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Connected Cleaning: enhanced efficiency for building cleaning – part two
25th of November 2015 Article by Markus Asch
Markus Asch, vice chairman of the management board at cleaning equipment manufacturer Kärcher and president of EUnited Cleaning, writes his latest blog for the ECJ website. He continues on the theme of his last contribution: connected cleaning and the megatrend of networking.
As I discussed in my previous blog post, the megatrend of networking presents many new challenges, but is also a source of major potential in terms of new products, services and opportunities for all industries and sectors, and in particular the cleaning industry.
We call our vision to realise this potential 'Connected Cleaning'. The aim of the concept is to work together with architects, building planners, IT service providers, construction companies and other equipment providers to design system solutions that harness the increasing potential of networking to help cleaning companies with their operations and ultimately enable them to develop new services and increase efficiency.
This includes machine innovation that uses networking as its basis. Fleet management is a key word here. As well as localising individual machines, aspects such as operational status and level of maintenance can be monitored and a servicing schedule can be drawn up.
Naturally, this is only the first step. Connected Cleaning will be formed from a network of interlinked people, buildings, settlements and products. In a next step many potentially huge opportunities are to be explored in connection with scenarios such as smart buildings.
If, for example, the floor of a building communicates with the cleaning machines and signals its degree of soiling, the detergent volume can be administered as required instead of working according to standardised parameters. And machine settings, such as the contact pressure for scrubber driers, can be automatically adapted to suit the specific situation. Where heavy soiling needs to be removed quickly, for example large liquid spillages, the building can even direct the cleaner to the location where cleaning is required.
It is possible to optimise processes without compromising on cleanliness or hygiene in any location where cleaning operations - whether dusting, cleaning windows or floor care - are carried out at defined intervals without identifying actual requirements.
At the same time, this also increases the efficient use of machines and personnel. Everybody benefits: contract cleaners, facility managers and building users.
Does it all still seem a long way off? Maybe so - but the first developments are already in sight.
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