Work smarter not harder
Will Google Glass style augmented reality kit become standard for cleaning operatives? Will all cleaning machines contain tracking devices for remote monitoring? Catherine Hackett examines the new ‘intelligent technologies’.
Fleet management systems for cleaning equipment is not an entirely new idea. By fitting scrubber-driers and sweepers with a telematics box that connects the machine’s information to the Internet, companies can use GPS and mobile telephony to find out where their machines are deployed, when they have been used to perform what work, and what condition they are in. This lays the foundation for optimisation and increased efficiency of everyday work routines.
Tennant, which launched IRIS (Intelligent Remote Information System) Technology in the US last year, is now rolling it out globally in approximately 70% of its walk-behind scrubber portfolio and looking to expand its capabilities. This machine-to-machine telemetry communications device pulls hours off the machine to schedule service, sends email communication to customers notifying them to replace parts, and provides visibility to machine utilisation, such as the number of hours used per day to compare usage across multiple machines. This machine data is critical to making well-informed service decisions, according to the company.
Rusty Zay, Tennant’s senior vice president global marketing, says: “Contractors are under pressure to produce the same service or better for less money and they have to be more sustainable. So, they need big changes to make these razor-thin margins and to find ways where they can differentiate themselves over the long-term. In-house cleaners are also under pressure to stay within tight budgets. The better insights that you can have into your business, the more value you can provide for your customer and the more value for your organisation, and that’s what IRIS technology provides.”
The new ICE (Intelligent Cleaning Equipment) SMART line range of scrubber-driers from Worldwide Cleaning Support contains new technology I-Synergy, which collects operational data from cleaning machines and transmits the information to an International Cleaning Equipment server. From the server, daily reports can be generated and sent to the end user via email. These emails contain a range of information about the usage of the machine, from operational times to faults.
John Elmore, managing director of Worldwide Cleaning Support, says that this ability to monitor and manage equipment remotely is playing an important part in helping to lower the cost of cleaning machine ownership. He adds: “A team leader can monitor the usage of the machine to ensure optimal productivity or a hire company can be alerted to any faults or breakdowns a machine may have so that they can either exchange or repair a machine as soon as possible and keep their customer satisfied.
“This information also helps assist the engineer that will be repairing the machine, as they already know the details of the fault and can therefore repair the machine upon the first visit. A further advantage is complete machine control. Every machine that is owned can be controlled from the central server, which allows machine owners to shut down the machine in case of emergency or theft.”
In addition, Kärcher has brought to market Kärcher Fleet, a telematics system for organising machine fleets. With the Kärcher Fleet system, key information is said to reach the right group of people, because it describes roles in a commercial cleaning company as defined by the customer and in a practice-oriented way. For example, machines that are due for servicing are highlighted for the branch manager, the controller receives information about the fleet’s capacity utilisation rate for the purpose of target/performance comparison and the facility manager can track his machines, check the battery status and produce work documentation as required. This all makes it possible to plan, track and document machine deployment efficiently; in the event of discrepancies Kärcher Fleet alerts the person in charge at the company.
The system’s technical centrepiece is a specially developed telematics box the size of a smartphone. Initially, it can be fitted to scrubber-driers and sweepers ex works. The information it collects is encrypted and made available on a universally accessible Cloud server. The box can also be retrofitted, even to product lines of other manufacturers. It is supplied with a SIM card that functions worldwide.
