“The high-tech laundry hookup”

Posted: 11 Sep 2010 05:15 PM PDT

SCI-TECH SCENE | Washers getting so smart, they can tell service center what's wrong

September 11, 2010

We haven't advanced far enough to share our homes with Rosie, the robotic maid on "The Jetsons" TV show, but we now have "talking" washers and dryers.

Mel Bonner, a retired Local 134 electrician who lives in Tinley Park, noticed water underneath his new washing machine. Instead of setting up a repair visit with a service person, he dialed a toll-free service number, held the phone up to the washer and let it do the talking.

He described the communication between his Kenmore Elite washer and a Sears customer service technician as similar to the sounds of a dial-up Internet connection.

Yet, the communication is cutting-edge.

"You hold the phone up to the front of the [washer or dryer], press a button, and the machine connects to the technician's computer on the other end of the phone," Bonner explained. "The technician can diagnose, in many instances, what might be wrong with the washer or dryer.

"If the technician cannot fix the problem, he can send out a repair person with some degree of knowledge of what to look for," Bonner said. "It can save time, energy and aggravation for the homeowner."

Bonner learned of the technology when he and his wife, Pat, shopped for a full-size, stackable washer and dryer duo. The washer and dryer together cost about $1,400.

The diagnostic technology, which Kenmore developed in partnership with LG Electronics, is known as Kenmore Connect and is available on 40 percent of Kenmore washers and dryers -- those priced from $799 to $1,499.

Tim Adkisson, a Kenmore product engineer based at Sears Holdings Corp. headquarters in Hoffman Estates, said the idea for the diagnostic technology started in part from a finding that 60 percent of service calls show there is no problem with the appliance.

With washers and dryers, many problems originate with the appliances' hookups with the floor, the drainage system, power and gas lines and the hot and cold water supply, Adkisson said.

"There are a lot of things that can go wrong outside of the machine," Adkisson said.

One common problem involves water valves, which are seldom turned on or off, and so get stuck and require a plumber to open them.

"Even though the customer needs a plumber, he still has to stay home for a few hours during the workweek waiting for a repair technician," Adkisson said. "We wanted a technology that could identify issues over the phone so we could save the customer time, money and effort."

Here's how it works: The washer and dryer store data that their microprocessors collect on samplings and readings, which the microprocessors take throughout the washing and drying cycles. The data include the machine's settings, RPM (revolutions per minute) and how long it took to fill and drain.

The machine translates the data into an audible tone, similar to a Wi-Fi wireless-access card's transmission or a fax machine's chirping beep. The frequency goes over the phone through that signal.

"Earlier versions of the appliances didn't store the data," Adkisson said.

"After the data is transmitted, I can tell how many times the machine had to run its balancing algorithm to balance the laundry load," he said. "You can tack on one hour to a cycle just by improperly loading the laundry or trying to wash a funky load.

"We try to match the symptom with the customer's description of the problem," he said.

The diagnostic process takes about two minutes.

Sears and Kenmore decline to say how the new technology has affected repair calls, but Adkisson said Sears has doubled its baseline goal of resolving appliance complaints without having to send out a repair person.

Where does the technology go from here?

Adkisson foresees the next stage as possibly installing a Wi-Fi card or cell chip inside appliances to allow them to actively monitor their performance and alert the customer when something is amiss.

Comment at suntimes.com.

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