Most of us believe that the Internet of things (IoT) is relatively new. In reality, IoT dates back to the late 1960s. That is when “things” were first connected to other “things,” which usually conveyed information to people using wires and cords.

Today, those early objects have been replaced with smart or connected devices. Often, they use sensors to collect data and then transfer that data wirelessly to information centers, or in our case, to facility managers and cleaning professionals. Further, this communication is no longer a one-way street. Managers and cleaning professionals can communicate with smart devices when and as necessary.

It might seem unusual that we mention the professional cleaning industry in a discussion of IoT. After all, the industry has a history of not being all that tech-savvy. However, in the past decade or more, that has changed. IoT, along with other technologies, are starting to play a very significant role in the professional cleaning industry.

The good thing about this, for both facility managers and the professional cleaning industry, is that it brings with it many benefits that can help improve cleaning effectiveness, increase worker productivity and reduce costs.

Here’s a straightforward example:

A multi-tenant office building was having an ongoing problem with trash collection on certain days and on certain floors in the building. Trash would begin to overflow in these areas, becoming unsightly, causing odors and resulting in ongoing calls to the management office asking for help.

An IoT system was installed to monitor the situation. The system could tell when trash cans became full and gave managers and day porters in the building a notification long before the tenants called the facility management office for assistance.

Further, the IoT system looked at the big picture. It found that the trash containers on certain floors filled up quickest on Monday and Wednesday, whereas the other days of the week presented less of a problem. This information was also relayed to managers and day porters, so they could more proactively handle the situation. Complaints from tenants quickly decreased.

This is just one example of IoT at work in the professional cleaning industry. Here are a few others:

Connected cleaning equipment

It’s 10 p.m. and a cleaning worker wants to know where a specific floor cleaning machine is in a building. Instead of calling other custodians, she can find out in seconds where the machine is, if it is being used (and even if it is being used properly) merely by going to a computer screen or a smartphone.

While she’s there, the worker can also learn how many hours the machine has been used over its lifetime. This allows for predictive maintenance. If it is time for the machine to be serviced, maintenance can be performed now, which prevents a costlier service call and downtime down the road.

How does this work? A manufacturer-installed module inside the equipment collects data indicating where the machine is located and its use. That data is instantly transmitted to a cloud-based portal then converted into insights that can be read on a computer or smartphone. It’s fast, easy to use and it can be a money saver.

Robotic floorcare

Floorcare equipment that can clean and scrub floors on its own may prove to be one of the most labor- and cost-saving benefits of IoT. And fortunately, it’s already here. Different manufacturers are now introducing floor machines that can be “taught” how to clean floors. In addition to programming capabilities, these machines have sensors. So, if one day, for instance, there is a box or a table in a floor area that was not there before, the machine can clean around the object.

Putting IoT floor machines to work allows cleaning professionals to spend more time performing other cleaning tasks. Duties that in the past would have been placed on the backburner can be attended to when needed, helping to keep the facility cleaner and healthier.

Smart restrooms

IoT has already given us smart homes with systems that can control thermostats, lights, security systems and appliances. Now it can provide facility managers with smart restrooms. One task IoT systems are already helping managers and cleaning professionals with is monitoring supplies — referred to as the fullness status — of paper, soap and other products. And, as discussed earlier, trash levels are monitored.

Not only can the system communicate when supplies are running low, but it can also help provide insight as to when supplies are most likely to run out and in which restrooms, so they can be refilled long before that happens. Systems can also indicate if dispensers are broken or not working properly.

Furthermore, IoT systems can provide information as to the busiest times for different restrooms. This way, cleaning professionals know that certain restrooms in the facility may need cleaning attention after the morning rush, while others don’t need service until after lunch.

Real-time communication

IoT is not the only new technology making inroads in the professional cleaning industry. Another example is communication between facility managers and cleaning professionals.

Ron Segura oversaw the cleaning operations of more than 4.5 million square feet for The Walt Disney Company and is now a cleaning consultant for facility managers and cleaning contractors. He says that in the past a facility manager might leave a note for the cleaning crew on her desk at the end of the day, alerting the crew to something in the facility needing cleaning attention.

All too often, the next morning the manager would find the note where she left it. Neither the contractor nor his staff saw the note, meaning the issue was not addressed.

“I call this a ‘hit-or-miss communication system’ [that] did not work in the past and certainly will not work today when instant communication is the norm,” Segura says.

New technologies address this problem by communicating directly with cleaning crew supervisors. As an example, Segura says he advised one of his large cleaning contractor clients to equip all its staff with smartphones to receive and relay information.

“Now, when the manager tells the supervisor about a problem, the cleaning supervisor can send before-and-after images of the situation, how things looked before attention and then again after it was addressed. This is real-time problem handling, which is what today’s facility manager not only wants but expects,” he says.

Imaging technology

In the past, when managers and cleaning professionals wanted to scientifically evaluate cleaning effectiveness and uncover areas of a facility that may need increased cleaning attention, they turned to ATP (adenosine triphosphate) meters. These provided a reading that indicated how much ATP was on a surface. The more ATP on a surface, the brighter the red flag that the surface needed cleaning attention.

What is ATP?

Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) is an energy-bearing molecule found in all living cells. It was discovered by scientists in Germany and the United States in 1929, and is considered a sign of life. If ATP is detected on a surface, it means living cells are present. A high level of ATP — a reading of 500 or more — would be a serious cause for concern.

While ATP systems are still used in the professional cleaning industry, new studies indicate they are not always reliable. A new tool, referred to as imaging technology, is replacing the ATP system and proving more dependable and effective.

According to Brad Evans with OptiSolve, which offers imaging technology, these systems analyze the actual surfaces. They then create images indicating where microbes are present or not present on a surface and in what density or amount.

“We should view imaging technology as both an indicator and an assessment tool,” he says. “It indicates if and where pathogens are located, telling managers and cleaning professionals where cleaning is needed.”

As an assessment tool, Evans says imaging technology is able to assess cleaning performance. “This way managers can proactively validate that the money they are investing in cleaning is being delivered.”

The future

IoT and similar new technologies are likely to prove very beneficial to both facility managers and cleaning professionals as technologies continue to develop and evolve. As to the future, we can expect the advent of more new technologies designed to improve cleaning effectiveness and performance and, along with it, worker productivity. These technologies are also likely to help make facilities greener and promote sustainability, all of which make the future look brighter for facility managers.