Airport operator Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA) has partnered with US startup Tooshlights to pilot a traffic management system in the restrooms at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), California.
According to Airport Council International’s (ACI) Airport Service Quality (ASQ) survey, the availability of washrooms was one of the top 10 most important items to LAX passengers in 2017. The LAX smart restroom pilot program includes more than 20 smart restroom stalls in Terminal 4 (T4), each fitted with a smart latch and indicator light. When the stall is available, the light is green. When the stall is occupied, and the smart latch activated, the light turns red. There are also blue indicator lights for ambulatory stalls.
LAX and Tooshlights are also working with IT provider Infax to provide real-time venue-specific data that enables airport officials to track the occupancy usage of restroom stalls.
Barbara Yamamoto, chief experience officer at LAWA, said, “We’re incredibly excited to try out this new technology, which should help improve our guest experience and allow us to better monitor and service our restrooms. The desire for clean and available restrooms is consistently in the top ranks of what guests want at an airport, and this will help us provide a higher level of service to the traveling public and allow us to better meet our strategic goal of delivering facilities and guest experiences that are exceptional.”
Allen Klevens, president and CEO at Modus Systems, the parent company of Tooshlights, said, “A common problem in facility design is flow of movement, which affects passenger satisfaction. Tooshlights is disrupting the public restroom industry by fixing the efficiency of restrooms, especially in large commercial spaces like airports, where people are pressed for time. We are thrilled that our hometown airport is the first airport in the world to feature Tooshlights.”