ADVICE & OPINION
COBOTIC CLEANING
FMJ AIMS TO SUPPORT TECHNICAL EXPERTISE IN THE FM MARKET
Stefano Bensi, General Manager EMEA at SoftBank Robotics, a world leader
in humanoid robotics, explains the results of a recent study to establish the
e ects of vacuuming on airborne particulates
Recently, built environment
groups such as the British
Council for O ices and the Royal
Academy of Engineering have urged
for better ventilation in Britain’s
buildings to reduce the risk of
COVID-19 and other infections. Yet
ventilation and its role in spreading
airborne particulate matter are the
tip of the iceberg when it comes to
indoor air quality.
Cleaning products such as air
fresheners and cleaning solvents o en
produce aerosols capable of irritating
the respiratory system. Paint contains
volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that
can lead to breathing di iculties and
16 APRIL 2022
damage our body’s
central nervous
system. Harmful
mould lurks in
damp corners
of bathrooms
and other poorly
ventilated spaces.
Dust builds
on surfaces
without an
adequate
cleaning
regime in
place.
Even a
building’s heating, cooling and
humidification systems may introduce
pollutants into the air if they’re not
properly maintained.
As outlined in the feature on page
48, these factors can literally make
building occupants sick, a phenomenon
o icially recognised by many global
health organisations as ‘sick building
syndrome’ (SBS). Common symptoms
from SBS include headaches, skin
irritation, dry coughs, fatigue and more.
PRODUCTIVITY DRAIN
For more than a decade Leesman has
been measuring employee experience
globally. Its data from more than
900,000 employee surveys show 67
per cent of respondents have reported
that air quality is important to them.
Yet fewer than half (46 per cent) were
satisfied with the air quality in their
o ice. That represents a huge disparity
between what employees expect and
what their organisations are delivering.
Further research suggests that
these employees have every right
to be dissatisfied. Recently, Harvard
University’s public health school
undertook a study to determine how air
quality impacted people’s productivity.
Researchers worked with more than
300 individuals for over a year, using an
app to trigger personalised cognitive
tests at specific times and
when sensors detected a
depletion in air quality.
This study – which
included participants
in o ices across six
countries working in
engineering, real
estate, architecture
and technology –
found that increased
concentrations of
fine particulate
matter and lower
ventilation rates
(measured using carbon
dioxide levels as a proxy) correlated
with slower response times and
reduced accuracy on the cognitive
tests. Researchers observed impaired
cognitive function at concentrations
common within indoor environments.
MEASURING CLEANING’S IMPACT
Cleaning practices can make a
huge di erence to the spread of
airborne particulates. Surfaces such
as carpets serve as an important air
filter by trapping pollutants, but their
e ectiveness reduces as they become
saturated with dust and debris, so their
cleanliness is crucial.
With that in mind, as well as the
growing demand for solutions that
support better air quality, we wanted
to see how our autonomous vacuum
sweeper Whiz would deal with the
challenge of airborne particulates
settling on floor surfaces. Whiz is a
collaborative robot – or ‘cobot’ for
short – designed to support cleaning
teams in their work by removing
the strain of repetitive and timeconsuming
tasks and enabling sta
to focus on higher value activities.
The cobot comes equipped with a
sweeping brush, a filter that captures
particles such as dust and pollen, and
built-in sensors that allow the cobot
to avoid people, walls, stairs and cli s.
The technology can also send realtime
alerts when it’s done or needs
assistance.
So, we set up a study with smart
sensor provider Infogrid whose
platform can handle millions of realtime
data events from hundreds of
thousands of sensors. For this project,
we deployed dozens of air quality
sensors with the ability to monitor
CO2, VOCs, radon, humidity, light
levels, ventilation, virus risk factor, air
pressure, and a range of pollutants
including particulate matter – the latter
being the study’s primary focus.
We chose two unrelated test sites:
a corporate bank headquarters and a
corporate o ice environment. Then, we
deployed Infogrid’s air quality sensors
in these buildings and took readings
for two weeks while cleaning teams
continued to service the areas according
to their normal cleaning schedules and
using their normal cleaning equipment.
The sensors were installed in various
positions across each floor, all chosen
for their medium tra ic. Next, we
deployed Whiz for a two-week period
while suspending normal vacuum
cleaning practices and continued to
measure air quality through the Infogrid
sensors.
DATA FINDINGS
The study measured and compared
approximately 400,000 data points over
the four weeks, analysing particulates
at three di erent sizes before and a er
Whiz’s deployment. And our findings
were emphatic. The data uncovered
a positive reduction following the
introduction of our ‘cobot’ technology,
with supermajority in the 50 per cent
reduction range. Meanwhile, the study
detected no increases in particulate
through the operation of Whiz.
These results demonstrate the
benefits that data-driven technology can
deliver for organisations now pursuing
better air quality in their buildings. As
always, measuring data provides a clear
baseline for improvements and the
evidence needed to justify longer-term
investments down the line. Nonetheless,
it’s important to remember this
objective requires a holistic approach
which targets the numerous factors
impacting air quality, from ventilation
and HVAC systems to the use of nontoxic
cleaning products, air purifiers and
other disinfection tools.
FAST FACTS