Cobotics can help you and your cleaners save time while helping the environment
Synopsis
At Nviro, we clean over 1,000 sites, and Portsmouth International Port stands out as one of the busiest, with thousands of visitors and employees passing through daily. This high footfall from cruise arrivals and departures can create sudden surges of people moving through the port, which can affect cleaning standards. This can be a challenge, so we’ve been looking at ways to deploy cleaning quickly, efficiently, and to the highest standards, regardless of the time of day.
Enter the Ecobot 50, an easy-to-operate robotic scrubber dryer for hard surfaces, which can clean a space the size of four tennis courts in less than an hour and without any assistance. Using the Ecobot 50 helped us to meet the high cleaning standards required at the port and also helped Nviro demonstrate the value of using Cobotics. In our initial trial, the Ecobot 50 has saved time, and used less water, making it an eco-friendly solution perfectly suited for our needs.
Ecobot 50 summary
- Portsmouth International Port
- A busy environment with thousands of people passing through every day.
- Ecobot 50 was the winner of the Strategic Partner Award in Innovation in 2021.
- Reduce time and water usage
Facts about Ecobot 50
- 1.5 cleaning hours saved per day
- 572 hours saved per year on cleaning labour
- Reducing water usage by 5,356 litres of water a year
Case study
At Nviro, we clean over 1,000 sites, and Portsmouth International Port stands out as one of the busiest, with thousands of visitors and employees passing through daily. This high footfall from cruise arrivals and departures can create sudden surges of people moving through the port, which can affect cleaning standards. This can be a challenge, so we’ve been looking at ways to deploy cleaning quickly, efficiently, and to the highest standards, regardless of the time of day.
Enter the Ecobot 50, an easy-to-operate robotic scrubber dryer designed for hard surfaces. This cobot can be up and running in just 30 minutes out of the box, clean a space the size of four tennis courts in less than an hour without any assistance. Given the demands at Portsmouth International Port, we saw the potential for the Ecobot 50 to improve our cleaning. So, we decided to make it a permanent member of our team, giving it the name ‘Kalvin Klean’ and introducing it to all the cleaners, then setting it up to specifically focus on the main terminal and baggage hall, areas that are critical to maintaining a clean and welcoming environment for visitors.
The Ecobot 50 also allowed the cleaners to focus on other areas while the cobot was cleaning this space. We aimed to reduce the time spent on cleaning hard floors, improve overall cleaning efficiency, and ensure that our team could deliver the highest standards of cleanliness. We wanted to compare the Ecobot 50’s performance against traditional scrubber dryers, particularly in terms of water savings, time spent cleaning, and the overall impact on our labour costs so we were especially interested in the analytics dashboard showing its effectiveness.
We first mapped the area with the cobot, which took less than 30 minutes and was really easy to do. We then introduced the Ecobot 50 into our daily cleaning routine. It was used for an hour and a half each day, seven days a week to mop the floors of the main terminal and baggage hall, covering an area of 685m² (the size of three tennis courts). Although the Ecobot 50 can clean up to 1,200m² per hour, there were some obstructions with four rows of fixed chairs which reduced the area it could effectively cover to just under 700m² per hour.
To maximise the efficiency of our cleaning, we conducted a comparison between the Ecobot 50 and our previous method using traditional scrubber dryers. The average cleaning time with the scrubber was very similar to the Ecobot 50, which took only 62 minutes to complete the task. The additional benefit is that we didn’t need a cleaner to be behind the Ecobot 50, whereas with a scrubber dryer, you do. This means that the cleaner can use their time to focus on another area within the port, bringing up the cleaning to an even higher standard. We also analysed the water consumption which was a key factor in evaluating the Ecobot 50’s performance.
The introduction of the Ecobot 50 has led to several positive outcomes for Portsmouth International Port:
- Labour Efficiency: Saved 572 hours of labour annually. The Ecobot 50 allowed the team to be more productive and cover other tasks while the cobot was focusing on the main terminal’s floor.
- Water Efficiency: The Ecobot 50 uses less water than traditional scrubber dryers, supporting our sustainability goals. We saved 5,356 litres of water a year which is enough to fill three fire trucks.
- Time Savings: Reduced cleaning time to 62 minutes for a 685m² area, allowing our cleaning team to focus on other tasks and improve overall cleaning quality during the limited nighttime hours.
- Improved Cleaning Coverage: Although the Ecobot 50 can clean up to 1,200m² per hour, it effectively covered just under 700m² per hour in the terminal due to the presence of fixed chairs, ensuring thorough cleaning even in challenging spaces.
Overall, Kalvin Klean has become an essential part of our cleaning operation at Portsmouth International Port, improving efficiency, reducing water use and enabling our team to maintain the highest standards of cleanliness expected by our clients and guests.
We’re continuing to explore more about Cobotics (different sizes and floor types) and considering how we can introduce them to our client sites, in education and the public sector.
If you are interested in introducing Cobotics on your site or finding out more information about them or even have a good suggestion for a cobot name, please contact one of our innovation experts on enquiries@nviro.co.uk or call our Portsmouth office on 02392 370044.