Smarter Operations at McDonald’s Burwood

The Project

Located on the corner of Burwood Highway and Scott Grove, Burwood, Victoria, the 24-hour McDonald’s restaurant was undergoing a refurbishment. This included modifying the interior layout and replacing the air conditioning with a system that could provide the latest technology and control options to minimise the restaurant’s power usage, while also providing usage reports that arm the franchisee with information to make informed business decisions.

Challenge

Before deploying the IoT-enabled anywAiR® iO system, the restaurant faced several operational challenges:

• Limited Visibility Across Locations: The franchisee lacked a centralised way to monitor and manage HVAC systems and energy usage across multiple restaurant sites, leading to inefficiencies and increased operating costs.

• Manual Monitoring and Maintenance: Critical equipment such as bins and refrigeration units required regular manual checks

• Energy Usage: Without real-time monitoring, it was difficult to identify unnecessary energy consumption or optimize HVAC performance based on occupancy or usage patterns.

• Poor Indoor Air Quality Insights: The absence of air quality monitoring meant that the environment could not be proactively managed for customer comfort and staff well-being.

These challenges highlighted the need for an integrated, scalable solution capable of providing real-time insights, remote management, and predictive alerts—ultimately driving the decision to implement the anywAiR® iO system with a suite of IoT sensors.

Outcome

To enable remote control capabilities, Fujitsu General installed the anywAiR® iO system with wireless sensors. This solution allows the franchisee to monitor power consumption, manage HVAC system operations, and remotely adjust set temperatures. It also provides a centralised dashboard—accessible from the office or remotely via computer, smartphone, or tablet—enabling the franchisee to oversee multiple restaurant locations with ease.

A wide range of IoT sensors were deployed alongside HVAC controls, including:

• People counters to track the number of individuals entering and exiting the store;

• Ultrasonic wireless bin sensors that alert staff when bins are full;

• CO₂ sensors to monitor and improve indoor air quality;

• Integration with the main refrigeration unit to enable predictive maintenance alerts in case of performance anomalies.

This implementation delivered a cost-effective yet powerful IoT solution tailored to the restaurant environment, enhancing operational efficiency, reducing manual oversight, and improving overall system reliability.