ROBOTICS & TECHNOLOGY
Embracing advancements in automation
As technological innovation transforms industries across the board, the cleaning sector’s undergoing its own shift toward automation. Gavin Holmes, New Product Development Manager at Robert Scott, sheds light on how intelligent autonomous machines are benefitting the industry.
New technologies are becoming more widespread, from automated tools and equipment to cobotics – where robots and humans team up. These advances are setting new commercial cleaning standards.
The benefits of robotics
Automation is reshaping the cleaning industry by boosting efficiency, alleviating workforce challenges and helping improve the quality of cleaning activities. One category of robotics showing particular promise for the cleaning sector is cobotics, which refers to robots working alongside humans.
For example, these automated systems can help to address industry-wide staff shortages by automating routine tasks, freeing up cleaning operatives to focus on more complex and rewarding activities. An autonomous floor cleaner can independently maintain large areas, whilst human workers concentrate on higher-value tasks such as spot cleaning or disinfecting. This boosts productivity and supports staff retention by making cleaning roles more fulfilling.
Cobotic cleaning systems can also improve cleaning results through real-time reliable data. Technology platforms enable the refinement of cleaning schedules by tracking and reporting, allowing users to manage robot routes, locations and productivity via interfaces on desktops and smartphones. Supervisors can leverage this data to assess cleaning performance, monitor machine efficiency and make informed decisions which drive operational improvements.
There are sustainability benefits too, as cobotic cleaning systems tend to be more environmentally friendly by nature than traditional methods. This is because they typically use less cleaning products and water, but some cobotics systems can even dispose of wastewater and refill with fresh, clean water automatically, or employ microfibre technology to remove the need for water altogether. This decreases wastewater generation and reduces slip hazards.
Expanding automation
At Robert Scott, we pride ourselves on balancing heritage and innovation in the cleaning sector. We’ve therefore placed ourselves at the forefront of the automation revolution in commercial cleaning, partnering with Metabots to introduce META-SCUB 60 to the Irish market last year.
The cobotic scrubber dryer quickly met with market approval as an ideal autonomous solution for large areas like airports and educational institutions. However, our goal’s always been to offer a diverse range of cobotic cleaning machines, and from our market analysis and ongoing customer engagement we identified a need for a smaller, more agile model for intricate and confined spaces.
14 | TOMORROW'S CLEANING IRELAND
Enter the META-SCRUB 45, a new compact scrubber dryer that’s opened a new segment in automation. It can navigate tight corridors, pass through doorways and reach areas that larger machines cannot access. Equipped with dual cleaning functions, advanced edge cleaning and dynamic obstacle avoidance, it excels at detailed tasks.
The META-SCRUB 45 is ideal as a standalone solution for intricate areas such as offices and retail stores, and can also work alongside the META-SCRUB 60 in larger spaces for enhanced cleaning efficiency in hard-to-reach areas.
Support where it’s most needed
It’s not just cobotics where we’re introducing automation, however. We’re also adding Follow-Me technology to our Exel compact cleaning trolleys, aiming to create a new, lower entry-point.
Using an array of sensors and a motor, the trolleys follow cleaning staff who are carrying a remote control. Operatives don’t need to repeatedly return to and move their trolley. This reduces the number of steps walked by around half, enabling more efficient, on-the-go cleaning, enhancing productivity and job satisfaction.
Follow-Me enabled trolleys are especially valuable in settings where staff are constantly on the move, such as when mopping or placing ‘wet floor’ signs. The trolley can even safely navigate around obstacles while following. The Exel Follow-Me Smart Trolley will be available from this winter.
The demand for smarter, more efficient solutions in cleaning continues to grow, especially amid skills shortages and financial pressures. As a company committed to keeping our customers at the forefront of innovation, we’re excited to introduce the next phases of our robotics offering and to help cleaning professionals embrace the opportunities they provide.
www.metabots.uk twitter.com/TomoCleaning
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