CHTMAG.COM TECHNOLOGY FEATURE These are cleaning tools which can run pretty much on their own. They don’t necessarily need to be connected to the Internet of Things but that is probably the way things are going. Back in February CHT reported on Servest’s “Brian” a robot named after TV’s favourite confused.com-bot. Realising there was limited innovation in the industry Vince Treadgold, FM MD at Servest flew to Switzerland two years ago and investigated the latest technology being developed. At the time Treadgold commented: “The technology is there. Some of the things that would be revolutionary in the cleaning sector are just everyday in other spheres. I mean, microfibre cloths have been around for 10 years, but people still talk about them as if they’re cutting edge. “Brian is efficient without impacting on quality. We literally bought the first available model, straight off the production line. No one else was innovating this way so we felt it would set us apart.” Even in Servest’s own corridors of power there was scepticism though. Thanks to the cheap cost of labour in the cleaning sector many people didn’t grasp the benefits of products like Brian. “You need the money to develop it.” Treadgold admits. “But we are now gaining a huge amount of momentum. Brian was only In the world of technology things often seem to be out of date before anyone outside of Silicon Valley has actually figured out how to use them. So by these standards the Internet of Things is positively old hat yet it hasn’t yet been fully embraced by the cleaning industry. Using nothing more than their smartphone the average person can already control the temperature in their homes, open garage doors and turn appliances on and off. Once these technologies become ubiquitous then it won’t take long for cleaners to start wondering where they don’t have similar advantages in the workplace. Of course many workers will panic just because they have seen the words technology and workplace in the same sentence. It’s understandable, after all the Bank of England’s chief economist predicted in November of last year that up to 15m UK jobs could be made obsolete as a result of technology marching on. But people predicted that during the industrial revolution as well, people found other jobs. Cleaners might feel even more at risk than people in most other industries due to the nature of the work they do and those self operating machines already available. Still they shouldn’t fear the IoT. Indeed the more familiar they become with it the more they will see how much it could benefit them at work. It can inform cleaners which items need replacing or restocking without them having to manually check. Monitor footfall so that people know where to clean when and much more. In short it can make cleaners’ work easier and less time consuming. THE INTERNET OF THINGS In layman’s terms the Internet of Things is the network connecting physical things and connecting them with electronics, sensors and network connectivity. In effect, letting them talk to each other. Experts estimate that by 2020 there will be up to 50 billion items connected to IoT covering an almost limitless number of areas and possible applications. But how does this impact the cleaning and hygiene industries? Well, in a similarly limitless number of ways, though not all of them beneficial for everyone. The most obvious example, already being rolled out by cleaning companies, is the smart vacuum cleaner. It can inform cleaners which items need replacing without them having to manually check” JULY / AUGUST 2016 21 CLEANING HYGIENE TODAY
CHT July / August 2016
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