The phrase “Lower Hour” was the last thing you wanted to hear from our eighth grade teacher at the end of the day. Any classroom or recess misconduct was disciplined with our teacher’s creative after school detention program called “Lower Hour:” an hour after school with the head of our school maintenance staff, Mr. Lower. Students assigned to Lower Hour had to assist in a variety of arduous maintenance tasks during that time. The reason why “Lower Hour” was so dreaded had nothing to do with spending an hour with Mr. Lower, a much respected and admired member of the school staff. What was so dreadful about this punishment was not the company, but the assignments. Every day, Mr. Lower had a growing list of classrooms to be cleaned, appliances to be fixed, windows to be repaired, and clocks to be changed. Needless to say, one hour with him meant only one thing: hard work.

The daily tasks of maintenance staff in schools, hospitals, and other large facilities are varied and often painstaking. Some housekeeping tasks must be done manually. Others, such as turning off lights, locking doors, and changing and replacing clocks, can all be consolidated into one quick and automatic task with Sapling’s Synchronized IP Clock System. Instead of going around to each and every door, light switch, or clock, which can be numerous in large schools and buildings, Sapling allows for these tedious jobs to be done automatically. With the installation of an IP clock system with a master clock, clocks and other appliances can be programmed to respond to the desired command at the desired time. With the clear and simple IP Monitor Software, system-wide changes can be made with the click of a mouse. Instead of approaching each clock individually for adjustments, all of the IP clocks can be automatically changed during Daylight Saving Time and on continual basis to keep them accurate. With the use of the master clock, light switches, appliances and door locks can be controlled by dry contact relays—turning these appliances off when the building is not in use, and back on when employees return for the start of their day. Imagine the amount of time that this system could have saved Mr. Lower and countless other maintenance and facility staff across the country.

But then again, with Sapling’s IP System, “Lower Hour” may not have been quite as effective a punishment if so many of the small, time consuming jobs were eliminated. Detention with Mr. Lower would have been far too easy. But excluding a small group of unruly pre-teens, that’s precisely the point. Less time spent on unnecessary jobs means more time can be allocated to other things. Schools, hospitals, offices and other facilities can all benefit greatly from efficient, time-saving technology from Sapling’s Synchronized IP Clock System.