Why We Are Going Robotic
In an earlier post, we introduced our web visitors to the Whiz, our new robotic vacuum cleaning system. We said that it provides “effective, powerful, and thorough vacuum cleaning,” each time, every time. Once it has been programmed as to what hard surface and carpeted floors to clean, given the “map” of the area to be cleaned, and told when to clean them, the machine does the rest.
However, this is just the first of many robotic, “smart” cleaning systems Service Keepers plans to add to our cleaning arsenal in the coming years. We are selecting more of these machines for several reasons:
· Neal Berman, our company founder and CEO, is well known for being a visionary in the professional cleaning industry. Adding cleaning systems that can think and perform effectively is part of his vision for our company and how he plans to keep Service Keepers once step ahead of the competition.
· These robotic systems help improve overall worker productivity. This is important information for you. We will explain more about this in a moment.
· Robotics reduce operating costs, savings we often can pass on to our clients.
· Consistently high-performance cleaning is one of the key benefits of these machines. Once the system is programmed with where and what to clean, the same satisfactory results are achieved each time the device is used.
As to improving overall worker productivity, once the machine has been programed—which usually only needs to be done once and in most cases is relatively fast and easy—all our cleaning staff must do is bring the machine to the starting point, perform any initial set-up procedures (like turning on the switch), and it goes to work.
Once the vacuuming task is completed, the machine notifies our crew with an alert. Our staff can then take the machine to the next area to be vacuumed or place it back in storage for the night.
But let us take a closer look at how this is enhancing worker productivity. Most commercial vacuum cleaners are 16-inch-wide, upright vacuum cleaners. These machines can clean approximately 4,300 square feet per hour, according to studies conducted by ISSA, the worldwide cleaning association.
A relatively small facility may have 16,000 square feet of hard surface or carpeted flooring that must be vacuumed every visit. This means it would take one cleaning worker roughly four hours to vacuum this location.
Now, here’s where the robotic Whiz comes into play.
It may still take the machine as much as four hours to vacuum the same area, but the big difference is it frees up our cleaning staff to clean other areas of this facility. In other words, they can perform more cleaning tasks and get more accomplished for our clients.
Not only does this help ensure your facility is looking its best, but right now, due to COVID, this means our staff can clean and disinfect more surfaces, more high-touch areas, and do their work more thoroughly and effectively, in the same amount of time or less. This is helping us protect the health of building users.
According to Cleaning Management Consultants, a consulting agency for the professional cleaning industry, this is one of the key benefits of robotic cleaning technology: “[They can] produce a 30 to 40 percent labor savings that can be applied to other tasks.”
This is exactly what has been accomplished at the Rochester Institute of Technology. Concerned about the health of their 19,000 students and the need to clean their restrooms more frequently throughout the day, the institute turned to robotic cleaning systems for help. Doing so helped “freed up our staff,” said a spokesperson for the Institute, who were reassigned to restroom cleaning. “Further, it helped elevate our overall cleaning.”
Interested in learning more? Then get in touch today. We’re Service Keepers and we’re here for you.