ECJ EUROPEAN Cleaning Journal

Tray-return robots and self-cleaning tables are among the initiatives being tried by Singapore café owners as they struggle to recruit cleaners.

Coffee shop operators say they find cleaning roles to be among the hardest to fill because the work is physically demanding and widely seen as unappealing.

Tray-return robots first appeared in 2016 but attracted criticism for blocking walkways. They also needed to be cleaned.

Machines with robotic arms for wiping down tables were also introduced, but had limitations. A prototype "self-cleaning table" that refreshes its surface at the touch of two buttons has now been installed at Nanyang Technological University's Pioneer Food Court. Tables are covered with a disposable sheet and once the mechanism has been activated, the soiled layer - along with any leftover food and spills - is pulled into a compartment while a fresh sheet is rolled out across the table.

The process takes about 30 seconds and each roll contains 30 sheets, said to be sufficient to last three to four days. A tablet connected to the system tracks how many sheets remain.

Shane Tay, director of the food court's operator Food Haven, claims the idea came as a direct result of staffing pressures. "There's always this struggle to maintain proper hygiene in a large dining area because of manpower issues," he said. "It's hard to hire workers - and hard to retain them."

Technology experts say that while automation can help with routine tasks such as tray collection or back-end transport, human supervision remains essential.

"Cleaning requires physical intelligence, dexterity, balance and social intelligence, like knowing when to move and when to stop," said National University of Singapore associate professor Harold Soh. "Robots still struggle with irregular objects, slippery food waste and unpredictable human behaviour."