The Changing Nature of the Professional Cleaning Market - Part 3

What to expect with autonomous cleaning and what this poses for the future of the cleaning industry as well a sneak preview to what Nilfisk has in store for the soon future.

Hi there, and thanks for tuning back in for another Nilfisk podcast session, if you have been with us since the start of this short series you will already know but, for all you new listeners, we are joined here today by the Nilfisk Service Director Martin Chambers.

Hi Martin, it’s good to have you back.

Hi Shaun, thank you it’s great to be back.

So, today we will be discussing the sneak preview into what Nilfisk has in store for the soon future. This is the final podcast in this series so, if you’re just tuning in now you can follow the links below to the start of this series, where we discuss the main drivers for development in the professional cleaning industry and how all players must adapt to survive.

So, Martin, in our last discussion we were talking about the fully autonomous scrubber dryer, the Liberty SC50, leading into how it is compatible with the digital fleet management software TrackClean.

Can you now delve into what TrackClean really means for the end user?

Of course, and to start, Track Clean is not just exclusively compatible with autonomous machines, this software can be installed on any scrubber dryer to transform any cleaning routine.

TrackClean™ gives you 24/7 remote access to every connected cleaning machine. Offering an overview of machine performance across sites, this service solution is aimed at contract managers for them to know exactly what is happening with their machines, when and where it is happening and by whom – with every connected machine you can monitor, verify and improve your operational effectiveness. This also has the ability of predictive maintenance. Through advanced technical reporting on essential fixtures and fittings of the machine, TrackClean can judge against regular usage patterns if there is going to be an upcoming fault with the machine, and even put in a service request on your behalf if needed.

TrackClean™ monitors your fleet operation, transmits the data to your secure web portal and converts the data into useful information.

Developing or even just offering systems like TrackClean™ is now a natural evolution as we move through this critical shift into the age of information. Being able to track all these actions and movements really does open the door into a new world where even smaller companies can gain insightful and useful data that can transform your business operations. Through our online secure web portal, we have developed a user-friendly interface that offers effortless interpretations of sophisticated data that also, in the future will build sharable reports ready for export.

That is very technical stuff and made unbelievably easy to operate and comprehend. So, I’m now under the impression that this technology can be adapted to fit other machines in the future such as vacuums, pressure washers, any machine really.

Yes, that is correct.

Now, we are now nearing the end of this podcast series and getting to what we’ve all been waiting for. So, Martin, can you give our listeners that sneak preview into any secrets that Nilfisk has for the soon future?

Well, I can let a little slip. We are developing two other digital solutions named, Fleet Logger and Site Assist. Fleet Logger is an inventory management system with a user-friendly interface which allows you to quickly and easily keep track of every single vacuum, scrubber, sweeper and pressure washer in your operation so, you always know the model, age, brand, location and status of your entire fleet, and as this is not a brand dependent piece of software, you can use this with any brand of cleaning machine.

With all your machines in the system, your entire fleet’s information is centrally available to any member of staff via a web-based dashboard, so you can see which machines are on-site, which are functioning, and which ones are not.

So, can you tell us the benefits of this online cloud-based inventory management system?

With Fleet Logger, you can log all your machines into one place, so, if you have a fleet of over 100 machines at 40 different sites, you can see an overview of where they all are and in what condition. This app also allows you to take a picture of each machine to show what the condition and quality the machine is in with the ability to also, add comments to each machine. This app is free to download and use however, each machine is required to have a QR code that links the machine to the Fleet Logger system. So, if you are a company with a large fleet of cleaning machines and would like to find out more about Fleet Logger, please opt-in to our newsletter below to stay updated on our full launch.

That is a great solution for keeping track of all your cleaning assets and ensuring that it is all fully operational, lowering downtime and increasing productivity through enhanced fleet management.

So, finally, moving onto site assist. Can you tell us how this works in conjunction with TrackClean?

With Site Assist, Track Clean acts as the overall cloud-based hub of data that will feed information to Site Assist which can be accessed through a mobile app anywhere with an internet connection. Thus, enhancing the contract/site managers ability to better reallocate resources and set notification alerts and service requests when needed. This software is a great piece of technology for companies with large fleets of cleaning machines spread over multiple facilities. TrackClean monitors all aspects of the machine's operation and provides extremely useful information to optimise your cleaning regimes efficiency and increase uptime through predicted maintenance.

Very good and thank you for sharing so much over this podcast series with us Martin, you’ve given us some expert advice and opinions and helped us put the spotlight on what’s to come. Now just a quick recap. Over this series we’ve covered the ever-changing nature of the industry through the digitisation of the marketplace, service solutions and the wider offerings companies must now compete with, and great consideration to what Nilfisk is leading the way into this exciting time for the cleaning industry. Touching on Autonomy, integrated cleaning management systems such as TrackClean, Service Max, Fleet Logger and Site Assist and how they improve service operations with an overall view of what is really to come, with the challenges that we must all now face.

I’d just like to say another huge thank you to Martin Chambers for joining us over this series and sharing his vast knowledge and expertise with us, you’ve really given us an amazing insight into where the benchmark is being set and how to reach it. And another big thank you to all of you who are listening to this podcast, I hope it’s shed some light on what once seemed science fiction, now is right on our doorstep.

Also, if you don’t want to miss a beat and to stay up to date on industry development in the cleaning industry, and to stay ahead of the competition, sign up to our newsletter below. Get industry-leading advice sent straight to your mailbox, alongside alerts of when we are releasing podcasts, running training webinars and releasing higher value content. Now thanks for listening everyone.