Digital Cleaning Day 2026: what 200 cleaning leaders took home from Frankfurt
At a glance
- attendees from building cleaning and FM
- 200+
- companies represented
- 100+
- the attendance of the 2025 edition
- 2×
- robot break-even area cited by Dr. Sasse
- 80 m²
Key takeaways
Staff shortages, costs and transparency on the agenda
The day revolved around the three pressures every building service provider feels: too few people, rising costs and too little transparency about what happens on site. Instead of distant visions, the speakers brought live demos, field reports and concrete cost-benefit calculations.
The common thread: staff, conventional cleaning machines and robots do not compete with each other. They deliver the most when they are connected in one digital ecosystem, with data that shows where each one works and what it costs.
Cleaning robots can pay off on small areas. Dr. Sasse Facility Management Austria puts the break-even at around 80 m² of net cleaning area.
Robotics only becomes an advantage when the business model changes with it: in processes, leadership and KPIs.
AI shortens onboarding. Blink showed new cleaning staff starting with their own app within minutes.
Building an AI agent no longer needs a project team. In the ToolSense workshop, every participant built a first agent on the spot.
People, conventional cleaning machines and robots deliver most when they work inside one digital ecosystem.
The programme
Four sessions, from AI onboarding to the business case for robotics.
AI from day one for cleaning staff
Thomas Bakeberg · CEO, Blink
Thomas Bakeberg showed how AI supports cleaning staff from their first day, from digital onboarding to their own app, ready to use within minutes.
Where facility management is heading
Moritz Fendt · CEO, FENKA Robotics
Moritz Fendt looked ahead at the future of facility management and at how robotics can secure the economic success of service providers.
- Workshop
Build your own AI agent
Rostyslav Yavorskyi · CTO, ToolSense
Rostyslav Yavorskyi guided the whole room through building a first AI agent, hands-on and without a long setup.
Robotics: opportunity or risk for service providers
Michael Lackner · Managing Director, Dr. Sasse Facility Management Austria
Michael Lackner weighed the opportunities and risks of rolling out robotics strategically, drawing on daily practice at Dr. Sasse, where people and robots already work side by side.
The business case
Break-even from around 80 m²
By Michael Lackner’s calculation, a cleaning robot reaches break-even from roughly 80 m² of net cleaning area. At Dr. Sasse, robotics is already part of everyday work, with people and robots working side by side.
“Robotics is no longer a vision for us, it is everyday work. For it to become an advantage for building service providers rather than a threat, we have to change our business model: in processes, leadership and KPIs. Those who tackle this now secure a clear competitive edge.”
Hands-on
Workshop: every participant built an AI agent
The most hands-on hour of the day was the workshop “Build your own AI Agent”, led by Rostyslav Yavorskyi, CTO of ToolSense. Under his guidance, every participant built their own first AI agent.
The example on screen was a morning assistant for a site manager: check Blink, ToolSense and Outlook at 6 a.m. and report which sites need attention today. The slide summed up the approach: you don’t program, you explain. It showed how AI can move into everyday work in building cleaning without long lead times.
Networking, even among competitors
Beyond the programme, many attendees used the day to talk to each other, including service providers who usually meet as competitors. More than 100 companies were represented, and many guests stayed until late in the evening.
What the organisers say
It was a real pleasure to host Digital Cleaning Day together with Blink and FENKA Robotics for the second time. The event has become a central meeting point for digitalisation in facility management in the DACH region. For us at ToolSense, it is a valuable setting for direct dialogue with the industry on our way to creating the global standard for asset management in FM.
Robotics in building cleaning is no longer a vision of the future but a concrete answer to the skills shortage. Digital Cleaning Day shows how much momentum builds when service providers, manufacturers and software providers sit at one table and work on solutions together.
Digitalisation has to simply work for the people on the floor. When new cleaning staff are ready to go with AI in a few minutes, it takes pressure off site managers and secures quality from day one. That is exactly the practical focus we showed in Frankfurt.
Quotes translated from German.
See you at Digital Cleaning Day 2027
The three organisers plan to continue Digital Cleaning Day in 2027, in an even larger and more interactive format.
The organisers
A manufacturer-independent system integrator for cleaning and service robots, based in Gräfelfing near Munich. Founded in 2023, it has installed more than 1,000 systems and offers full-service rental models, from consulting and IoT connection to remote maintenance, training and repair.
fenka.de
The employee app for building cleaning, based in Nuremberg. Site managers use it to manage working hours, shift plans and sites in real time. More than 350 customers with over 100,000 cleaning staff work with Blink.
blink.de- ToolSense
The FM Asset Operations Platform, founded in Vienna in 2017. It brings cleaning machines, robots, tools, vehicles and infrastructure from every manufacturer into one place, for more than 250 customers in over 30 countries.
Frequently asked questions
What is Digital Cleaning Day?
Digital Cleaning Day is a one-day event on robotics, AI and IoT in professional building cleaning and facility management, organised by FENKA Robotics, Blink and ToolSense. The 2026 edition was the second.
When and where did Digital Cleaning Day 2026 take place?
On 7 October 2026 at the Union Halle, Hanauer Landstraße 188-190, in Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
How many people attended Digital Cleaning Day 2026?
More than 200 professionals from building cleaning and facility management, from over 100 companies. That is twice as many attendees as in 2025.
From what size of area does a cleaning robot pay off?
At Digital Cleaning Day 2026, Michael Lackner, Managing Director of Dr. Sasse Facility Management Austria, put the break-even for a cleaning robot at around 80 m² of net cleaning area, based on Dr. Sasse’s own calculation.
What happened in the AI agent workshop?
In the workshop “Build your own AI Agent”, ToolSense CTO Rostyslav Yavorskyi guided every participant through building their first AI agent for everyday work in building cleaning.
Will there be a Digital Cleaning Day 2027?
Yes. FENKA Robotics, Blink and ToolSense plan to continue Digital Cleaning Day in 2027, in a larger and more interactive format.
Run robots and machines from every brand in one place
ToolSense connects cleaning robots, machines, vehicles and tools from every manufacturer, so you can see where each asset is, how much it is used and what it costs.