LAX To Pilot "Smart Restrooms"

LOS ANGELES, April 4, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Just in time for the busy spring break travel season, Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA) and Tooshlights®, the only smart restroom traffic management system that helps guests "know where to go®," announced today a pilot program of smart restrooms in one of Los Angeles International Airport's (LAX) terminals. The patented technology helps passengers navigate busy bathrooms and will now light the way for them in American Airlines' Terminal 4.  

LAX and Tooshlights are also working with Infax, the data-driven provider of innovative IT solutions for airports and other public venues, which works in conjunction with Tooshlights to play a leading role in the smart restroom transformation. Tooshlights provides Infax with real-time venue-specific data that allows airport officials to track the occupancy usage of restroom stalls.

LAX officials will join representatives from Tooshlights and Infax for a media preview of the restrooms, to unveil the new smart restroom system and show off how it works, on Wednesday, April 4 at 10 AM PT. Media interested in attending for interviews and photos/video should contact laxpr@lawa.org. Members of the press will need to submit ID information in advance, as the restrooms are post-security. 

"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," said Barbara Yamamoto, Chief Experience Officer at LAWA. "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."

The new smart restroom technology being deployed at LAX combines cutting-edge technological innovation with a unique design aesthetic to solve the critical problems of cleanliness and efficiency of public restrooms. According to an Airport Council International (ACI) Airport Service Quality (ASQ) Survey, the availability of washrooms/toilets is one of the top ten most important items to all LAX guests in 2017. The LAX smart restroom pilot program of the Tooshlights system includes more than 20 smart restroom stalls, which will work similarly to parking garage lights. Each unit consists of 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.

"A common problem in facility design is flow of movement, which affects passenger satisfaction," said Allen Klevens, President and Chief Executive Officer at Modus Systems LLC, the parent company of Tooshlights. "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."

LAX is leading the way on technology, by leveraging smart building technology and data analytics to boost operational efficiencies. A simple gate change, airplane maintenance, mishandled baggage and restroom janitorial issues can lead to headaches for travelers and high costs for airlines.

"The real-time data that we will be receiving through our new smart restroom technology will help us to respond quicker when issues occur, and gain base-line data for daily and weekly restroom usage, so we can better plan and deploy our resources, including custodians, and maintenance workers," said Michael Christensen, Deputy Executive Director of the Facilities and Maintenance Group at LAWA. "Just like a physical traffic management system, these smart restrooms will allow us to do our job better and more efficiently."

If the smart restroom pilot is successful, LAX expects to expand the use of smart restrooms in Terminal 4 and throughout the airport.

"American Airlines is thankful to have such forward thinking partners at LAWA. We share their commitment to creating a world class, 21^st century experience for travelers in the City of Angels," said Jim Moses, American Airlines Managing Director – LAX. "Innovative ideas that leverage modern technology like this are how we will turn that vision into a reality."

This is just one of the many ways that LAX is using technology to improve the guest experience, which also includes the use of Automated Screening Lanes in several terminals, biometric screening for boarding on some international flights, and the recently launched integration of the airport's maps, including restrooms, pet relief areas, and concessions, into the Apple Maps app. LAX recently launched its new website, FlyLAX.com, and real-time flight information and parking information can be found there, and by "asking Alexa" for LAX information.

For more information about Tooshlights, please visit https://tooshlights.com/. For more information about LAX and its technology initiatives, please contact laxpr@lawa.org.  

About Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)

LAX is the fourth busiest airport in the world, second in the United States, and was named one of Skytrax' 2017 Top 10 Most Improved Airports. LAX served more than 84.6 million passengers in 2017. LAX offers 737 daily nonstop flights to 100 cities in the U.S. and 1,386 weekly nonstop flights to 88 cities in 44 countries on 73 commercial air carriers. LAX ranks 14th in the world and fifth in the U.S. in air cargo tonnage processed, with more than 2.2 million tons of air cargo valued at over $101.4 billion. LAX handled 697,138 operations (landings and takeoffs) in 2016.

An economic study based on 2014 operations reported LAX generated 620,600 jobs in Southern California with labor income of $37.3 billion and economic output (business revenues) of more than $126.6 billion. This activity added $6.2 billion to local and state revenues and $8.7 billion in federal tax revenues. The study also reported that LAX's ongoing capital-improvement program creates an additional 121,640 annual jobs with labor income of $7.6 billion and economic output of $20.3 billion, $966 million in state and local taxes, and $1.6 billion in federal tax revenues.

LAX is also the second most popular airport in the world to appear on Instagram according to wego.com. LAX is part of a system of two Southern California airports – along with Van Nuys general aviation – that are owned and operated by Los Angeles World Airports, a proprietary department of the City of Los Angeles that receives no funding from the City's general fund.

For more information about LAX, please visit www.flyLAX.com or follow on Twitter @flyLAXAirport, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/LAInternationalAirport, and on YouTube at www.YouTube.com/laxairport1. 

About Tooshlights®

Based in Los Angeles, Tooshlights -- powered by Modus Systems LLC -- is the industry's first and only automated LED lighting system that increases traffic flow in public restrooms by letting the guest "know where to go."  The patented, sleekly designed smart restroom solution is solving a massive pain point for consumers – privacy and long wait times. Tooshlights enhances the guest experience, helping to increase profits and eliminate awkwardness of people not knowing which stalls are open. The company's patented technology also aims to better connect people with the spaces that they occupy through the use of real-time, venue-specific information. 

Tooshlights can dramatically improve restroom traffic flow of all types of commercial spaces such as, arenas, stadiums, airports, malls, hotels, convention centers, casinos, theme parks and office buildings.  

For more information, please visit www.tooshlights.com. Follow Tooshlights on Twitter @Tooshlights. 

CONTACTS:
Tracy Rubin / Jill Fox
Tooshlights PR
tracy@jcmg.com
jillian@jcmg.com

Becca Doten, LAX PR
424-646-5260

Curtis Blessings
American Airlines
310-648-6471
Curtis.Blessing@aa.com

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SOURCE Tooshlights