Mitie is continually evolving its service offering, One area that has seen a particular focus in recent years has been in the realm of robotics and robotic vacuums.

With Mitie’s focus on innovation in cleaning they have undertaken multiple trials of robotic cleaning solutions in different sectors and industries, testing their ability to free-up time whilst maintaining their commitment to the ‘Plan Zero’ initiative and furthering their customer promise of delivering the exceptional, every day.

As part of a deepdive into the technology, Mitie implemented robotic cleaning solutions, the “Abbee Hive” in multiple locations across different sectors, including the substantial office space of a high-profile corporate customer, a retail environment, a premium London law firm and an education environment, to explore the benefits automated vacuums deliver. The trials included hygiene tests, time studies and electricity consumption monitoring which demonstrated some impressive results.

Using automated technology has obvious benefits, but Mitie have led the way in implementing automated vacuuming to improve service.

By introducing robotic solutions, Cleaning Operatives can focus on the periodic sanitisation of hot-desks, workstations and the numerous touchpoints associated with communal workplaces, that are a key focus for employers in a post-COVID world.

Step 1: Time & Motion Study
Each Cleaning Operative using the automated vacuums was timed, including the transporting of the Abbees to and from their destination, deploying, collecting, emptying, and securing the robots. This process was benchmarked against their existing process using tub vacuums.

Step 2: Controlled Cleanliness Testing
The most exciting part of the trials was the team taking controlled tests using Hygiena EnSURE Touch to test the cleanliness of the floor over a period of three days.The test involved taking swab tests from three specific areas. Tests were completed before and immediately after automated vacuuming took place. The test shows an impressive  increase in standards which will impact he floor’s levels of cleanliness and hygiene.

Step 3: Saving Electricity Consumption
Next up, electricity monitoring meters were used to measure the energy consumption of the current tub vacuums in use. Based on the model used, Abbees on average saved 62.5% in electricity consumption compared to the tub vacuums.

LORRAINE DAVIS
Director of Cleaning Services, Mitie.

“We have been absolutely delighted by the results of these trials, especially the fantastic improvements of standards which will result in improved cleanliness and levels of hygiene. 

With the environmental impact of largescale businesses being a hot topic, we are also excited by the energy saving findings from the trials and are sure our customers will be excited to be part of lessening their carbon footprint.

We continue to be focused on innovation in the cleaning industry, and by implementing technology alongside our dedicated Cleaning Operatives and taking a blended approach, organisations can truly get the best of both worlds, with a high-quality output that is proven to improve hygiene standards, save energy consumption and deliver time efficiencies.”

Temco are a forward-looking owner-managed company which puts quality as its first priority. Driven by continuous improvement, Temco agreed to allow requested a trial on the premises of one of their prestigious customers. Instantly it was noted just how much extra debris was being collected by the Abbee vacuums each evening, the next stage was to see how best to integrate them into the daily cleaning programme.

Over a two-week period, various working pattern options were tried on different parts of the building.

The final solution decided upon was to have sufficient Abbees to cover one floor (30 Abbees & 3 Hives) and to rotate these over the three floors in the building, “spot vacuuming” the other floors and some meeting rooms in the traditional manner.

Temco have now introduced the Abbees into the corporate headquarter buildings of a further 3 clients and the rollout continues.

The Vale Academy Trust operates 8 schools in Oxfordshire, 2 Secondary and 6 Primary.

Leading school, King Alfred’s Academy (KAA), trialled 13 Abbees in one block over 2 floors (1 for each classroom). The Abbees were able to create over 2 hours’ worth of “free time” every day, meaning that much more could be done by the fulltime staff. It also meant that some of the temporary staff were not replaced, reducing the cleaning cost and allowing more to be invested in the school’s pupils.

KAA have increase the number of Abbees in use on their “Central” site and the Vale Academy Trust have currently introduced the Hive Cleaning System into 4 out of their 8 schools with more to follow after trials.

TTB group are a specialist cleaning company supporting the education sector.

TTB introduced Abbees and the Hive solution to one of the Colleges they support. These were an instant success and TTB now operate several hundred Abbees across multiple schools. These include Primary and Specialist schools as well as Secondary and Colleges.

TTB quickly discovered that with Robots, the average number of classrooms that could be vacuumed increased from 6 to 10 per cleaner per shift, leaving more time to increase the overall quality of the service they provide to their customers.