Learn how facility managers can address restroom supply challenges and lower maintenance costs with proactive solutions. See how predictive maintenance and smarter strategies ensure restrooms stay operational and avoid costly disruptions.

For facility managers, restroom supply shortages are more than a minor inconvenience. Empty soap dispensers, missing toilet paper and depleted paper towels quickly undermine cleanliness and user satisfaction.

Managing multiple restrooms in high-usage environments requires more than periodic checks. To stay ahead of demand and ensure seamless operations, proactive strategies and advanced solutions are essential.

Here’s how you can prevent restroom supply shortages and keep your facility running like a well-oiled machine.

The Ripple Effect of Supply Shortages

When restrooms run out of supplies, the effects are immediate. Frustrated users may leave with a negative impression of your facility, while hygiene standards can quickly deteriorate — leading to bigger challenges down the line.

For facility managers, keeping restrooms stocked is a constant priority, with 40% citing them as the most difficult area to maintain.¹

When restrooms face unexpected supply shortages or issues with dispensers, staff are forced to shift focus from scheduled tasks to address these immediate needs. Though not exclusive to restrooms, unplanned downtime can cost facilities up to $125,000 per hour, reflecting the steep price of reactive maintenance.²

In restrooms, this reactive approach often drives up costs due to emergency restocking, increased labor for repairs and potential service disruptions.

By adopting predictive maintenance solutions, facility managers can help avoid these issues, ensuring restrooms are consistently stocked, reducing downtime and lowering operational costs.

Smart Restroom Solutions: A Game-Changer for Supply Management

A growing number of facility managers are turning to data-driven solutions that monitor restroom supply levels in real time.

Imagine having the ability to anticipate restroom usage and optimize restocking efforts. Smart technology empowers you to stay ahead by automatically alerting you when soap, paper towels or toilet paper supplies are running low — allowing for timely restocking without disrupting user experience.

For larger facilities, this is a game-changer. Smart restroom solutions like Onvation^® provide real-time visibility into restroom conditions, allowing you to track usage patterns, anticipate needs and prevent supply shortages before they happen. This enables facility managers to improve efficiency, reduce waste and ensure restrooms are consistently stocked, all while minimizing operational disruptions.

As the demand for efficiency and sustainability grows, facilities are turning to smart restroom solutions to stay ahead of both user expectations and sustainability initiatives.

Winning Strategies for Preventing Supply Shortages

While smart technology plays a critical role, strategic planning is equally important in managing restroom supplies. Consider the following operational approaches to take your supply management to the next level:

• Data-Driven Restocking: Analyze real-time usage data and historical trends to predict when restrooms will need restocking, ensuring you're always ahead of demand—especially during peak usage times.
• High-Capacity Dispensers: Installing high-capacity dispensers reduces the frequency of refills, minimizing downtime and giving staff more opportunities to focus on other critical tasks.
• Predictive Ordering Systems: Leveraging predictive ordering systems that align supply delivery with actual restroom usage trends helps avoid last-minute supply shortages, so you’re never caught off-guard by sudden shortages.

Sustainability Meets Supply Efficiency

In addition to keeping restrooms stocked, facility managers play a key role in supporting their organization’s broader sustainability goals. By optimizing supply management, they can significantly reduce waste while maintaining high standards of hygiene.

Efficiency drives sustainability.

High-capacity dispensers help prevent product runouts, minimize maintenance time and reduce waste by requiring fewer refills — leading to less plastic waste in landfills. Choosing suppliers with compact packaging solutions and innovative products, such as coreless toilet paper rolls, can further reduce waste.

For example, with products like the Scott^® Pro High Capacity Toilet Paper Dispenser, facilities can cut packaging waste by up to 47% and get up to 15% more paper per case compared to traditional cored products.³

By adopting these strategies, facility managers can enhance both operational efficiency and sustainability, reducing environmental impact while keeping restrooms well-stocked and hygienic.

Elevating Restroom Management

For facility managers overseeing multiple restrooms, preventing supply shortages goes beyond keeping users satisfied — it’s a critical factor in optimizing operations, cutting costs and improving overall facility performance.

By implementing smart restroom technology, high-capacity dispensers and data-driven restocking strategies, facility managers can significantly enhance restroom management, making the process more seamless and effective.

With the right tools and strategies, your facility can run more smoothly, minimize shortages and operate more sustainably.

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¹Albir, C., Jr. (2024, September 23). Conquer dust with regular cleaning. Cleaning & Maintenance Management. https://cmmonline.com/articles/2023-cmm-in-house-facility-management-benchmarking-survey-report
²ABB. (2023). Value of Reliability: ABB Survey Report 2023: Industry’s perspective on maintenance and reliability. In ABB. https://search.abb.com/library/Download.aspx?DocumentID=9AKK108468A6878&LanguageCode=en&DocumentPartId=&Action=Launch
³Scott^® ProTM High Capacity Coreless Standard Roll Toilet Paper Dispenser (44518). (n.d.). KC Professional. https://www.kcprofessional.com/en-ca/products/dispensers/toilet-paper-and-seat-cover-dispensers/standard-roll/coreless/scott-pro-high-capacity-toilet-paper-dispenser/44518