Apleona Switzerland Ltd. has been responsible for EY's facility management throughout Switzerland, including the location «Zürich Hardbrücke», since 2019. For a year now, we have been using «Service on Demand», an IoT solution from Post Immobilien Management und Services AG. In October 2021, 38 button boards were implemented in meeting rooms, think tanks and the customer zones. Since then, for example technical problems can be reported or catering orders can be placed at the touch of a button. In this interview, Katrina Kauf, Site Manager at Apleona Switzerland Ltd., talks about the use and advantages of the new technology.

How have the users of the new service reacted so far?
The feedback so far has been very positive. The ease of use is appreciated and well received. The employees are enthusiastic about the tool and like the easy handling as well as the advantages of «Service on Demand». Many are also positively surprised that such high-tech solutions are already available in meeting rooms.

What impact does «Service on Demand» have on the everyday work of your employees?
Employees can order different services at any time at the touch of a button. The person in charge automatically receives a notification with the information where which service is needed. This offers many advantages: In the catering area, for example, there is no need to leave the meeting and the person in charge can provide the desired service within a short time. This means that the service providers do not have to be close to the room, but can perform other tasks and still offer an excellent service to the customers.

Thanks to the «Service on Demand» platform, the data can be precisely evaluated. How do you use these evaluations?
The data is not yet being evaluated. In the future, this possibility will certainly be useful. This allows us to optimally plan and deploy human resources. In addition, idle time and unnecessary work steps as well as controls can be avoided. Furthermore, we can recognise at an early stage in which rooms technical problems occur the most and take appropriate measures immediately. In this way, we increase efficiency and satisfaction.

Where do you see further potential for the use of «Service on Demand» for you as a real estate service provider?
We see various possible uses and application locations in different industries for «Service on Demand», for example in the area of cleaning, in the event of technical problems, in service-intensive locations, in break zones or when there is a lack of material. It has great potential as it can be used in large and small buildings. The use of human resources becomes more efficient as unnecessary control rounds can be avoided. In addition, the processes are shortened overall, as the messages reach the responsible person directly without intermediate points.

Launch: 38 button boards in October 2021

Implementation: Button boards in meeting rooms, think tanks and customer zones. Requests for cleaning, technical problems and catering orders.