Clean Smarter, Not Harder; How Real-Time Data Is The Key To An Efficient Clean

A person cleaning a window

By Dan Teare, Sector Director of FM at mpro5.

It’s no secret that the pandemic has caused a massive shift in working dynamics. Demand for office space has reduced, with knock on effects for many facilities management companies. But in addition, it’s clear that the expected standard in the eyes of many people has changed; cleanliness is now seen as a priority when it comes to personal safety.

The British Cleaning Council reports that even the sight of disinfection or cleaning taking place is enough to restore confidence. Operations that assure customers of their safety are therefore sure to get the best results. Yet clients are still having to make tough decisions about their budgets considering the downturn, and this puts pressure on cleaning companies to lower costs and demonstrate value for money.

Ultimately, the question companies should be asking themselves is this: how can you offer “more for less?”

Work Smarter, Not Harder

Dynamic cleaning that utilises real-time data and intelligent automation can not only make your operations more efficient but allow you to win new business and assure your customers that you are using your time to get them the best possible results. This might seem easier said than done, but an intelligent deployment of works management software, combined with a network of Internet of Things (IoT) sensors can achieve this aim by fundamentally altering your approach to cleaning.

What makes a dynamic cleaning approach work is the unifying effect it has on all facets of your operations. The mpro5 smart platform can be used for operations, audits, reporting and compliance – all this resulting data can be used to better guide future operations.

The Workings Of Work Management

Work management systems are made up of several key components. First, an app that guides your employees through their key tasks and ad hoc jobs also recording their additional efforts. Second, a platform that acts as a central command hub, from which workflows, audits, sensor feeds gather, and reports can be created. A database then stores all this data, both active responses and passive information such as the time it took to complete a job, or a follow-up action created because of an issue. The final element is an IoT sensor network that will further inform your teams in real time.



Optimising Processes is Key

How often do you check the toilets on a given site? Once an hour? Twice a day? You may end up cleaning more than necessary or, worse still, less than necessary. One lucky customer’s recently clean stall can be easily overshadowed by another user’s dirty, neglected toilet experience simply through bad timing and inefficient cleaning scheduling. Without effectively analysing real-time data, even the most carefully planned schedule cannot cover all bases.

But with IoT door sensors, monitoring approximate bathroom usage becomes easier. Assuming that one door is equal to one use, alerts can be sent to team members for spot cleaning at a particular customisable threshold. After a weekly audit with which you can use your score as a benchmark, the system can automatically update the uses rule to find the most effective times for future spot cleans. By changing the number incrementally, you can discover the most efficient rule, balancing your audit scores against keeping the number of necessary cleans as efficient as possible.

Detailed Reporting Is A Compelling Solution

A dynamic approach to cleaning has the potential to empower operational change at first, but also in the long-term provide valuable business information that can be leveraged into making strong cases for your business. With the help of your software provider, you can quickly and easily start to create customer facing dashboards that display relevant data in real time or as a snapshot of operations.

This can provide your customers with much needed transparency for their personal sense of safety. Not only are you able to show them the increasing effectiveness of your teams as they become more reactive, but also dynamic cleaning allows you to demonstrate that you’ve met your SLAs, reduced response times and improved based on real data.

Your customers will feel assured that you are providing the best possible service and maintaining the ever-important standards of safety through rigorous cleaning. These dashboards are also highly effective for winning new business; you can clearly demonstrate your potential to customers and display that your cost-effective service is at the forefront of FM operations.

A Boost in Confidence

The British Cleaning Council have produced surveys showing that cleanliness is a key factor for workers considering whether to return to the office. Cleaner sites should result in higher usage, restoring consumer confidence and in turn help to grow the businesses that you provide services to. 

There are many aspects to dynamic cleaning, but in order to create reactive, efficient teams that can also deliver a higher quality of service, you will need to leverage a digital platform that can help to automate and deliver real time feedback to teams and gather the information you need to really understand your operations.

Clean Smarter, Not Harder; How Real-Time Data Is The Key To An Efficient Clean