Unless you own a business, occupancy monitoring may never cross your mind. Still, it is a vital component of the necessary traffic management to ensure the health and safety of the visitors to that business. Densely populated areas tend to crowd quickly, making it difficult to maintain approved occupancy levels.

It may be no surprise that restrooms are one of the smallest square footage yet the highest-trafficked areas within a building. Occupancy monitoring becomes even more important in these spaces to ensure sufficient restrooms are needed for the number of patrons or employees.

However, occupancy is not the only important thing to measure when it comes to restrooms. Water flow, leak detection, and emergency sensors are necessary to ensure these spaces’ efficiency.

Thankfully, the smart restroom technologies that currently assist with these measures are as robust as they are easy to install, and improvements can be identified immediately.

Important Occupancy Requirements

Before we get into the LoRaWAN smart restroom monitoring system technology and its benefits, you should be aware of the basic government requirements for restrooms that will help paint the picture of why such monitoring devices are necessary. As a business owner, familiarizing yourself with these requirements will ensure that you are on top of changes that need to occur if or when needed.

According to guidelines, all restrooms must be equipped with hot and cold running water with the appropriate number of handwashing stations per stall or toilet and must include hand soap or another cleansing agent as well as individual cloth or paper hand towels, air blowers, or continuous cloth toweling. A minimum number of restroom facilities also must be provided based on the number of occupants.

You may be wondering why this should matter to you, but imagine a scenario in which occupancy exceeds existing levels, and you have not planned for the increase in the products needed for restroom visitors, or you suddenly find yourself short a restroom or two due to preventable maintenance issues. These issues can lead to dissatisfaction among your employees or visitors and could rack up fines and penalties if not addressed and remediated.

Preparing for these scenarios by leveraging the latest restroom management systems is key to avoiding these issues and more.

Benefits of Smart Restroom Monitoring Systems

In addition to the benefit of real-time data monitoring and delivery via these Internet of Things (IoT) enabled devices, restroom monitoring systems provide several other benefits to business owners and visitors alike.

• Improved Hygiene. Knowing the number of visitors you have at any given time will give you valuable insight into product stocking and inventory as well as how often you should plan for cleaning schedules.
• Reduced Waste. Monitoring water flow for leaks and inefficiencies, which we have covered extensively in this blog article, can help you greatly reduce water and financial waste from undetected problems that fester over time and can lead to major problems if left untreated.
• Cost Reduction. Optimized cleaning schedules and inventory levels based on real-time demand will help you budget appropriately and efficiently.
• Increased Satisfaction. The cleanliness and functionality of restrooms is important to everyone. Being able to stay on top of issues that arise and remediate them immediately will assure employees and visitors that their health and well-being is important.

Smart Restroom Technology

Now that we have covered everything you need to know about why these technologies are important let’s discover what these technologies are and how, when integrated together, they provide one seamless monitoring experience.

As mentioned earlier, these smart restroom monitoring systems utilize the Internet of Things (IoT), a cloud-based connection that allows for data transmission from the devices directly to you in real time. The devices detailed below also utilize LoRaWAN technology, which allows battery-operated devices to connect wirelessly to the internet, topped off with low power consumption and long-distance transmission.

For occupancy and crowd flow monitoring, check out the AI Workplace Occupancy Sensor and the 3D ToF People Counting Sensor. The occupancy sensor offers high accuracy through bi-directional counting, completely anonymous detection, and can scan large areas. Its sleek design also allows it to blend in with its surroundings easily. The people counting sensor uses time-of-flight (ToF) technology for even higher accuracy by minimizing redundancies or double-counting, with the same level of anonymous detection. It can even function in completely dark environments.

While nobody wants to imagine having an emergency while in the restroom, the Milesight Smart Button will give peace of mind to all visitors that their safety is top of mind; with up to five years of battery life, it can be affixed to just about any place or surface and is configurable for different press actions and outcomes.

Water flow monitoring, and control is easy with the Solenoid Valve Controller. This device collects power and water consumption, regularly transmitting data to help you improve efficiency and save energy, knowing exactly how much water is being used at any given time.

Lastly, tie all of your devices together with the UG65 LoRaWAN Gateway, which can receive data from eight devices simultaneously. This gateway is both dustproof and waterproof, making it a suitable option for any business environment. It also features ultra-low power consumption, deep radius penetration, and flexible installation options to make setup a breeze.

A Final Word

With smart restroom monitoring systems in place and in your corner, you will gain invaluable insights into your business, allowing you to gain efficiencies, realize cost savings, and avoid waste and potential disaster.

CHOOVIO is a trusted partner for all your sensor needs and is committed to helping you get the solutions that suit your individual needs.