A method and apparatus for analyzing the nature, location, position and orientation of hand
hygiene dispensers within a facility and correlating that information with the usage experienced by each specific dispensers in order to correlate usage with physical characteristics of the dispenser, its location and position. Dispensers of various types are provided with data chips and acquire data correlating usage with the date and time of a dispensing cycle. The physical parameters associated with each dispenser are also known and recorded. All of this data is downloaded periodically into a
database that assess such data in order to correlate usage of hand
hygiene dispensers with parameters such as the nature of the dispenser, its location, position and orientation,
time of day,
work shift and the like. From this data, parameters can be defined that will optimize the use and positioning of hand
hygiene dispensers within a facility such as a health care unit, hotel, restaurant or the like. According to one embodiment of the invention, the data is acquired by a reader or
transponder that communicates with the data
chip of the various dispensers using
infrared or ultrasonic
signal transmission. This acquired data is downloaded into a data processor for the analysis and optimization of dispenser positioning.