In this day and age, there is one thing that we prioritize over everything else: efficiency. Computers are becoming faster, people are working harder, and our society has become accustomed to a sense of immediate gratification (think Amazon Prime). However, this sense of immediate gratification may not carry over into every sector of work. When it comes to campus and facilities logistics, there are many areas in which modern improvements can be made. One solution? Kiosks. Kiosks are a fantastic addition to any mailroom or facility, assisting in package pick-up, organization, self-service options, and visitor check-in and check-out. Here, the facilities management experts at SCLogic discuss how our Intra kiosk software streamlines package pick-up and visitor monitoring and how we can help your organization step into success. 

How Kiosks Can Modernize Your Mailroom

One of the most frustrating situations to encounter as a mailroom manager is an upset employee or student. Long lines for traditional package pick-up can cause frustration on both ends, as mailroom employees scramble to find packages amid a cluttered mailroom. Kiosks are a fantastic solution to mitigate this problem, giving mailroom employees insight ahead of time and streamlining the package pick-up process. By integrating a kiosk with our Intra in-building logistics software, individuals can select that they want to pick-up items through the kiosk. A ticket will be printed to tell mailroom employees which packages need to be pulled. When ready, the mailroom employee will call the name of the individuals whose items are ready. This process allows for mailroom managers to see the timeline of package pick-up, rather than waiting for each person to step up to the front and request their packages.

Besides providing insight for mailroom managers and employees, kiosks can also be used in conjunction with a display screen to display package pick-up orders for employees and students. In a large organization or campus, it can be difficult to efficiently communicate with those waiting about exactly when their package will be ready for pick-up. This way, a pick-up queue is displayed and automatically updated, expediting the process for both parties.

How Kiosks Can Improve Safety & Security During COVID-19

As the coronavirus pandemic continues to impact our lives, many offices and universities have adopted policies to minimize human-to-human interaction and heavily monitor who is visiting in-person. As vaccines continue to be distributed across the country, organizations are finding themselves in a predicament of slowly reopening while focusing on extensive safety measures for students and employees. If you are an office manager or facilities manager monitoring the influx of visitors to your building, then kiosks may just be the perfect solution. Kiosks provide a streamlined way for checking visitors in and out, having visitors fill out a request form and receive a badge. Even better, an email or text notification can be sent directly to the person they are visiting to notify them that their visitor has arrived.

When visitors are ready to leave, they can re-scan the barcode on their visitor badge and click submit to check-out. Not only does this minimize contact among individuals within the area but provides needed reporting insights. If there is an outbreak of COVID-19 within a campus building or office, managers can review these logs thoroughly and improve the chances of pinpointing where the spread may have started. This is extremely important to assist in contact tracing and provides peace of mind for many facilities managers that their employees remain as protected as possible.

How Self-Service Kiosks Eliminate Time Constraints

In this age of immediate gratification, many of us have also become accustomed to receiving packages at all hours of the day. Traditional 9am-5pm mailroom hours may work now but will soon face pushback as individuals seek alternative pick-up methods. For example, say a student has class from 9am-1pm and then works from 2pm-6pm. They will likely be unable to pick-up their package promptly, which can be frustrating and inefficient as packages begin to pile up in your mailroom. Self-service kiosks can eliminate this problem, catering to those who may have alternate schedules. Gaining popularity primarily in Europe, these self-service kiosks can be placed throughout buildings or campuses, in which packages are left there for pick-up at the individual’s convenience. People may then scan or swipe their badge/student ID, see how many packages they have available for pick-up, and indicate if they are picking them up or not.

While you may be thinking that this is not a safe way to monitor packages, self-service kiosks are also commonly surrounded by cameras, providing a sense of security that thieves can be identified if need be. Did you know that SCLogic is an internationally recognized company? With a dedicated team in Sweden, our team is ready to equip your campus or office with customized, innovative software solutions.

See How SCLogic’s Intra Platform Can Help You

If you have been struggling with efficiency as a facility, campus, or office manager, we understand your pain points. That is why we’ve made it our mission to craft modern, individualized solutions to help solve these issues with ease. With continuous changes surrounding the pandemic, mailroom and visitor volumes across facilities are constantly fluctuating. Having an optimized solution that provides detailed data and reporting insights can help ensure that you’re prepared for future success. To learn more about our in-building logistics software platform, Intra, email [email protected] or schedule a demo today.

 We look forward to working with you!