GP PRO, a division of Georgia-Pacific and a provider of advanced dispensing solutions for commercial facilities, and TOTO USA, the world’s largest plumbing manufacturer, announced a collaboration to deliver the industry’s most complete connected restroom management solution. The collaboration is enabled by the KOLO™ Smart Monitoring System, winner of the 2018 ISSA Innovation Award in the Services & Technology category. The system is GP PRO’s new open architecture communication platform that provides customizable and secure monitoring and analysis of connected away-from-home restroom fixtures.
“GP PRO has invested two and a half years developing what we believe is the most dependable, insightful, and scalable smart restroom communication system available to help facility managers deliver a better restroom experience,” said Mike Slawson, vice president and general manager, Restroom Services and Connected Devices for GP PRO. “We are thrilled to introduce this industry-changing innovation, and we are equally excited to work with TOTO as this collaboration pairs two industry leaders known for reliability in a quest to create an unprecedented vision for the restroom of the future.”
Using secure, proprietary, cloud-based wireless technologies and cutting-edge sensors and sensing technology, the KOLO system allows for timely and customized communication between connected restroom fixtures and facility managers through a mobile and web application. As exemplified through its collaboration with TOTO, the KOLO system’s open architecture enables it to integrate with smart devices beyond GP PRO’s core product portfolio to provide a more robust and complete connected restroom management solution.
“GP PRO is not only a leader in paper products, but, like TOTO, is a leader in innovation—the kind of innovation that powerfully solves real customer problems,” said Shinya Tamura, CEO of TOTO USA. “We are excited to integrate GP PRO’s KOLO system into our smart sensor hydropower faucets and flush valves and, together, connect the entire bathroom ecosystem so as to improve the bathroom experience for facility managers, custodial staff, and users alike.”
Custodial staff can remotely monitor and analyze restroom conditions in real time so they can quickly and proactively respond to potential problems and outages, which helps improve user satisfaction and reduce complaints. In addition, consistent tracking and monitoring across the entire restroom environment within multiple facilities means the right staff are performing the right tasks at the right time, which helps improve labor efficiency and productivity.
The KOLO system monitors paper and soap levels to help avoid partial paper rolls or soap bottles being discarded by well-intentioned staff too early. When paired with TOTO plumbing fixtures, the KOLO system also monitors water usage to identify potential leaks and overflows.
The KOLO system is currently available on a number of GP PRO dispensers for a restroom management solution, including select enMotion® and enMotion® Flex paper towel dispensers, Compact Quad® tissue dispensers, and enMotion® soap dispensers, as well as on TOTO’s EcoPower® sensor faucets and flush valves.
