CMM Survey: Is Emergence of Robotics Imminent?

Despite the growing use of robotics in many industries today, most building service contractors and contract cleaning businesses are not yet implementing autonomous or robotic cleaning equipment in their operations, according to the 2019 CMM BSC/Contract Cleaning Benchmarking Survey sponsored by Sunbelt Rentals.

When asked if they implemented autonomous or robotic cleaning equipment, more than two-thirds (68%) of survey respondents chose “no.” Approximately 17% responded “no, but are considering it,” while less than 9% responded “yes.”

Survey figures indicate less than one-third of those who are not currently using autonomous equipment are actually considering implementing it.

Brady Watkins, head of commercial automation at SoftBank Robotics, and a spotlight speaker at this year’s ISSA Show North America in Las Vegas, says the automation inflection point is rapidly approaching and companies that fail to prepare will find themselves falling behind. According to Watkins, for many industries, automation has proven itself as a way to go further with existing labor resources in many industries, including the cleaning industry.

“The most impactful automation deployments occur in industries with highly repetitive tasks,” Brady notes in a recent CMM article. “New robotic solutions, such as autonomous sweepers, enable janitorial teams to tackle some of their most time-consuming, repetitive tasks quicker and more efficiently. Time saved on labor can help the cleaning industry provide workers with more opportunities for advancement and allow them to start providing true cleaning performance data. This will ultimately improve client satisfaction.”

Are your implementing autonomous equipment in your operations? Why or why not? Email us at cmmonline@issa.com.