If you hadn’t heard already, the UK is positioning itself as an “AI powerhouse”. That means we can all look forward to significant investments in artificial intelligence tech, and a growing focus on putting AI into industries.
From healthcare to finance – even within governments themselves – AI is transforming the way we work. What was once the stuff of science fiction, is now… sort of normal. That is, until it changes. And the rate of change is kind of scary!
But let’s get one thing straight: AI isn’t about to replace your office cleaner. Computers can’t grab a mop or empty a bin, or do any physical office cleaning whatsoever. Well, not until we’ve got proper robots running around the place.
Still, could AI streamline or even enhance your office cleaning? Let’s find out…
RoboMop? I’d buy that for a dollar!
Physical cleaning tasks – like hoovering, dusting and wiping surfaces, and scrubbing toilets – need a human touch. Because humans are still the best at doing a bunch of different tasks and switching between them seamlessly. Figuring out intricacies, like how much pressure to apply when cleaning a glass, is just… easy for us. And humans are powered by sandwiches, not 2% of all global energy.
AI and robotics just can’t replicate what we do, despite the best efforts of tech companies. Yes, we have things like the Roomba and other robovacs, but as we discovered in a previous post about getting a Roomba for office cleaning, they’re still far from ideal.
We still haven’t seen an office space using a Roomba successfully. They’re not very quick or efficient, and can’t support a large, deep clean. AI won’t be much use in a machine that lacks power, storage – or the ability to climb stairs.
That said, AI’s potential isn’t in replacing human cleaners, but in helping them – to make cleaning operations more efficient and data-driven, without having to crunch the numbers or add to an already hectic workload. So what could we get out of AI in the world of office cleaning?
How AI works in office cleaning
There’s a ton of stuff AI could do for office cleaning – but it does have drawbacks (really big ones), which we’ll get to. First, let’s see what’s possible.
Smart scheduling
One of the biggest challenges in office cleaning is optimising schedules and resources. AI can analyse data like foot traffic from security sensors, room usage, and cleaning history from your facilities management – to create better cleaning schedules. So, if your main meeting room is used daily, the system would prioritise its cleaning over other spaces. This way, cleaning efforts are focused where they’re needed most.
IoT
The “Internet of Things (IoT)” used to be sort of a gimmick (remember those baffling IoT water bottles that remind you to drink?). But cleaning equipment that works as a smart device has some merits, like smart soap dispensers and paper towel caddies that notify your cleaning team when supplies are running low. With AI built into them, restocking would be optimised and predictive, saving money and making sure you’d never run out of essentials. IoT devices can help you track much more – and make optimisations elsewhere, like maintenance and general upkeep.
Quality and monitoring
IoT sensors and cameras are pretty much everywhere now – and with AI, they can monitor the cleanliness of office spaces in real time. For example, sensors can detect humidity and predict dust. They can monitor air quality, and cameras can look out for spills. This could get immediate action from your office cleaning team – and long-term, you would get enough data for a fully optimised cleaning schedule. Adding motorised window openers to automate humidity control or to improve air quality while dusting would take things a step up, too.
Facilities giant Tork is already motoring ahead with this tech, which they call Vision Cleaning.
In all of this, though, we can see that AI needs data to do a good job. The more it has, the better it performs. It takes in data from anything that can connect to a computer or phone, and learns from it (okay – so it’s a little more complex than that!), then gives ideas, outputs, or actions based on the data.
And to get this data, it needs devices, software, and time.
Okay, great! But where’s all this data coming from?
Here’s where things get messy for AI. For cleaning offices specifically, these are the drawbacks of going all-in on AI – and chief among them is getting all that data.
First, you need the hardware: all the IoT stuff. The sensors, the cameras, soap dispensers – all of that. Then, you need the software. Facilities management, a fleet of apps to control all the IoT gadgets, and a subscription (or a dev team) to implement, configure, train, and monitor the whole AI system…
And then you’ve got to feed it data. And make sure it’s doing the right thing with it. AI systems that rely on your security sensors and cameras? These give privacy concerns, too.
The thing is… humans are just flat out better, cheaper, more fun to get on with, and way less complex than kitting out a whole building with a tangled web of tech. We do this stuff anyway – at least, a good, switched-on office cleaning team does.
So, even if the UK wants to go all-in on AI, you’re still going to be better off with a proper office cleaning team for the foreseeable future, at least.
Office cleaning with a human touch
Get professional office cleaning in Cardiff – from The Abbey Cleaning Service.
Call 029 2067 9323 today and find out how we’ll help you keep your office clean, without disrupting your workday, or investing in a whole AI-enabled tech stack!
