Demand for cleaning is up, and that should be good news for our industry. But with an ongoing labor shortage, professional cleaning companies need to find ways to do more with less. In other words, find ways to help cleaning crews be more productive in the hours they work.
Adopting new technologies and techniques may be the key to increased efficiency, enabling your cleaning crew to clean more space, in less time, at a lower cost, every single day.
Choose equipment designed to save time
Consider autonomous scrubbers (or “co-bots,” as they are sometimes called). Designed by some of the world’s foremost developers of autonomous technology, Nilfisk autonomous floor scrubbing robots map out the most efficient cleaning paths, retracing them every time. From high-traffic warehouses and airports to schools and supermarkets, they make it easy to keep floors clean and safe at any time of day with minimal oversight. That frees up custodial staff to focus on more detailed tasks that call for a human touch.
Other efficiency-boosting features to look for include:
- Intuitive programming
- Easy operation
- Ability to change cleaning functions at the touch of a button without stopping the machine
- Multiple functions, e.g., scrub and dry floors in a single pass
- Clean for hours on a single charge
- Text messaging when it is time for your robotic scrubber to move on to the next task
- Trackable performance data
In short, autonomous scrubbers help your cleaning staff accomplish more by handling the most time-consuming tasks, such as large hard floors, with less effort and more impact.
Reduce operator downtime
To reduce downtime, you need new employees to get up to speed quickly and all employees to have the tools to work efficiently. There are several keys to achieving this:
- Choose intelligent cleaning machines that are intuitive and easy to learn.
- Offer Train the Trainer courses to provide supervisors and managers with the necessary skills to become effective instructors. A first-rate training program helps motivate employees, which reduces staff turnover.
- Consider online training via a portal, like Nilfisk University, which allows new recruits to complete modules on topics ranging from manual cleaning techniques to machine operation before their first day on the job. This enables them to hit the ground running.
- Provide training resources and support materials (user guides, operator manuals, maintenance videos, etc.) to ensure that operators know:
- The correct use and care of the machine
- How to carry out preventative maintenance to minimize failure
Easy-to-use equipment makes training faster and reduces on-the-job stress, one of the main contributors to employee turnover.
Reduce equipment downtime
Some machine downtime is necessary, such as for routine maintenance. But when it happens too frequently or for avoidable reasons, it can significantly impact your productivity and make clients unhappy.
You can keep equipment downtime to a minimum by:
- Selecting an established supplier with a proven track record for supplying and servicing reliable cleaning solutions that incorporate the latest technological advances and features.
- Training operators to perform preventative maintenance, along with a daily care regime.
- Using fleet management software to deliver machine data (such as working time and service history) to your PC or tablet. Having access to this data means you know in advance when a machine requires service based on hours of use. You can also receive notifications after a period of inactivity, which may indicate a problem.
