What is the smart laundry, you ask? Well, the short answer can be summarized in three simple words: Connected, simple and green. Equipment, such as washers, dryers, tunnel washers etc. are all connected to one central point. This central point is where the data from all equipment becomes tangible so one can predict tomorrow’s needs. And the way these machines are operated is by as few touches as possible to minimize mistakes (link Schneider Electric page). Let’s take a closer look at the Smart Laundry.
Connected Laundry equipment
In a traditional laundry, standalone machines remain on an island. Some organizations may use software to visualize data. But still, traditional management information software is limited. In the Smart Laundry, machines send data to a central point, such as the Vartex Laundry Dashboard. This is a place where managers see what’s going on inside their machines, in the most accurate way.
In this central place, the Laundry Intelligence dashboard, one can manage the entire laundry. In addition to checking the real time status of your machinery and subtracting live data, there is much more you can do. From ordering spare parts without leaving the platform, accessing instructional videos and documentation, to planning and solving maintenance. In the Smart Laundry, your actions are as efficient as possible since they are performed in a single location.
Clean Green
An additional perk of the Smart Laundry is cleaning environmentally friendly. We need to take care of our planet. And water management is a simple strategy in our green mission.
In the Smart Laundry one can match water usage with the exact load (on condition that a water meter is installed). So, the next time you load a 50KG washer with less than the maximum capacity, your water level will match your exact load. In other words, excessive water usage is history. Vartex Smart Control, a universal control for all washers, lets you do exactly this.
In order to make these adjustments, the Laundry Intelligence dashboard allows you to diagnose what needs to change. If your dryers are using excessive gas or your washers waste water, the dashboard visualizes the excessive usage. Subsequently, adjustments can be made on the machines.
With Smart Control, the operator only takes one action, so you make fewer mistakes.
Jacko Dekker, General Manager ELIS Hoogeveen
Minimize Mistakes Through Smart Control
When operators require less interaction with the operating system, mistakes are less likely to occur. In Smart Control’s PLC powered control, operators can easily select programs from a touchscreen. These programs are made once and uploaded to the system. And they can be adjusted easily.
In 2019, Schneider Electric did a case study of Smart Control at ELIS. In a video accompanying the case study, Mr. Dekker, General Manager at Elis, says: (…) With Smart Control, the operator only takes one action, so you make fewer mistakes. “
Remote Work
The Smart Laundry does not require managers to be on premise at all times. This year has taught us that we cannot always be in the office or on the floor; COVID-19 forced us to work from home more than ever before. Even though laundries are an essential business, there are possibilities to work from home. The Smart Laundry makes remote work more accessible in an industry that is not accustomed to it.
Both the Laundry Intelligence Dashboard and Vartex App bring your laundry on the go. Need to check how much is cleaned today, check the usage of resources? The dashboard gives you real time data. Or want to be notified when an error occurs? Laundry Intelligence notifies you.
One can access Laundry Intelligence from any computer and the Vartex App from any modern smart phone.
Your laundry in your pocket
The Smart Laundry is a concept that goes beyond the walls of the laundry. In the Smart Laundry, one stays up to date on the go; if you cannot be on the floor, you still see what’s going on in the laundry on your phone.
With the Vartex App, laundries get a mobile one-stop-location. Laundry personnel can check the performance of machines, order parts, access machine documentation, become notified of errors, plan and solve maintenance, and get an overview of machines and order history.
Learn more about the Vartex App in this article.
Predicting the Future
As a company, we’ve set a goal to engineer the future of the industrial laundry. And a big part of that future is the Smart Laundry. A place where machines are connected and are part of a reliable and user-friendly ecosystem. It’s a place where we witness, through tangible data, how machines perform as opposed to being black boxes. Giving a way to back decisions by numbers, produced by your processes; data that allows you to predict the needs of tomorrow. Finally, the Smart Laundry is a place where cleaning environmentally friendly becomes easy.
Want to know more about our Smart Laundry products? Take a look on our new website.