Soap cartridge system case study solutions to bulk fill hand soap dispenser challenges

In this soap cartridge system case study, the main issue arose from the facilities teams refilling the 1 litre soap bottles with the wrong type of soap (liquid instead of foam) as these specific bottles were designed for foam soap.

The possibility of either a misunderstanding or genuine human error was the cause of the mistake.

As a result, the soap dispensers frequently malfunctioned, requiring repairs and replacements, and the lack of proper cleaning before refilling the soap bottles led to soap contamination which exacerbated soap dispenser failures.

Introducing the cartridge soap system resolved these issues by simplifying the process. With this system, there’s only one type of soap reservoir to replace when it’s time for a refill. This eliminates the need for cleaning teams to decipher which soap dispenser requires which soap, thus streamlining the process.

The original setup in this shopping centre based in Milton Keynes featured a refillable multifeed 7 litre tank that supplied multiple soap dispensers. The reservoir faced challenges linked to bacterial contamination and soap congealing, leading to premature malfunctions in both the soap dispensers and the pumps.

Despite the solution of installing cartridge soap, there were concerns about the initial costs that deterred the client from making the change.

Even with a service contract in place with Dolphin, which involves regular check-ups every three months to perform maintenance and ensure everything is functioning correctly, the hesitancy to switch was also rooted in misconceptions regarding long-term expenses.

Ultimately, the decision to tolerate ongoing maintenance and replacement costs to keep a washroom that, while somewhat functional, still to this day needs frequent interventions.

For this soap cartridge system case study in a London office building, our client originally had the earlier model of the Alavo mirror system which included bulk fill soap reservoirs. However, a design modification was implemented in response to issues such as soap contamination, dispenser deterioration, and other significant complications faced by our client.

As a result, the Alavo system transitioned from refillable tanks to only cartridge soap systems to finally resolve these significant problems.

To standardise the wash stations, the earlier models were upgraded to the cartridge system, driven by benefits such as efficiency, cost-effectiveness, hygiene, and streamlined maintenance.

A later check verified that the transition was successful, with facility management confirming that the new Alavo cartridge system was working well and the upgrade’s goals were achieved.

In this soap cartridge system case study, due to the immense scale and size of this bank’s building, a significant incident unfolded. This project marked one of our earliest encounters with the bacteria contamination issue, resulting in soap congealing and associated complications.

While our client made attempts to flush and chlorinate the system to stop the bacteria from contaminating the soap and breaking the soap dispensers, the contamination kept recurring. This led our client to understand that only a sealed soap cartridge system would provide a solution.

Unfortunately, even though the soap cartridges were installed, the service management company at the time opted against a service agreement with Dolphin, and their inability to adequately maintain the Alavo system led to significant maintenance problems.

Effective maintenance is crucial to sustaining the Alavo system and ensuring the soap remains in optimal condition.

The washrooms in this shopping centre, based in London, have the older Alavo models installed with refillable bulk fill soap systems. They experienced the same issues with bacteria contamination, congealing soap, and ultimately soap dispenser failure. Despite our regular service visits as per the service agreement, the cycle of problems persisted, resulting in frequent replacements and repairs.

Although our client is enthusiastic about installing the new Alavo Cartridge System, the decision is pending due to budgetary challenges and the pushback from the facilities company at the current site.

They have managed with the bulk fill system so far, thanks to regular maintenance, but without it, there would indeed be a dire situation. However, when the timing aligns with the budget for the Alavo cartridge system, our client is open to proceeding with the next washroom project.

In this soap cartridge system case study, the initial setup of the standalone Alavo systems in the commercial building featured individual 1 litre soap bottles per system in the superloo layouts. However, frequent failures arose due to aggressive soap being poured in and damaging components in the open protocol system including the soap pipes.

A refillable soap bottle enables anyone to pour any type of soap in regardless of compatibility, and in this case, it resulted in premature soap dispenser failures.

Transitioning to our cartridge soap system resolved these issues, ensuring compatibility and ease of use. The upgrade recommendation from bulk fill to sealed soap cartridges was implemented, offering a long-term cost-effective solution and a more reliable, efficient, and functional soap dispensing system.

This experience highlighted the common factors contributing to soap dispenser failures and congealing soap, as seen in many of the washroom projects Dolphin has worked on.

Unlike an office building, issues tend to come up more often and quickly in a shopping centre and other public spaces. This is likely because of the larger number of people using the facilities.

These two shopping centres, based in North West London, with so many people using the soap dispensers frequently and the reservoirs needing to be replenished more often, intensified bacteria entering the open bulk fill system and contaminating the soap, thus causing congealing and damage to the soap dispensers.

Despite the failures and damage, and despite knowing the benefits of a cartridge system, they are content with their current maintenance routine and upkeep costs, preferring to maintain the status quo because it suits their needs.

Based in the East Midlands region, our client installed a bulk fill soap system in their shopping centre washrooms. From 2017 until now, they have not experienced major breakdown problems related to bacterial contamination in their soap systems, however, they have been dealing with a high turnover of parts for the past few years.

With the service agreement still in place, we have replaced a few soap dispensers, and on more recent visits, our team has cleaned and replaced the gauze inside the dispensers, as opposed to replacing the entire unit, as seen in many of our other case studies.

Based on this, it appears that there are efforts being made to maintain and clean the bulk fill systems, but parts are still experiencing premature failures.

In this soap cartridge system case study, based in the West Midlands region, our client leaned toward the refillable bulk fill dispensers for their washroom project, primarily due to budget constraints. While we recommended our cartridge soap system as a more effective solution, considering the potential drawbacks of refillable soap systems, they also had reservations about the flexibility to change soap suppliers in the future. As a result, they chose not to opt for the cartridge system.

The consequences that followed after the installation of the refillable soap bottles were both substantial and complex, significantly impacting not only the operational components of the system but also resulting in a highly unsatisfactory user experience.

In a span of four years, the client urgently contacted us about their soap dispenser issues. Our investigation showed that all the refillable soap bottle dispensers failed due to congealed soap and were producing foul smelling odours. Many of the soap dispensers stopped working, causing customer complaints about the unpleasant smell and the lack of immediate access to soap.

Their short term fix involved purchasing freestanding soap dispensers, but this compromised washroom aesthetics.

After this unfortunate incident, our client made the determined choice to replace all the soap bottles with the cartridge system to prevent any such occurrences in the future. The transition to the new soap systems was swiftly completed in just one day.

We have since received feedback from our client, affirming the continued success of the cartridge system. They have experienced no issues and expressed no complaints, and with our service agreement in place, everything continues to run smoothly.

We are uncertain of the installation date of the bulk fill system as it was not carried out by the Dolphin team but by another supplier. However, in this soap cartridge system case study, our client reached out to us due to issues they encountered with the bulk fill system and told us about the challenges they were constantly dealing with.

The washrooms in one of the terminals at this airport used to have refillable soap tanks, ranging from 5 to 10 litres. However, due to soap contamination resulting from various factors that allowed bacteria to infiltrate the open soap protocol, the soap consistently congealed, leading to frequent damage to the soap dispensers. This required our client to incur substantial replacement costs, amounting to thousands of pounds.

After looking into the problem and finding that the soap dispensers were failing because of contaminated soap, we provided the solution to switch to the cartridge system to solve this frustrating and expensive issue.

Since then, they have not encountered issues with failing soap dispensers or contaminated soap, and the cartridge system has operated smoothly as expected for the past 5 to 6 years, requiring replacements only for wear and tear.

However, a recent washroom project involved reinstalling the refillable bulk fill dispensers, a decision our client was already aware could lead to problems. In response, they took proactive steps to demonstrate the bacterial issue by conducting a swab test, highlighting the potential mistake of this approach.

Their swab test results were revealing: the refillable soap reservoir contained more bacteria than the toilet bowl itself. This discovery heightened concerns about hand hygiene, prompting the question of whether it might actually be more sanitary to wash hands in the toilet rather than at the washbasin.