About the Customer: Tennant is a leading designer and manufacturer of industrial floor cleaning equipment, specializing in floor scrubbers, floor sweepers, and vacuums.
Story: Tennant was interested in enhancing their latest ride-on floor scrubbers by adding rear-view cameras. While they are skilled experts in designing and manufacturing their products, they wanted to work with a company that specializes in video cameras, and they reached out to us via an industry referral. HVS worked with Tennant to successfully integrate our cameras into their ride-on floor scrubbers.
Problem: One of their ride-on floor scrubbers is often used in factories, warehouses, and retail stores. Underneath the machine, a scrubbing mechanism cleans the floor and on the back of the machine a squeegee captures all access water leaving the floor clean and dry. The back-end squeegee ensures that operations are safe by eliminating slip and fall hazards. Sometimes debris, like broken pallet pieces or trash can get trapped underneath the cleaner and get lodged in the squeegee. When this happens, a streak of water is left trailing behind the machine. This is an issue because it can damage the cleaner if left unchecked, and it leaves a trail of water creating a potential slip hazard. This issue is often identified by a water trail left behind the cleaner, but it can be difficult for the operator to identify this issue because they cannot see beneath the floor scrubber and it causes discomfort, back and neck strain, and poor ergonomics to consistently look back to check that the floor is clear.
While talking through possible solutions with Tennant, we came up with the idea to use a camera to capture the view behind the scrubber and display it on a screen up front so the operator can see what is going on behind them. That way, if there is a trail of water showing up on the screen, the operator can identify it right away and address the issue. Additionally, the rear-view camera would help the operator back up and maneuver the machine in tight areas of the warehouse.
Solution: Holland Vision Systems worked with Tennant’s design team, learning about their needs, operations, and equipment to suggest a few possible solutions to eliminate this problem. We provided many 2D CAD drawings and 3D models of system components for test fitting and design elements until we got the perfect fit.
Once we created a prototype of the product for the customer, we also created a simulation of the potential working environment for testing. Below are some images of the simulated water streak mark to demonstrate to the customer how it would look on the screen.
Through careful coordination with Tennant’s engineering team, we designed a system with the proper size, fit, and optimal camera placement for the proper angle and view. Once the product was ready for production, Tennant tested it in action with total success.
Today: Over the past decade, HVS has supplied Tennant with over 5,000 camera systems! We have expanded our relationship with Tennant, supplying cameras for several additional products and working on variations tailored to specific needs as requested.
Interested in more? Read our Customer Story – Custom Solutions – Midway Machine to learn about another custom case study. If you have an operation that requires additional complicated monitoring systems, please contact us today.
Written by Jessica VerBeek
