Broken toilet on campus? New feedback panels created for quicker response time

With previous issues of broken toilets, running out of supplies and keeping bathrooms clean, new feedback panels were installed in high-use bathrooms around campus to decrease response time for service. Photos by EMILY PARIS, photo editor

The multitude of buildings on Chapman University’s campuses comes with a hefty to-do list for the Facilities Management department, especially the dozens of bathrooms that must be maintained daily. 

Due to only a certain amount of staff on duty and bathrooms spread out all over campus, new panels on bathroom walls were implemented earlier this month to help maintain cleanliness and quick response times. 

The panels were implemented into eight bathrooms in Marion Knott Studios, Kennedy Hall, Beckman Hall, Leatherby Libraries and Argyros Forum. The placement was prioritized based on the level of use, and the panels are running on a program called Aramark Intelligent Workplace Experience (AWIX), which is meant to be an innovation in maintenance. 

The new panels allow students to give quick feedback to facilities about any issues in various on-campus restrooms.

“AWIX is a demand-driven service, meaning it provides services to buildings and occupants when needed, rather than only on a predetermined schedule,” said Rick Turner, vice president of Facilities Management. “It is the future of Facilities Management because it creates a much higher level of service.”

Students use these facilities daily and notice that the bathrooms are usually kept tidy. Nevertheless, there are always the occasional issues that can decrease this cleanliness. 

“At Chapman, the bathrooms are usually clean, there aren't usually problems,” said Emily Cho, a sophomore broadcast journalism and documentary major. “Other than a few of the toilets always being broken at Dodge, most of the time, the bathrooms are decent.”

Along with running out of soap, leaks and just the occasional clean-up, the new AWIX system hopes to cut down on the workload for Facilities Management workers and help solve these issues promptly. 

“The system was purchased as an innovative opportunity to provide a higher level of service,” Turner said. “Bathrooms in every public building across the country run into issues on any given day. This provides an easy way to get more immediate attention.”

While there are concerns that this system comes with particular dilemmas of whether students will use the panels and take responsibility when an issue arises, freshman screenwriting major Theo Olivetto believes some will. 

“I don't think everyone will use (the panels), but the people that do use them will make their voices heard and get the issue fixed,” Olivetto said. “This technology will help create a better line of communication between students, customers and the staff.”

As Cho states, the other dilemma is that not many students have heard about the panels or know what they're used for.

"I didn't read too much into it since I thought (the panels were) a small thing, but now actually knowing about it, I will actually start using them from now on," Cho said.

This begs the question of whether or not the Facilities Management department should notify students about their use and function.

“The panels look fairly simple and have all the instructions on them, but I never knew they existed, or when I did see them, I didn’t know their purpose,” Olivetto said. 

These new panels are only the starting ground as the program builds and serves its long-term goals, hopefully expanding into more bathrooms around campus. 

"This new system will allow us to compile analytical usage data provided by the sensor and panel system to ensure consistent upkeep before and after peak usage, making the campus community experience even better," Turner said.