TECHNOLOGY


it’s very clear what is done and what’s not, so the next shift then comes on and sees that everything is done.


TC: So do you think that this increase in interconnectivity between cleaners and dispensers can improve job satisfaction, as it makes their work easier and more streamlined?


AKK: For sure, and I think also, what our customers are finding is that some shifts are quite straining physically, so what we can do is take out some of that strain because we can show them that while there are some areas they need to go more often, there are other areas that they can cut down on and go less frequently, to only go when it is needed.


TC: You mentioned IKSU earlier, can you tell us a bit more about them, and the work that you did with them in trialling the Easycube?


AKK: IKSU is a massive sports facility up in Umeå, and is the largest one in Northern Europe. It’s 22,000m², and they’ve now got more than 300 connected devices there, they’ve got 30 cleaners and they’re doing 24/7 cleaning, so it’s a large and very complex cleaning environment, I would say.


needed. So you can eliminate a lot of unnecessary tasks. Another benefit that comes from this is that the cleaners themselves feel a lot happier because they are more in control, less stressed and also their work situation is improved by working with the digital service.


We also found that it provides cleaners a tool where it is fun to complete tasks – they’ve ticked off one when it’s done and they feel a certain satisfaction in that. For their managers also, they’ve told us that they can now spend less time on monitoring cleaning, but still deliver a higher quality with a happier staff.


Something else that we also heard from our work with IKSU is that it also reduced conflicts between shifts, because now when one shift leaves,


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We worked very closely with them all along, and together we did some research to understand the value that we could get from the Easycube. So we did a survey in November 2014 where we measured the time cleaners spent on certain areas, on certain tasks, the number of tasks they did etc, and then we did that one year later, after the Easycube was introduced, but then we also added interviews with the cleaners, the


facility manager and so on, to get an understanding of what it gave.


What we did see there – and some of those findings were quite surprising – is that they do a lot those checks to see if there is paper in the dispensers, but we saw that three out of four dispenser checks were actually unnecessary, and by going to washrooms only when it was needed, they could cut down on those checks by 77%, and it freed up a lot of time to clean.


TC: OK, great. So while the work you did with IKSU was of benefit to them, did this have a knock-on effect and lead to it having a positive impact elsewhere?


AKK: Yes, for sure, and both the cleaning company at IKSU and IKSU themselves have helped us to develop the web application over time. For one, it’s about showing proof of concept, that it actually does work and that the people that work with it really appreciate it. But then together we’ve worked to make the service better.


TC: The Easycube was also on display at ISSA/INTERCLEAN in Amsterdam too, and was actually installed in the largest washroom at the RAI for the duration of the exhibition too. Did this help get the word out there, as visitors could experience it up close and personal?


AKK: Absolutely. I think when people see the system it’s like a penny drops, because people can go into the washroom and check the dispensers; they can talk to the cleaners outside working, to see how the cleaner’s application looks, and so on.


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