Technology
Smart Cleaning: Cleaning Industry Transformation
Cleaning was one of the last sectors to adopt smart technology, automation and digital tools. The past two years changed that. COVID-19 reshaped how organizations think about cleaning, and large providers responded to sharper customer awareness and demand by leaning into digitalization. The direction is now set: the future of the industry runs on digital solutions, the Internet of Things (IoT), automation and monitoring.
For companies making the digital transition, that often means a sharp reordering of priorities and real investment in smart cleaning tools and platforms. The industry's own nature is part of the challenge. Cleaning has long been labor-intensive, with little spending on technical solutions and little perceived need for them. That assumption is breaking down as organizations of every size look for ways to optimize their cleaning programs. Digital transformation is coming, and the companies that drive innovation will be the ones positioned for profit.
The first wave of cleaning technology is already here. Established players and newcomers alike are shipping solutions that push the industry forward. Over the next few years, robotics, machine-to-machine learning, artificial intelligence, vision technologies and the IoT will carry digitalization deeper into cleaning. COVID-19 may have been the catalyst, but the shift will outlast the crisis. As the technology delivers efficiency and lower costs, companies will rely less on manual labour and make smarter calls about how, where and when to deploy machines.
Key Takeaways
- The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way many companies think about cleaning by focusing more on digitalization in the cleaning industry.
- New technologies include robotics, machine learning, artificial intelligence, vision technologies and the internet of things (IoT).
- Digitalization in the cleaning industry brings many benefits, such as increased efficiency, more informed decisions, and labour savings.
Benefits and Risks of Digitalization in the Cleaning Industry
The upside is real: efficiency gains, better-informed decisions and lighter work. Those benefits explain why so many companies want to move fast. The risks are real too, and worth weighing before you commit.
Benefits of Digitalization in Cleaning
Data Collection and Use
Connected devices, sensors and cameras can capture detailed data on how spaces are used. Pair that data with AI that knows how to read it, and cleaning becomes far more efficient. Picture a sprawling airport terminal. Walking the floor again and again to check bins, soap dispensers and paper towels is a poor use of anyone's time. Sensor data, run through algorithms that interpret motion, sends staff to the right spot at the right moment, which usually means fewer hours and lower costs.
Value Chain Efficiency
Cleaning technology can drive efficiency across the entire value chain. IoT devices can flag maintenance needs or trigger an alert when a crew has to be deployed. With no reliance on visual inspection or manual verification, both companies and their vendors gain real efficiencies. For routine, everyday work and for the cases that demand a specialized fix, the technology earns its keep.
Making Work Easier
Cleaning has never drawn more public attention than it did during the pandemic. Solutions that limit exposure, deliver on-demand cleaning and automate wherever possible make the work itself simpler, and they cut the risk of contact with harmful substances, viruses and bacteria included. Facilities teams that adopt these tools can also upskill their workforce, redistribute tasks and free staff to focus on more critical or revenue-generating work.
Real-Time Visibility
Digitization changes how facilities get maintained. Thermal and contactless sensors monitor and measure usage, so teams can read patterns in real time and respond as needed. The same data gives a facility's customers a clear sense of the maintenance team's purpose and intent. Pairing personal observation with hard numbers sharpens communication, problem-solving and customer satisfaction. When conversations with tenants and departments are transparent, facilities and housekeeping teams understand actual needs and can share their strategies for deployment and frequency.
Predictive Cleaning
Backed by strong algorithms, predictive models help project future cleaning needs, and they work at every step of the customer journey. They can price and quote services based on square footage, staffing levels, activity and visitor counts. From there, managers build historical patterns of use and demand, which translates into more accurate staffing for surges, lulls, seasonal swings and shifts in a tenant's or customer's operations.
The ToolSense IoT hardware bridges the gap between physical assets and modern software solutions. With our IoT modules, you gain a much more in-depth understanding of your asset’s performance.
Internal Optimization
The customer-facing payoffs are obvious, but digital transformation pays off internally too. The same tools work on a company's own operations. Sensor data and cameras help track inventory, keep supplies reordered on time and catch theft or fraud early. Connected cleaning carts and equipment let companies manage usage and efficiency while confirming that jobs get done correctly and thoroughly. Transform internal operations and you cut costs, improve staffing and plan, allocate and schedule more intelligently.
Digitalization in Cleaning Risks
Good news for cleaning operations comes with its share of challenges. Technology moves fast, and companies have to be ready for the competitive realities of a digital shift.
Increased Capital and Operating Costs
Smart cleaning is not simply a robot that empties a bin or scrubs a toilet. Nothing is maintenance-free, whether you rely on technology or people. Tools need upgrades; hardware and firmware have to be maintained, protected and revised on a regular basis. For some businesses, the combined cost of buying, deploying and maintaining these tools can be steep enough to rule them out.
Staff Displacement
As with most technological advances, there is a genuine risk that these solutions displace workers and cost jobs, often hitting low-income earners who are already the most exposed. The pandemic complicates the picture: many people have left even low-paying roles and those seen as riskier for public health. That opening creates a chance to retrain and upgrade remedial cleaning jobs, giving employees new technical skills and a place alongside the new technology rather than against it.
Impact on Low-Cost Markets
Smart cleaning technology evolves at a rapid pace, and that pace alone keeps some companies from committing to a change. The required capital outlay is significant. To get around it, some companies may build Cleaning-as-a-Service offerings that avoid the upfront spending that scares buyers away from pricier options. These as-a-service models tend to lower operationally centred costs and deliver a better ROI for customers.
Is the Cleaning Sector Ready for the Digital World?
The operational and financial benefits are clear. One question remains: is the cleaning industry actually ready for a digital revolution?
The pandemic offers clues again. Digitalization had already reached many industries, but the COVID-19 crisis put cleaning squarely in the spotlight, and that heightened awareness can drive change at every level of the sector.
As the shift plays out, the companies offering smart cleaning will win when their solutions come with clear, simple training, web portals that anyone can navigate and dependable customer support.
So how do you convince customers to adopt new technical solutions? A few approaches work:
Business Streamlining
A demonstration, on-site or at a trade show, lets prospective customers see the benefits for themselves.
Show how these tools streamline operations, whether through vehicle tracking or smart machines, and customers start mapping the upside onto their own business.
It also helps to show how dashboards, data and feedback let a site fine-tune the way it uses the technology.
Technical Knowledge
Facilities executives usually bring some technical knowledge of their own, plus a deep read on their company and industry. Tech-savvy buyers tend to grasp the benefits early, and many are already hungry for tools that get work done faster and cheaper. Case studies make those gains concrete and show how the technology runs safely and effectively alongside existing cleaning staff.
Online Learning
Another way to offset the threat of lost positions is to empower the people who will actually run these tools. Offer e-learning options and certifications in the new technology. At little cost to you or the customer, they strengthen employees' skills and lift retention and morale. Learning modules that work on a phone or a desktop meet workers wherever they are.
Behavioural Changes
Long-practiced habits are hard to change, and managers and staff alike may push back. Still, rising competition, higher expectations and the cost of labour will keep pushing the change forward, especially once senior leaders see the efficiency and savings it produces.
The point is to keep the focus on what a business actually gains by adopting your technology.
„We wanted to have a solution that does not only track expensive assets but also cheap ones. In Austria, ISS operates over 6,500 cleaning machines alone, without even counting vacuum cleaners and other pieces of equipment. With ToolSense we bring them together on a single platform, leveraging data from IoT hardware and improving maintenance and inspection processes.“
ISSA Study: How the Cleaning Industry Is Approaching Innovation
A recent cleaning industry analysis by the International Sanitary Supply Association (ISSA) shows that digitalization is top of mind for many industry leaders. The study wrapped up just before COVID-19 hit, yet the urgency it captured still rings true in the changed reality the crisis created. Among the findings:
- Digitalization and robotics are the top priorities for future discussion and investment.
- Digital products and solutions are already considered to be in use while robots were seen as a future area of implementation.
- Robotics is seen as going hand in hand with advancements in automation.
- Sustainability is a priority across the industry and is perceived to be gaining more importance in coming years.
- Staff shortages and skills are a major challenge.
- Executives are looking for ways to optimize controlling processes to deliver more quality cleaning results.
Final Thoughts on Digitalization in the Cleaning Industry
The future of cleaning is digital. Industry trends all point that way, and the benefits land squarely with both providers and their customers.
At ToolSense, we help customers across industries with machine and service management. Our digital solutions cover asset management, damage notifications, documentation and service reminders, and our IoT tools build a connected network with the performance data to optimize your investment.
Digitalization in cleaning works best when technology supports clear processes, better service documentation and practical decisions on site. Asset management, damage notifications, documentation, service reminders and IoT data all support that shift when they are introduced around real operational needs.
FAQ
How Does Digitalization Transform the Cleaning Industry?
Digitalization is transforming the cleaning industry toward more smart technologies, automation and digitized offerings.
What Are the 4 Main Areas of Digital Transformation?
The 4 main areas are technology, data, process, and organizational change.
What Are the Benefits of Digitalization in the Cleaning Industry?
The main benefits are in data collection and use, value chain efficiency, workflow simplification, real-time visibility, predictive cleaning and internal optimization.
How Can Digital Transformation Be Explained?
Digital transformation is the process of using digital technologies to create new, or change existing, business processes, culture, and customer experiences to meet changing business and market demands.
