The Kontakt.io Universal Dispenser Beacon is a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) device that mounts on the side of a wide range of soap and sanitizer dispensers — including pump-based and automatic models — to detect and record hand hygiene dispense events. Because it attaches to the dispensers you already have, you can add monitoring without replacing existing hardware. Events are reported to Kio Cloud through a gateway, where Hand Hygiene turns them into compliance data.
Key features
- Broad dispenser compatibility. Works with four soap and sanitizer dispenser models today, and more by special request. See Supported dispensers below.
- Automatic event capture. Automatically detects and records soap and sanitizer dispense events.
- Refill tracking. Integrated button supports refill logging after soap or sanitizer refill or replacement.
- Audible notifications. Integrated buzzer supports the local hand hygiene reminder, in locations where the Dispenser Beacon is paired with both a Portal Light and a room sensor (Beam Mini or Portal Beam) during installation.
- Over-the-air updates. Supports OTA firmware and configuration updates.
- Visual status indication. LED indicator signals device status, state changes, and error condition; LED is off during normal operation.
How it detects a dispense
The Universal Dispenser Beacon has no connection to the dispenser it is attached to. There is no wire, and no signal passes between them. It senses the motion of the dispenser through the housing and recognizes the pattern a real dispense makes.
That is what allows it to work on dispensers with no electronics at all, including manual pump models — and it explains three things about installing and operating it:
- It is calibrated per dispenser model. Different dispensers move differently, so each Dispenser Beacon is configured for one specific dispenser model during installation. Selecting the wrong model prevents detection.
- Mounting position is fixed, not preferred. The detection is trained on one specific position on each dispenser model. A Dispenser Beacon mounted higher, lower, or on the opposite side misses dispenses or records ones that did not happen.
- It cannot report dispenser faults. Having no connection to the dispenser, it reports dispense events and its own status only. Conditions the dispenser itself detects, such as a communication error, come from the ES8 and ES10 models.
Maintenance mode keeps handling from being miscounted. A single press of the button pauses detection for 30 seconds, and the Dispenser Beacon enters it automatically during installation and refills — so opening a dispenser or bumping it is not recorded as a dispense.
Refills are recorded by triple-clicking the button, which also resets the activation counter that drives the refill level. A 30-second back-off prevents an accidental double refill.
Supported dispensers
The Universal Dispenser Beacon detects a dispense from the motion pattern of one specific dispenser model, so it works only on the models it is calibrated for. These models are ready to install:
| Manufacturer | Supported models |
|---|---|
| GOJO | FMX-12, FMX-20 |
| Ecolab | Nexa Compact Manual (750 mL), Nexa Classic Manual (1250 mL) |
Kio Setup Manager also lists the GOJO LTX-7 and LTX-12 and the Ecolab Nexa Compact Touch-Free and Nexa Classic Touch-Free. These are available only by special request. Contact Kontakt.io before you install a Universal Dispenser Beacon on one of them, or on any other model.
Dispensers from the same manufacturer can look alike and still not be interchangeable, so confirm the exact model before ordering or installing. GOJO PURELL® ES8 and ES10 dispensers are not on this list because they take their own Dispenser Beacon: the ES8 Dispenser Beacon or the ES10 Dispenser Beacon.
Install it
The Universal Dispenser Beacon is installed as part of Hand Hygiene, with the Kio Setup Manager mobile app. See Install a Universal Dispenser Beacon in the Hand Hygiene Dispenser Beacons section.