Dispenser Servicing in a Multiple Washroom Facility

• US 20170344957A1
• Filed: 05/25/2017
• Published: 11/30/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 05/26/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: OP hygiene IP Gmbh
• Original Assignee: OP hygiene IP Gmbh
• Inventors: Ophardt, Heiner, Gugliotta, Rudolpho Gian-Franco
• Granted Patent: US 10,496,961 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 11/4011 Regulation of the cleaning machine by electric means; Control systems and remote control systems therefor
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 11/4061 Steering means; Means for avoiding obstacles; Details related to the place where the driver is accommodated
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 2201/02 Docking stations; Docking operations
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 2201/04 Automatic control of the travelling movement; Automatic obstacle detection
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06311 Scheduling, planning or task assignment for a person or group
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/063116 Schedule adjustment for a person or group
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/1097 Task assignment
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/18 involving self-service terminals [SST], vending machines, kiosks or multimedia terminals
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/18 for washing or drying persons
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 9/026 for alarm, monitoring and auditing in vending machines or means for indication, e.g. when empty

Abstract

A method of managing a plurality of washrooms in a facility for servicing by service personnel and, more particularly, for establishing servicing operations which provide for service of at least selected of the dispensers before their consumable product supply falls below a pre-selected refill value.

Claims

1. A method of managing a plurality of washrooms in a facility for servicing by service personal comprising:

providing in a facility a plurality of washrooms, each at a fixed location within the facility with each washroom having one or more dispensers of consumable product and with each dispenser having a maximum capacity for the consumable product,

providing one or more service personnel for replenishing the consumable product in the dispensers,

establishing for each dispenser a predictive consumption profile representing the product estimated to be available in each dispenser with time into the future,

establishing for each dispenser a refill value for the consumable product available in each dispenser,

establishing for each dispenser a refill time when the consumable product available in each dispenser is expected to reach the refill value as a function of the predictive consumption profile for that dispenser,

establishing at least one or more servicing operations,

each servicing operation having one of the service personnel, a start time and a selected group of the dispensers;

selecting the service personnel, the start time and selected group of the dispensers for each servicing operation as a service function which provides for service of each of the dispensers before their respective refill time.

2. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the selecting of the service personnel, the start time and selected group of the dispensers for each servicing operation is with the service function:

(a) providing for service of each of the dispensers before their respective refill time, and

(b) providing for servicing of predetermined one or more key dispensers of the dispensers to extend the refill time for each key dispenser.

3. A method as claimed in claim 2 including establishing a series of successive of the servicing operations,

wherein the selecting of the service personnel, the start time and selected group of the dispensers for each servicing operation is with the service function providing for service of each of the dispensers before their respective refill time and providing for servicing of each key dispenser which would not be selected for refilling in a given servicing operation based on the refill time of each key dispensers but are selected so as to extend the refill time for each key dispenser by which each key dispenser needs to be refilled in a subsequent servicing operation.

4. A method as claimed in claim 3 wherein the servicing of each key dispenser to extend the refill time for each key dispenser extends the refill time for that each key dispenser to a time after a predetermined time.

5. A method as claimed in claim 4 wherein the predetermined time is selected having regard to factors selected from the group of:

(a) ensuring the consumable product is available in each key dispenser until after a period of time in which usage of each key dispenser is predicted to be high,

(b) ensuring the consumable product is available in each key dispenser until after a period of time in which availability of the consumable product in each key dispenser is determined to be of high importance,

(c) ensuring the consumable product is available in each key dispenser until after a period of time in which servicing of each key is not possible,

(d) ensuring the consumable product is available in each key dispenser until after a period of time in which the service personnel are not available for servicing of each key dispenser, and

(e) ensuring the consumable product is available in each key dispenser until after a period of time in which consumable product is not available for servicing of each key dispenser.

6. A method as claimed in claim 1 including:

establishing for each dispenser a service time required for the service personnel to refill the consumable product in that dispenser, and

determining one or more pathways for service personnel to travel and a travel time for each pathway, the pathways including pathways between locations within the facility,

the locations including a location of each dispenser within the facility.

7. A method as claimed in claim 6 including:

providing one or more product storage capabilities within the facility,

the locations including a location of each product storage capability.

8. A method as claimed in claim 7 wherein the product storage capabilities include a mobile storage cart, monitoring in real time the location of each mobile storage cart within the facility and wherein the locations including the location of each mobile storage cart within the facility as monitored in real time.

9. A method as claimed in claim 7 including storing the consumable product at the product storage capabilities, and

monitoring the consumable product at each product storage capability and including for each servicing operation establishing a listing of consumable product required to perform the servicing operation with time,

including selecting the product storage capability from which the consumable product for each servicing operation is to be supplied to fulfill the listing with time.

10. A method as claimed in claim 6 including monitoring in real time the location of each service personnel within the facility and wherein the locations including the location of each service of each personnel within the facility as monitored in real time.

11. A method as claimed in claim 6 including for each servicing operation establishing a route for each selected service personnel for that servicing operation by selecting successive of the pathways for each service personnel to travel along to service the selected group of the dispensers as a function which (a) minimizes the sum of the travel times of the pathways of the route and the service times for each dispenser serviced and (b) provides for service of each of the selected group of dispensers before the consumable product available in any dispenser is expected to reach the refill value.

12. A method as claimed in claim 1 including from time to time establishing for each dispenser the predictive consumption profile based on a function of (a) any monitoring in real time the consumable product available in each dispenser, and (b) predicted usage of the consumable product in each dispenser each dispenser.

13. A method as claimed in claim 1 including:

selecting the number of service personnel, and

selecting a work shift schedule which establishes a start time and stop time of a work shift for each service personnel when each service personnel will be available for servicing, and periodically;

establishing a cost per shift of each service personnel,

a calculation step of performing an optimizing calculation which over a selected period of time for the servicing of all dispensers determines the routes required to service all dispensers and a sum of the costs of the shifts of all service personnel, having regard to a selected input matrix of values for the capacity of each dispenser, the refill value for each dispenser, the number of service personnel, the shifts, and the start and stop times for the shifts,

repeatedly varying the selected input matrix values and repeating the calculation step,

comparing the sum of the costs of the shifts of all service personnel for each calculation step and identifying one of the selected input matrix values as an optimum input matrix values that minimizes the sum of the costs of the shifts of all service personnel,

modifying the method to adopt the optimum input matrix values including modifying the dispensers to provide for the optimum capacity of each dispenser if different than the then existing capacity of each dispenser, and operating the facility with the selected input matrix values for the refill value for each dispenser, number of service personnel, the shifts, and the start and stop times for the shifts.

14. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein when due to a lack of one or more of consumable product, service personnel, access of service personnel to any dispenser, or operability of any dispenser such that the servicing operations cannot be established to selecting successive pathways for each selected service personnel to travel along to service the dispensers of the selected group of dispensers as a service function which provides for service of each of the dispensers before the refill time for each of the dispensers, then adopting an emergency mode of selecting of the service personnel, the start time and selected group of the dispensers for each servicing operation in which the selecting of the service personnel, the start time and selected group of the dispensers for each servicing operation is with the service function providing for the selection of one or more critical dispensers of the dispensers and refilling of each critical dispenser before their respective refill time.

15. A method as claimed in claim 14 including establishing a series of successive of the servicing operations,

wherein the selecting of the service personnel, the start time and selected group of the dispensers for each servicing operation is with the service function providing for service of each critical dispensers before their respective refill time and providing for servicing of each critical dispenser which would not be selected for refilling in a given servicing operation based on the refill time of each critical dispenser but are selected so as to extend the refill time for each critical dispenser by which each critical dispenser needs to be refilled in a subsequent servicing operation.

16. A method of managing a plurality of washrooms in a facility for servicing by service personal comprising:

providing in a facility a plurality of washrooms each at a fixed location within the facility with each washroom having one or more dispensers of consumable product and with each dispenser having a maximum capacity for the consumable product,

providing one or more service personnel for replenishing the consumable product in the dispensers,

establishing for each dispenser a predictive consumption profile representing the product estimated to be available in each dispenser with time into the future,

establishing for each dispenser a refill value for the consumable product available in each dispenser,

establishing for each dispenser a refill time when the consumable product available in each dispenser is expected to reach the refill value as a function of the predictive consumption profile for that dispenser,

establishing for each dispenser a service time required for the service personnel to refill the consumable product in that dispenser,

determining one or more pathways for service personnel to travel between each washroom within the facility and a travel time for each pathway,

establishing a route for each service personnel by selecting successive pathways for each service personnel to travel along to service dispensers as a function which (a) minimizes the sum of the travel times of the pathways of the route and the service times for each dispenser serviced, (b) provides for service of each of the dispensers before the consumable product available in any dispenser is expected to reach the refill value.

17. A method as claimed in claim 16 including:

providing one or more offices within the facility where one or more service personnel are located when not servicing the dispensers,

determining one or more pathways for service personnel to travel between each office and the washrooms within the facility and a travel time for each pathway,

establishing the route for each service personnel including both the pathways for service personnel to travel between each washroom within the facility and the pathways for service personnel to travel between each office and the washrooms within the facility by selecting successive of the pathways for each service personnel to travel along to service dispensers as a function which (a) minimizes the sum of the travel times of the pathways of the route and the service times for each dispenser serviced, (b) provides for service of each of the dispensers before the consumable product available in any dispenser is expected to reach the refill value.

18. A method of managing a plurality of washrooms in a facility for servicing by service personal comprising:

providing in a facility a plurality of washrooms each at a fixed location within the facility with each washroom having one or more dispensers of consumable product and with each dispenser having a maximum capacity for the consumable product,

providing one or more service personnel for replenishing the consumable product in the dispensers,

establishing for each dispenser a predictive consumption profile representing the product estimated to be available in each dispenser with time into the future,

establishing for each dispenser a refill value for the consumable product available in each dispenser,

establishing for each dispenser a refill time when the consumable product available in each dispenser is expected to reach the refill value as a function of the predictive consumption profile for that dispenser, establishing for each dispenser a service time required for the service personnel to refill the consumable product in that dispenser,

determining one or more pathways for service personnel to travel between each washroom within the facility and a travel time for each pathway,

establishing a series of successive servicing operations,

each servicing operation having a selected one of the service personnel not occupied concurrently in another of the servicing operations, a start time, a start location, a selected group of the dispensers and a route for servicing the selected group of the dispensers;

the start time, route, and selected group of the dispensers for of the servicing operations established selecting successive pathways for each selected service personnel to travel along to service the dispensers of the selected group of dispensers as a service function which (a) minimizes the sum of the travel times of the pathways of the route and the service times for each dispenser serviced, (b) provides for service of each of the dispensers before the refill time for each of the dispensers, and (c) provides for servicing of any dispenser to extend the refill time for that dispenser after the servicing operation to extend the time of the next servicing operation for servicing of that dispenser.

19. A method as claimed in claim 18 wherein item (c) provides for servicing of any key dispenser to extend the refill time for that key dispenser after the servicing operation to extend the time of the next servicing operation for servicing of that key dispenser beyond a predetermined time.