Cleaning Protocols Remain Essential Despite COVID-19 Vaccine
COVID-19 Vaccines Spark Optimism as Cases Surge Worldwide
News of safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna has sparked optimism across all industries — the first glimmer of light at the end of the proverbial tunnel. Anticipating imminent FDA approval for emergency use, some of the first vaccines are already en route to major distribution hubs worldwide.
Good news for the future is overshadowed by record highs in COVID cases, hospitalizations, and deaths as we enter the traditional cold and flu season. In addition, experts, including leading immunologist Dr. Anthony Fauci, are warning of continued surges in COVID-19 cases over the coming months.
Record COVID Cases Require Renewed Focus on Cleaning Best Practices
The United States is bracing for a difficult winter, as the colder weather drives people to spend more time together indoors where the virus is more easily transmitted. Now more than ever, refocusing on cleaning best practices and maintaining heightened cleaning protocols is critical to protecting our most vulnerable populations — at home, at work, and in our healthcare and senior living facilities. As we continue the fight against COVID, protecting our communities means staying ahead of the virus until a vaccine is not only approved, but also safely and effectively distributed — a finish line that remains months into the future.
As COVID continues to spread in communities across the country, cleaning teams must contend with absenteeism when employees call in sick or need to quarantine due to exposure to the virus. In-house cleaning teams and commercial cleaning companies alike must balance rising demand and sky-high expectations with ongoing staffing uncertainties.
Amid these challenges, are some positives. Optimism for 2021 and increased investor confidence hallmarked by record stock market highs have led businesses to begin reassessing budgets that had been slashed in the early days of the pandemic. These healthier budgets may lead to increased capacity to invest in cleaning services and technology, as businesses across all industries continue to focus on their employees’ health and safety.
Cleaning Robots Meet Rising Demand While Combating Key Challenges
To meet rising demand while contending with an increasingly strained workforce, cleaning teams should consider adopting autonomous cleaning technologies that can augment the capabilities of their staff and deliver the exceptional levels of cleanliness required at this stage of the pandemic. Autonomous cleaning robots can help both commercial cleaning companies and in-house staff:
1. ENSURE COMPREHENSIVE CLEANING EVEN WHEN STAFF ARE ILL OR QUARANTINING
As illness-related absences continue to rise and staffing becomes touch-and-go, robotic cleaning technologies can help reduce uncertainty and staff injuries due to repetitive tasks. When staff members must stay home due to illness, autonomous cleaning robots can continue to report for work and complete critical time-consuming functions like vacuuming, while the rest of your crew focuses on thorough sanitization and disinfection.
Note that cleaning robots cannot (and do not) replace human attention to detail for many cleaning tasks; however, robots can offload an enormous portion of the monotonous daily tasks so that staff that are still able to work have the time to focus on the deep cleaning activities that require a human touch.
2. IMPROVE OVERALL CLEANING QUALITY
Autonomous cleaning robots immediately improve the quality of your cleaning protocols, because they clean consistently and effectively every time. For example, Whiz, the commercial robot vacuum,developed in partnership with Brain OS and ICE Robotics, can clean floors in half the time compared to manual vacuuming, while removing 99.97% of particles, dust, and pollen. This ultimately yields measurable improvements in indoor air quality.
In addition to delivering a superior clean, Whiz will consistently vacuum carpets completely and thoroughly with no additional intervention. It won’t cut corners, miss or skip areas, or only spot clean. The daily results are high quality and reliable.
3. INCREASE CLEANING EFFICIENCY
Autonomous cleaning technologies increase your team’s efficiency by freeing up staff time to do other tasks. Cleaning robots can offload rote tasks like vacuuming that would otherwise consume up to 30% of your teams’ time. Meanwhile, your cleaning crews can complete deep cleaning tasks with greater attention to detail and maintain extremely high levels of customer satisfaction.
4. TRACK CLEANING DATA TO OPTIMIZE CLEANING PROTOCOLS
Cleaning robots also provide the ability to track your cleaning data over time, which can help your team further optimize your cleaning protocols and improve cleaning outcomes. For example, Whiz tracks the square footage vacuumed each day and keeps a log of when each space was vacuumed. Whiz Connect provides analytics and actionable insights, helping to improve productivity, drive efficiency, and provide visible proof of cleanliness. This data can help you track towards business goals, manage routes and location of your cleaning units, and maximize the technology’s capabilities.
Conclusion
Despite promising vaccines, COVID-19 rages on. Cleaning teams must double down to keep indoor spaces clean and safe during what may be the most challenging stretch of the pandemic yet. Autonomous solutions can help your team achieve heightened cleanliness requirements while reducing ongoing strain on your workforce.
Fortunately, it doesn’t have to be an enormous investment. Some autonomous cleaning solutions like Whiz are available with a subscription model, allowing you to cost-effectively pilot the solution in your facilities.
Contact us today to learn more about how Whiz can help you increase the quality and efficiency of your cleaning protocols.
Written By: SoftBank Robotics Team
