assets in the washroom, which is presented on a user-friendly dashboard that can be easily customised to present data in different formats, and personalise alerts.


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Sensor applications include: usage sensors – determining usage and ‘end-of-life’; wipe sensors – to monitor urinal cleaning patterns; tap sensors – to identify temperature and stagnant water conditions for Legionella control; air quality sensors which monitor relative humidity, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), C02 and temperature; and waste pipe sensors – to predetermine maintenance patterns and help avoid ‘run to breakdown’ scenarios.


All mechanically-based systems require maintenance. WhiffAway’s smart platform system enables service providers to carry out routine maintenance when required – and real-time data helps identify problems before they occur, reducing expensive reactive callouts. Identifying traffic patterns enables engagement with designers to improve washroom formats and manage capacity.


Smart washrooms are a very new concept, but the IoT sensor technology used is not. WhiffAway is applying these sensors to provide tangible benefits and savings to its customers. These include monitoring water usage and leak detection, air quality alerts when malodours are detected, waste pipework congestion sensors to alert blockages in the lines as well as consumable monitoring. This is all displayed holistically on a 2D dashboard and 3D map which is unique to the industry.


The tangible benefits the smart platform provides is a bespoke solution, which identifies patterns and enables organisations to better allocate resources. This results in smart maintenance, less reactive call-outs, enhanced washroom perception and the opportunity to plan and measure environmental sustainability targets.


Waste to energy


Finally, through its partnership with Bristol UWE and supported by Oxfam and The Gates Foundation, WhiffAway has helped develop a revolutionary ‘waste to energy’ solution for developing countries. The applications include generating power, conserving water, treating and recycling waste and inoculating soil in arid conditions. ‘PeePower’ was a hit with festival goers at Glastonbury, where urine was turned into electricity - now that’s sustainability in action!


www.whiffaway.co.uk FEATURE | 15


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