DIV18/45: Reduce Water, Energy and Product Consumption (7 February 2019)

Issue Date: 7 February 2019
Ref: DIV18/45

 

Reduce Water, Energy and Product Consumption

One of the biggest current technology trends is the Internet of Things, the interconnection of gadgets, devices, equipment and software across the cloud. Diversey calls this rapidly emerging business platform the Internet of Clean (IoC) and it continues to introduce innovative services that support new and improved ways of working across cleaning and hygiene. Two such areas are mechanical dishwashing and on-premises laundries where the labour-, water- and energy-intensive nature of operations presents numerous opportunities to improve efficiencies and reduce costs.

Studies suggest around 60 per cent of everything that happens in a commercial kitchen is connected to the dishwasher. It follows that more detail and greater control should help operators improve results and reduce costs while maintaining food hygiene and safety compliance. Diversey’s IntelliDish service enables operators to monitor their dishwashing machines in real time to access information such as the number of cycles completed, temperatures, volumes cleaned, product levels and the amount of water and energy used. 

Early IntelliDish adopters found that around four out of five dishwashing processes used too much fill and rinse water and that most machines were10-15 per cent off their optimum rinse temperature. Insight like this allowed them to remodel their processes to reduce the associated wastage and costs.

Diversey’s IntelliLinen service offers similar features and benefits for on-premises laundries. Operators can reduce costs, minimise rewashes and enhance results by accessing management and diagnostic tools over the IoC. They have a real-time view of energy and water consumption, chemical dosing accuracy, machine downtime and day-to-day operational costs to prevent expensive disruptions and errors within their laundries.

Extensive field trials undertaken by Diversey highlighted significant benefits with IntelliLinen. Around 80 per cent of users reported it was more reliable than their previous dispensing system and almost two thirds said the cleanliness of their linen had improved.

IntelliDish and IntelliLinen both offer better control over expensive equipment in exacting business environments. They help reduce time-consuming and costly rewashes by ensuring the right product is used in the right wash program at the right time. They work in conjunction with the machines, sensors and dispensing equipment to measure and calibrate every key aspect of the wash cycle to ensure optimal results every time.

Both systems provide an interactive dashboard that is available on desktops, tablets and smartphones using an app or browser. This provides a clear and intuitive view of every connected machine, even at multiple locations, based on accurate and quantifiable information. Managers can monitor their equipment from any location to gain valuable, real-time insight into their operations, delivered in easy and quick to interpret KPIs. They can see where they can reduce water and energy consumption, increase chemical dosage accuracy and reduce re-wash levels. They can also see which machines are being under-used or creating bottlenecks, and where hygiene compliance is compromised and qualitative standards can be improved.

Information is automatically and instantaneously analysed so that status reports and alarms are shown immediately on the dashboard. The systems can send alerts to authorised recipients to enable rapid response. This might include, for example, when energy, water or detergent usage exceeds predetermined limits. Operators can then proactively predict and prevent unexpected downtime to maximise machine uptime, performance and efficiency. Information required to resolve issues can be provided in the form of video attachments and contextual content that also acts as training material.

IntelliDish and IntelliLinen are just two of an increasing array of IoC services from Diversey. More generally, the growth in the Internet of Things shows no sign of slowing. Some estimates suggest that there will be around 20 billion interconnected devices – even after excluding tablets and smartphones – in use worldwide within two years. It is no surprise then that new applications are being introduced all the time.