Maximize Your Cleaning Budget with Robotic Floor Scrubbers

Autonomous floor scrubbers have been available for commercial and institutional settings for several years now. Until recently, however, it was difficult for many healthcare organizations to justify the investment in new equipment, especially since cleaning budgets seem to be constantly shrinking.

But scrutiny on hygiene is higher than ever, and the need for enhanced cleaning protocols will likely persist long after the pandemic is over.

Fortunately, four major advances make autonomous (or co-bot) floor cleaning machines ideally suited for today’s cleaning needs, allowing healthcare facilities to embrace autonomous cleaning solutions as a way to stretch their cleaning dollar further:

• Artificial intelligence — Using artificial intelligence (AI) technology, robotic scrubbers execute complex processes such as navigating real-world environments.
• Safety standards — In 2017, CSA Group and the American National Standards Institute developed the first safety standard for commercial robotic floorcare machines, including safety requirements for electrical safety, battery safety, mechanical strength, and construction.
• UV-C light disinfection — Scrubbers equipped with UV-C technology can simultaneously clean and disinfect, preventing pathogens from spreading and creating health risks.
• Data-driven insights — The power of data and connectivity helps take the guesswork out of things like making cleaning schedules, measuring cleaning performance, and determining equipment maintenance needs, which all affect your bottom line.

Let’s take a closer look at how robotic machines, like Nilfisk Liberty autonomous floor scrubbers, can solve your most critical cleaning challenges:

Cleaning Challenge	How autonomous solutions provide value
Labor Shortages It’s difficult to find people for cleaning jobs, and employee turnover is high.	Autonomous solutions multiply your workforce. Think of an autonomous scrubber like an additional team member dedicated to scrubbing floors.
Productivity challenges Because cleaning teams are often short-handed, they have difficulty completing all tasks that need to be done.	Autonomous solutions free up your human team members’ time so they can spend more time on high-value cleaning tasks. Especially now, with the high sanitation requirements for high-touch areas, gaining even just a few hours of extra time every day is extremely valuable.
High labor costs Labor accounts for as much as 90% of cleaning costs.	Autonomous solutions help you optimize your labor costs, which make up the largest chunk of overall cleaning costs. This doesn’t mean that a floor scrubber will replace a human worker, but rather that you can reduce your costs by optimizing your resource usage.
Inconsistency of results Operators typically miss as much as 15% of floor space while cleaning.	Once you program a cleaning route, an autonomous solution will follow that exact same route every time, delivering between 98% and 99.5% coverage and ensuring you always meet your cleaning objectives and maintain hygiene compliance. You can also have the machine calculate the most efficient way to clean a space on its own. This not only guarantees maximum coverage, but also eliminates double-cleaning.
Proof of clean It’s difficult to document and analyze cleaning processes and results.	Enhanced cleaning requirements have also brought enhanced documentation requirements. Autonomous solutions generate data so you can easily produce reports of what was cleaned and when. This data also provides insights you can use to optimize your operations, such as by improving scheduling.
High water / detergent / electricity usage Sustainability is becoming a basic requirement	Autonomous solutions support your sustainability initiatives in a number of ways, from using advanced systems to reduce water and chemical usage to saving energy by operating completely in the dark.

Learn more about the productivity improvements and labor cost benefits of Nilfisk co-bot floor cleaners. Request a demo now, or download "The Co-Bot Floor Cleaning Guid Vol 1" for an in-depth look at autonomous floor scrubbers and how they can supplement your cleaning team, making the most of your cleaning budget.