Organisations benefit from flexible leasing models, deploying cobots ‘as a service’, rather than through traditional purchasing models. So rather than having to commit to large capital expenditure up front, with little certainty of life-span or long-term value, contractors will be able to pursue their innovation programmes and access the very latest technologies on a totally flexible and scalable basis, through a fixed monthly cost.
This cobotic leasing model provides business leaders with full visibility and control on costs, with all servicing and product upgrades included. What’s more, they can use the data collected by cobots to continually optimise cleaning operations and make informed decisions around resourcing structures.
The ‘people’ side of cobotics
The cleaning industry is facing huge challenges in finding and retaining high quality talent. Staff attrition rates of 200 per cent are the norm and many contractors face a constant struggle to recruit the people they need. Again, cobotics can help, boosting engagement within teams and, as a result, improving retention rates. And when required, cobots can pick up the slack when problems arise due to staff churn or absenteeism.
The introduction of cobotics liberates cleaning professionals from the strain and mental drain of repetitive work. Cleaners can undertake more varied and fulfilling work, and have the satisfaction of seeing improvements in overall performance.
Not only this, but cleaning teams that work alongside cobots have the opportunity to engage with and manage the latest cutting-edge innovations, enabling them to develop new skills and competencies in some of the hottest areas of technology. At a time when mental and physical health in the workplace is becoming an ever-more pressing concern for employers, and specifically within an industry where absenteeism rates hover around 25 per cent, any development that reduces the amount of physical and repetitive tasks that workers are undertaking and that provides a healthier, more fulfilling working environment has to be welcomed.
Over the coming years, we’ll see FM providers promoting their use of cobotics to position themselves as innovative forward-thinking employers, with a strong commitment to employee wellbeing. And similarly, we’re also likely to see building owners and developers aligning themselves closely with cobotics in order to show their commitment to innovation and improved end user experience, and to accelerate their own smart building strategies.
An unprecedented opportunity
In order for the cleaning industry to move towards this exciting, cobot-inspired future, we need to re-frame the narrative around automation. Rather than viewing automation with suspicion, based on doomsday reports of mass job displacement, business leaders and workers need to take a more considered view. Indeed, the World Economic Forum predicts that AI and automation will actually lead to net job creation, with the introduction of millions of new specialist and highly skilled jobs. More significantly within the cleaning industry, however, McKinsey reports that whilst less than five per cent of all occupations can be automated entirely using current technologies, about 60 per cent of all occupations have at least 30 per cent of constituent activities that could be automated today. So, the real impact of automation will not be in replacing people, but in changing the types of work that most people carry out on a daily basis. Cobots will improve and enrich working lives within cleaning, rather than threatening them.
For FM providers, the benefits of cobotics are almost unlimited. Cost efficiencies, improved performance, greater staff engagement and retention, and a modern innovation-driven brand. Those organisations that can harness the power of cobots, integrating them into their operations in a seamless and harmonious way alongside cleaning staff, will thrive over the coming years. – European Cleaning Journal
