Robotics · Guide
Is your facility ready for a cleaning robot?
Six practical checks to run before you book a demonstration: floors, layout, obstructions, schedule, connectivity and people.
Start with the floor, not the robot
Autonomous scrubbers and vacuums are designed for specific floor types. Sealed concrete, vinyl composition tile, sheet vinyl, sealed stone and commercial carpet are common candidates. Heavily textured, uneven or damaged floors may limit performance.
Walk the space and note floor types by zone. Where floors change, the route plan has to account for it.
Look for large, repeatable areas
Robots are strongest where the same open floor is cleaned the same way on a regular schedule: aisles, corridors, sales floors, lobbies and open-plan offices.
Small rooms, tight furniture layouts and areas that change daily are usually better left to people.
Count the obstructions
- Pallets, carts and displays left in aisles
- Cables, mats and thresholds
- Doors that must be opened, and elevators
- Glass, mirrors and very dark surfaces, which some sensors handle differently
Find the window
Most deployments run when traffic is lowest: between shifts, after close or overnight. If the building is never quiet, check whether the robot can work safely alongside people and equipment in that environment.
Check charging and connectivity
The robot needs a charging location with power, and many models use Wi-Fi or cellular connectivity for scheduling and reporting. Identify where these will be before the demo.
Plan for the people
Every robot needs an operator: someone who starts routes, empties and refills tanks, changes pads and responds to alerts. Decide who that will be, and how their freed-up hours will be used.
What to bring to a demonstration
- A floor plan or rough sketch with zones
- Current cleaning hours for those zones
- Your hourly labour cost
- Preferred cleaning windows