WASHROOM
technological revolution. This is making its presence felt in the washroom and everywhere else.
At least 69% of us now use our phone in the loo according to a 2016 survey conducted by cloud-based online service MiMedia. A previous study carried out in 2013 revealed that under-30s were spending an average of one minute and 39 seconds longer in the loo than the over-55s.
Using depth sensors and motion-mapping technology, the Ideal Standard bathroom manufacturing company study concluded that younger people were spending this extra time on social media.
Besides adding to queues by occupying cubicles for longer periods, these phone-users are also potentially publicising the washrooms they visit by taking photographs of good and bad ones and posting them on social media sites. This means washroom providers need to ensure their facilities are up to scratch while also reducing queueing to a minimum to make up for any extra time spent in the loo.
Since people are spending longer in the loo on their smartphones, washroom providers are understanding the importance of providing a quick washroom throughput. Avoiding queues will improve washroom efficiency and lead to happier customers – and in retail and commercial environments this will allow guests to spend more time on the shop floor, in the bar or in the restaurant.
Here a system such as Tork PeakServe Continuous Hand Towel works well since it caters for 250% more guests between refills than conventional hand towel units and
provides each washroom visitor with a towel in just three seconds. This speeds up washroom throughput and helps reduce the risk of queues – something that can often occur where hand dryers are installed.
The growing use of smartphones has caused many facilities to smarten up their washrooms to avoid poor reviews on the web. Some are going one step further and providing luxurious, unusual or spectacular washrooms that provide a social media talking point.
As a result, it is no longer a surprise to find a washroom with a waterfall, a breathtaking view or a life-size model of a safari animal as you would at California’s Madonna Inn, London’s Shard or Camden’s South African-themed Shaka Zulu restaurant respectively.
Some washroom hygiene companies are actually harnessing the smartphone themselves to streamline cleaning and provide a better service. Tork EasyCube, for example, uses the smartphone to alert cleaners when dispensers need refilling or when a particular cubicle is being heavily used. This allows them to target those washrooms where cleaning and refilling is most likely to be needed.
Today’s focus on factors such as equality, sustainability, health, safety and hygiene have all had highly positive impacts on society – and also on the washroom. With technology developing by the day we can only guess at how tomorrow’s washrooms will look. But it seems that the picture is becoming brighter all the time.
www.tork.co.uk
www.tomorrowsfm.com
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