ECJ EUROPEAN Cleaning Journal

German reporter Alexandra Lachner asked Dr Frederik King, manager at cleaning systems association VDMA, about future trends.

Whether it’s statistics for floor cleaning machines, industry analyses for cleaning systems or international committee work, the VDMA cleaning systems association represents over 40 members and is in touch with the trends and challenges in the cleaning sector.

Asked what is currently the greatest driver in the industry, manager Dr Frederik King has a clear answer: “The present focus is on autonomous self-driving scrubber dryers. Both manufacturers and cleaning service providers see these as offering great potential for increased efficiency.”

Allied to the general discussion regarding the role of robotics and automation in the future world of work, there is also the vision of employees being freed up for other work and only having to intervene when the machine itself signals a problem.

The degree of technical challenge varies depending on the kind of usage. “The machine may be operating when the premises have closed for the day or in a supermarket which is still open. In this case reliable sensors will be necessary which can react promptly to any obstacles which may suddenly appear”.

This on its own is not enough, however, since the machine must also know the premises in which it is operating. This is where mapping specialists come in, to enable navigation. “Tests must be developed to assess whether safety criteria have been met. IEC has been working on the creation of relevant standards since mid 2016.”

Another trend which will impact increasingly on the sector is digitalisation. As in other industries, the introduction of smart data – the intelligent collection and evaluation of data – is opening up far-reaching opportunities.

Here the main focus is also on increased efficiency and cost savings. “A good example is the digital monitoring of the machine’s condition – so that maintenance can be carried out only when necessary. The utilisation rate of a fleet can be monitored online and improved,” says Dr King.

“Many manufacturers are now offering machines which can control various cleaning levels. If you monitor precisely over a period of time which cleaning level gives you the desired outcome for which job, you can then adjust the amount of effort required accordingly.”

Last but not least, environmental issues are expected to play an increasingly important role. Although topics such as optimum consumption of electricity or cleaning chemicals are already being considered, all European manufacturers will in future be required to pay more attention to greater efficiency in the way materials are used.

“Durability, recyclability or reusability – these are the key issues of EU Standardisation Mandate M/543 which has been under active discussion since 2015”, says Dr King. In order to comply manufacturers must concentrate on the sustainable management of materials.

“They will therefore have to achieve increased efficiency through automation, robotics and digitalisation and take account of environmental criteria – while experiencing heavy price pressure. This is indeed a challenging range of demands to satisfy in moving forwards into a successful future.”