Navigating New Technology Charting the most beneficial turns in today’s cleaning market. T By: Phillip Lawless, editor Phillip Lawless is editor of Cleaning & Maintenance Management magazine; he can be reached at PLawless@ GrandViewMedia.com. A graduate of the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Lawless has over 13 years of professional writing and editing experience. for more info Visit www.cmmonline.com and type in search keyword: Technology . For more information on related products, visit www.cmmonline.com , select DIRECTORY from the main navigation bar, and enter keyword: Productivity . The only thing modern society appears to enjoy more than using new technology is celebrating new technology. Cell phones, robotics, computing power and the scope of the Internet are all subjects discussed daily in commercials, online videos, news reports, movies and television. Even in this “technology all the time” world, there are a number of strong industries thriving that still serve some of mankind’s most basic needs. Utility companies, healthcare facilities and ag-riculture operations are a few examples — as are cleaning and hygiene businesses and depart-ments. Even in the age of smart homes and high-tech office buildings, cleaning remains a stable, if some-what traditional, industry. When it comes to technology in this market, one of the most pressing questions is: How can newer technology help to advance and standardize the industry overall? Because cleaning is done everywhere, every day, by a multitude of people, creating any consensus on industry standardization is a definite challenge. Yet, as the Internet has connected the rest of the world, it also can create accelerated communica-tion for the cleaning industry. Technology can contribute to improved com-munication between: ● Management and workers ● Cleaning operations and clients ● Equipment and supervisors/workers ● Different operations. In this connected environment, technology and IT departments will be, and are already becoming, especially important. There is no doubt that operations can increase cleaning speed and efficiency by calling upon new, connected technology. July 2014 The true challenge is actually getting rid of more germs while working faster and finding ways to fur-ther drive these hygienic results. Science and innovation are going to make a dif-ference, and investing in technology is set to be-come a best practice. To this point, one theme was repeated often dur-ing the recent World Federation of Building Service Contractors (WFBSC) Congress in New York City. Simply put, technology’s main task is to serve its users. More than one speaker at WFBSC explained that if a new technology does not have the ability to pay for itself through efficiencies, then it is not worth-while technology. Cleaning operations should not be afraid of new technology, but take advantage of the latest technological advances. 18 CM/Cleaning & Maintenance Management ®
CMM – Archives July 2014: 18
