The market environment in the cleaning world is getting tougher. Even though cleanliness and hygiene are becoming more important as a result of global challenges such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of orders in sectors such as office cleaning, gastronomy and tourism has dropped to some extent.
What's more, there is a significant shortage of qualified cleaning personnel, who are required to implement the more stringent hygiene specifications now in place. Consistent cleaning concepts and appropriate cleaning technology are conducive to being successful in this field. For the future, the use of digital solutions that replace static cleaning schedules and paper-based administration – through work on demand and efficient business processes – will be at least as important.
Kärcher has identified two core themes, which are currently being pursued in cooperation with strong technology partners – digitalized process control and needs-oriented work:
[SQ] ONE - software and digital platform for organizing facility management:
Soniq Services GmbH, an independent subsidiary of Kärcher, developed a software that combines people, machines and material. In contrast to already available solutions, which
cover only part of the process, the SoniQ solution has the entire process in view.
The software and platform [SQ] ONE portrays processes digitally across all tasks of building service contractors. Using artificial intelligence, it enables needs-oriented, efficient and transparent organization of the daily cleaning sequences and higher-level management processes: from customer acquisition to material planning and the actual provision of the service through to invoicing, the entire value-added chain is controlled digitally.
[SQ] ONE can support contactless real-time communication between property management, cleaning staff and the customer, while at the same time documenting the services provided and the working hours.
The software can process information from completely different sources – for example, data of cleaning machines from Kärcher.
[SQ] ONE can be installed on any smartphone, is language-neutral and can be operated intuitively. Training or certificates become superfluous.
Various cost-benefit calculations for large properties indicate that – expressed in figures – success is achieved very quickly and clearly. On average, users of the SoniQ solution save 30 per cent of the working time for administrative tasks and thus around 20 per cent of the costs.
Kärcher Dynamic Cleaning – solution for data driven demand based cleaning:
Together with an AI specialized technology partner Zan Compute Inc. Kärcher established a system which, by means of the combination of sensors and clever evaluation of data, supports the cleaning of a building in a needs-oriented manner. Sensors in sanitary facilities, for example, determine the filling level of soap dispensers and toilet paper, the footfall in certain building sections or even the influence of the weather on cleaning requirements. Depending on the level of consumption and the number of visitors, a notification is sent via a mobile application to the cleaning staff to clean rooms or replenish materials. In addition, schedules can be integrated and adjusted at any time, e.g. reminders of an upcoming disinfection.
If a building is equipped with the Dynamic Cleaning solution, artificial intelligence (AI) calculates in no time significant savings potentials with regard to work effort and consumables. It reduces the time spent on unnecessary tasks and tours by up to 30 per cent.
Moreover, Dynamic Cleaning is providing transparency about the cleaning process and a sense of comfort during the post COVID reopening. As part of the reopening, one of the key concerns is hygiene and social distancing. Building occupants, be it employees or guests, should have access to information related to cleaning / disinfection schedules. Dynamic Cleaning is providing details of cleaning and disinfection in a given area to the building occupants and guests by just scanning a QR code. Dynamic Cleaning also provides the necessary data like real time occupancy to enable responsible social distancing.
With the expansion of its digital portfolio, Kärcher is pursuing the target of ultimately making available all digital offers for building service providers and other users via a platform – from multi-manufacturer fleet management and needs-oriented cleaning to the digital control of all business processes.