"With the interlinked warewashing, we offer our customers huge time and cost savings potentials," says Markus Bau, Director Customised Systems & Export of Hobart on the occasion of the award ceremony for "100 Orte für Industrie 4.0 Baden-Württemberg."

Recently, the network initiative 'Allianz Industrie 4.0' presented this award to the Offenburg-based company for the technology, which provides digital support for warewashing technology. The prize was given for the Hobart Washsmart app, which allows the user to monitor via smartphone or tablet the status of the dishwasher, its operating costs or the chemical consumption, as well as other parameters. The competition awards prizes to innovative solutions which drive the digitalisation of value creation in industry forward and already now implement the intelligent interlinking of production processes.

"It is clearly noticeable that the industry is changing more and more and that digitalisation is becoming increasingly important in the commercial kitchen. With our Washsmart app, we give our customers real added value in respect of information procurement and preventive actions. As market leader in the field of commercial warewashing technology, we will implement further innovative and groundbreaking ideas with regard to this development in order to make our customers' daily dishwashing routine continuously easier," Bau says.

Washsmart gives the users additional information on their dishwasher which helps to avoid standstill and increases the operating efficiency. In case of minor faults, the app displays troubleshooting advice, for example when the strainer has not been properly inserted or the door/hood is blocked. The users receive the information on their smartphones or tablets via push message. In case of serious problems, the customer can contact the service directly via the app. As another benefit, WASHSMART alerts the users when maintenance is due or when the cleaning agents are running low, which can then be re-ordered directly via the app, as well. The application also provides support regarding hygiene and safety. This goes for example for a hygiene check of the machine, and for the hygiene report, which can be sent via smartphone to a stored email address, or saved to the PC. The periods in which the machine was operative but not used are shown in a clearly understandable diagram. This helps you to see whether the dishwasher is used efficiently, or whether the stand-by times are too long in relation to the washing times, causing avoidable expenses.