Keeping public restrooms clean and hygienic is key for businesses to ensure customer satisfaction and efficient use of resources.
However, often companies don’t have cleaning staff assigned to keep restrooms clean when it is most needed.
Time-of-Flight people counting for anonymity and privacy
One effective way to monitor the status of public restrooms and washrooms is to install people counting technology.
The technology tracks the number of individuals who go in and out of restrooms throughout the day and can provide real-time and historical usage data to facilities managers. After a certain number of people have passed through a restroom, a member of the team can restock supplies, clean fixtures, and make repairs.
People counting technology also helps in monitoring the number of occupants in a public restroom at any given time. Installing occupancy counters in restrooms eliminates the need for businesses to hire an individual to serve as bathroom monitor.
Increase operational efficiency
Using Time-of-Flight people counting technology can help facilities managers of public buildings to reduce waste and improve operational efficiency. This is true for public restrooms and toilets. With accurate data on foot traffic patterns and use of facilities, building managers have informed decision-making for the best allocation of resources based on actual demand. Cleaning services can be allocated according to anonymous usage data, which can be for real-time or historical use.
Data privacy and GDPR compliance by design
For facilities such as public restrooms, privacy of images and data relating to both staff and visitors is an absolute requirement, so a Terabee people counting solution that uses Time-of-Flight technology guaranteeing total anonymity, privacy protection and GDPR compliance is ideal. Terabee people counters provide data by calculating depth information of their surroundings.
There is a low resolution “depth map” where each pixel corresponds to a distance measurement. This results in highly accurate people counting data (typically 95% for People Counting M to 98% and better accuracy for People Counting L-XL) that doesn’t capture any distinguishing features or personal identifiable information (PII).
Overall, time-of-flight sensors for people counting technology can help building managers optimize public restroom management, improve the timing of cleaning services and help reduce staffing costs by having cleaning programmed for when it is most needed.
Clean restrooms mean happier customers
According to recent research, more than 60% of customers make a conscious choice to visit businesses with better-maintained and cleaner restrooms. (1, 2)
More than half of shoppers reported being very unlikely to visit a business again after having a bad bathroom experience, such as unhygienic or dirty conditions and a lack of supplies.
With the accurate, anonymous data from Terabee people counters, building managers can better plan cleaning services and replenishment of supplies. This will ensure that public restrooms remain clean, well-stocked and more welcoming for users. This can help increase customer satisfaction and loyalty.
The People Counting M device from Terabee is suitable for standard doors and narrow corridors, which makes it an ideal solution for the management of restrooms or public toilets.
Low-light operation
These sensors can operate in low-light conditions or in complete darkness, making them a versatile option for a wide range of settings and deployment opportunities.
By accurately monitoring foot traffic and occupancy levels, universities can identify opportunities to reduce energy consumption, optimize facility maintenance schedules, and allocate resources more efficiently, ultimately leading to cost savings in the long run.
As Terabee people counters provide real-time data on the number of people within a designated space within a higher education or university environment, heating, air conditioning and ventilation (HVAC) and lighting systems can make use of this data, linked via the building management system (BMS) to enable energy savings and reduced energy costs. See the article on how Feedback Solutions has enabled energy savings of 40% or more of HVAC-related energy consumption in a U.S. university campus, coming from reduced fan speeds and optimization of the volume of outside air being heated or cooled.
Integration with existing systems
Terabee people counters are designed to seamlessly integrate with existing infrastructure and systems, making implementation straightforward for educational facilities. Whether it be integrating with access control systems, building management systems, or data analytics platforms, these counters offer compatibility and flexibility, allowing universities to leverage existing investments while enhancing their operational capabilities.
The People Flow Counting L-XL LoRa and People Flow Counting M 2.0 LoRa devices use LoRaWAN, which eliminates the need to install PoE cables or connect to the main IT system. This makes them ideal sensors for historic buildings which can be common in universities. The LoRa-enabled solution avoids the need to retrofit Ethernet cabling, which can be both expensive and time-consuming.
