Touch Free Restrooms: Keep Your Hands To Yourself

Pick up the newspaper today and chances are pretty good you’ll find reports of some disease du jour that threatens to bring your life to a tragic and immediate end. In recent years, the media have frightened us with anthrax, Norwalk virus, SARS, monkey pox, avian flu and more.

The average person’s chances of contracting one of these serious illnesses may be as slim as being killed by a falling coconut, but that hasn’t quelled the hype. And germaphobic hysteria has been good news for at least one group — the jan/san industry.

“Every time we read that these things come from person-to-person or person-to-object contact, it fuels the requirement for touch-free products to be developed,” says Bruce Van Deman, director of health care marketing for acute care at Gojo Industries, Akron, Ohio.

Canadian media has also been relentless, says Markham Ray, director of marketing for Scott Paper Ltd., Toronto. “It’s very difficult to pick up a newspaper and not find something about hygiene. The demand for touchless is starting to steamroll and grow.”

Hands-free History
Consumers think touchless products are new, and interest is at an all-time high. In fact, the technology is actually several decades old — the first hands-free mechanical dispenser was developed in the 1940s. Touchless products really gained momentum, however, with the introduction of the center-pull dispenser in Europe in the 1970s.

“Europe is not a big roll-towel market or lever market,” says Nisha Gupta, marketing director for San Jamar in Elkhorn, Wis. She lived in Europe in the mid-90s. “Europe is a big center-pull market. They went from center-pull to mechanical touchless and skipped the lever stage. We have millions of levers on the walls here.”

Even those who do not agree that Europe leads in technology innovation do agree that Europeans have had a significant influence on product design and popularity.

“They gave touch-free an image — that it was cool and chic,” says Van Deman. “But in terms of implementation, robustness, and performance, they just weren’t leaders.”

In the United States, the first big buyer of touchless products was the healthcare industry. Health practitioners must wash their hands dozens of times a day. To make it quick and easy and to prevent cross-contamination, hospitals installed touchless soap dispensers and water faucets.

The use of touchless products then spread into food processing and finally reached mass consumer appeal in 1993. That year, Jack In The Box restaurants experienced their now-infamous E. coli outbreak. Contaminated hamburger patties were served to customers in the Pacific Northwest resulting in the illness of hundreds and the deaths of four children.

The incident led to the implementation of the fast-food industry’s most aggressive food-safety program, which served as the blueprint for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s modern meat inspection program, Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP).

“Touch-free is popular in America because of the emphasis on the prevention of cross-contamination,” says Mark Stanland, director of marketing, Bay West Paper, Harrodsburg, Ky. “Users understand that the risk of coming in contact with potentially dangerous bacteria is a real health concern. Touch-free enables users to feel safe when using facilities that allow minimal contact with toilets, faucets and dispensers.”

Interest in hands-free technology has continued to grow in the last decade thanks to society’s hypersensitive focus on deadly diseases.

“Recent epidemics such as SARS, E. coli and hepatitis have raised awareness of the threat of communicable diseases,” says Cindy Stilp, senior market segment manager for SCA Tissue, Neenah, Wis. “Hygiene is becoming increasingly important to Americans and they like the concept of only touching the towel they need, not the dispenser itself, which may be covered with germs.”

A Popular Choice
It’s not just disease prevention that drives touchless product sales. There are many other reasons that this technology is popular with facility managers and end users.

Although the initial cost for hands-free technology can be high, facility managers appreciate that the products lead to future savings. “Touch-free dispensing can help reduce costs by eliminating unnecessary use and waste,” explains Stanland.

Many new touchless products have controlled dispensing systems that regulate usage by outputting only a limited amount of paper or soap per visit. Also, high-capacity systems need to be filled less often, requiring less labor and, therefore, less money. There are dispensers that can go into a “suspend mode” if they are being vandalized and others that monitor traffic to help manage inventory and maintenance schedules.

Another reason touchless is popular with end users is that the products portray an upscale image. People think that facilities with touchless dispensers are more modern and user friendly. Plus, there’s a real wow factor that comes when a user waves his or her hand and is given a towel.

“Americans love the new gadgets and technology,” says Greg Kampschroer, vice president of Palmer Fixture, Green Bay, Wis. “Installing the latest touch-free washroom system in your place of business can reflect a certain level of status or class and may even impress your customers.”

Yes, the germaphobes are the driving force behind touchless technology. But don’t forget that form is nearly as important as function.

“The germ-conscious segment of the population is driving this, but there is also a cachet of the product being advanced,” says Van Deman. “There’s a big image thing with this product.”

Still, what consumers want most, of course, is a product that works. That may seem obvious, but because touchless technology is relatively new, it has a less-than-perfect track record. Soap dispensers can become clogged and towel dispensers won’t always work with less expensive paper.

“A lot of systems have been introduced and a lot have failed,” says Van Deman. His company launched its first hands-free system last year after years of planning. “There are a lot of technology issues associated with hands-free performance. We wanted to make sure we had enough testing and the right technology to serve all of our markets in a foolproof manner.”

More to Come
It’s problems like these that show touchless technology still has a long way to go. So despite the glut of hands-free products on the market today, there will be countless more introduced in the coming years. “We’re launching a new, hands-free product every year,” Gupta says.

Dispensers will become more attractive, easier to use and they’ll cost less. There will be more high-capacity products; towel dispensers will hold softer and larger towels; units will become quieter; and more dispensers will be universal (workable with any manufacturer’s products). Manufacturers are also concerned with product reliability.

“[We’re working on] portion-controlled dispensing so users can get as much or as little as they want,” Stilp says.

“If I don’t have to touch it, I don’t want to touch it. But I don’t want to relinquish control; I want as much toilet paper or soap as I want,” says Van Deman. “We have to incorporate the technology into people’s normal existence.”

There are many other areas of everyday life that still scream for touchless technology. One washroom mainstay that has not yet gone hands-free is the door.

“The funny thing about touch-free washrooms is that in many cases you still have to touch the door handle on your way out,” says Kampschroer. “This really undermines the benefits of the touch-free products that are used in that washroom.”

There are many applications for touchless technology outside the washroom. “Extending the application of touch-free across multiple markets is important,” says Van Deman. Manufacturers are already thinking of applying hands-free technology to napkin and condiment dispensers, light switches, elevator buttons, and even shopping carts.

“We dream about everything being touchless,” Gupta says. “Anything in the public area so people don’t have to touch something that someone else has touched.”

“The focus on improved hygiene is not going to go away,” Stilp adds. “With healthcare costs rising and the introduction of new viruses, the public will continue to demand more hygienic systems. This trend will continue in the years to come.”

Touch may be one of the five senses, but humans seem to want more control over when they use it. So much so, in fact, that SCA’s Stanland predicts “we are headed toward a touch-free existence.”

Gupta concurs. “You don’t want to get to the point of living in a bubble, but I think there will be more and more demand for these types of products.”