Summary/Reader's response draft 1

 

The article “How tech can ease the cleaning industry’s manpower crunch” (GERMii, 2021) introduces SoftBank Robotics’ “AI – powered commercial floorcare cleaning robot, Whiz”. According to the article (GERMii, 2021), Whiz vacuums without external help so that cleaners can prioritize on “human – centric tasks”. It also steers clear of obstacles automatically and provides operators “real – time data and alerts”, allowing them to enjoy serenity with minimum supervision (GERMii, 2021). With an award winning BrainOS navigation software, all it takes is a one-time setup from the user and Whiz will remember the route (Jacky's, 2022). The built-in sensors and cliff detectors also ensure it avoids obstacles with ease. Whiz also has an effective cleaning system. It can thoroughly clean and cover a carpet area of 500m². With the help of the hepa filter, it allows it to “capture 99.97% of PM2.5 particles including pollen and dust” (Jacky's, 2022). According to (Jacky's, 2022), users will also be able to obtain “real time information” such as alerts, device status and analysis report from the pager provided or via the Whiz connect web application. Powered by lithium-ion batteries, the robot can last up to 3 hours with a single charge. Whiz will be able to help the cleaning industry uphold the high standards of cleanliness by allowing cleaning staff to prioritize on more important cleaning, increasing cleaning efficiency, attracting the staff to stay on the work force.

Tasks such as vacuum cleaning and mopping are time-consuming and mundane. However, they are essential to maintain the strict requirements of cleanliness. By allowing Whiz to carry out these tedious chores, the cleaning staff will have more time to concentrate on more important tasks, such as “sterilising “high-touch, high-risk, or difficult-to-clean areas”” (GERMii, 2021)i.e., elevator buttons, bathrooms and desks. According to SoftBank Robotics (SoftBank Robotics Team, 2020), the cleaning industry has limited resources such as manpower to carry out their daily jobs. Whiz will be able to tackle that issue due to it being able to “offload up to 30% of cleaning time traditionally spent vacuuming manually” (SoftBank Robotics Team, 2020).

The features and functions of Whiz also increase the cleaning efficiency of the cleaning industry. Firstly, the “analysis reports about cleaning status” (Jacky's, 2022) gives managers a deeper understanding of the cleaning performance. This allows the cleaning company to “increase efficiency, reduce expenses and identify areas for improvement”. Secondly, with the help of the built-in sensors and BrainOS navigation software, Whiz is able to clean areas regularly without additional labour costs. Since no additional costs are needed, cleaning will be more efficient.

The cleaning industry is well known for its high turnover because of the job’s nature. It is not a very elegant occupation thus it will be tough to prevent your staff from resigning. Bringing robots into the workforce will help with employee retention by “improving job satisfaction, performance and overall work quality” (Tennant, 2022). According to the article (GERMii, 2021), SoftBank Robotics Singapore has collaborated with Singapore’s National Trades Union Congress LearningHub to provide training to cleaning staff on how to properly utilise Whiz. Employers working in the leadership position such as managers or supervisors will also be learning to evaluate “cloud data visualisation and status reports” and make better decisions in order to improve the efficiency (GERMii, 2021). These trainings will upgrade the workers’ skills, which in return make them feel appreciated and willing to stay for the company.  With a more motivated workforce, the high standards of cleanliness will be easily achieved.

However, bringing Whiz into the cleaning industry does have its disadvantages as well. Firstly, it can be expensive. According to (Kingsman Media Pte Ltd, 2019), Whiz will be under a scheme named Robot-as-a-Service, which is a monthly subscription. The subscription will be priced at $499 per unit/month with an extra $100 maintenance fee. Secondly, as an AI robot, Whiz will not be able to have dynamic thinking. It is only programmed to do certain duties and will not do anything that is not instructed to do. On the other hand, cleaning staff can think critically and adapt to any situations they might face.

Although Whiz brings certain disadvantages to the cleaning industry, the advantages outweigh the disadvantages in general. Thus, Whiz will be a great helping hand to the industry and companies should consider on making Whiz their potential partner.

 

 

 

 

References

GERMii. (2021, June 1). How tech can ease the cleaning industry's manpower crunch. https://govinsider.asia/future-of-work/how-tech-can-ease-the-cleaning-industrys-manpower-crunch-robots-germii/

Heinl, A. (2021, December 20). The Pros and Cons of Autonomous Cleaning Tools for Professionals.  https://www.janitorialmanager.com/blog/the-pros-and-cons-of-autonomous-cleaning-tools-for-professionals/

Jacky's. (2022). Whiz - A commercial dry Vacuum cleaning Robot.  https://www.jackys.com/business-solutions/education/whiz-vacuum-robot/67

Kingsman Media Pte Ltd. (2019, October 4). SoftBank Robotics Singapore Launches AI Commercial Vacuum Cleaner 'Whiz'. https://nxtmag.tech/2019/10/04/softbank-robotics-singapore-launches-ai-commercial-vacuum-cleaner-whiz/

Meisenzahl, M. (2019, November 20). SoftBank created its own robot vacuum that uses self-driving car technology and costs $500 a month. https://www.businessinsider.com/softbank-robot-vacuum-whiz-self-driving-tech-photos-2019-11

SoftBank Robotics Team. (2020, April 14). 3 Ways Humans & Commercial Cleaning Robots Work in the New Normal.  https://us.softbankrobotics.com/blog/3-ways-humans-and-robots-collaborate-in-commercial-cleanings-new-normal

Tennant. (2022). The Robotics Revolution and Your Cleaning Business.  https://www.tennantco.com/en_us/resources/resource-center/white-papers/amr-cleaning-business-robotics.html

 

 

 

 

 

 

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