Making Sense Of Floor Machine Usage Data

United Services Group’s issue with lost equipment was immediately a thing of the past, thanks to the geo-location features of the IoT–enabled machines. The machines are equipped with technology to track their location, and the system will send an alert to the BSC if a machine is moved more than a specified distance from its previous location.

“Now we know where our equipment is at all times, we are gathering data to optimize productivity rates and service levels, while at the same time preventing thefts,” says Choucrallah. “We started seeing a return on our investment right away.”

Through the IoT software platform associated with the new machines, United Services Group is able to send daily usage information from each machine back to regional, operational and area managers. The software presents those managers with a dashboard of charts and graphs that allows them to evaluate their employees’ performance. The dashboard can be viewed on mobile devices in the field, and the software allows United Services Group to customize which data is highlighted.

The software also informs United Services Group managers of a floor machine’s lack of usage. If a machine sits idle for a day, an alert is triggered. United Services Group management can then determine the reason the machine hasn’t moved and take immediate corrective action if necessary, says Choucrallah. Often, the software informs United Services Group of the fact that its frontline workers may need more training.

“This information allows us to know how much our frontline cleaners are using the auto scrubbers on a daily basis, which should be anywhere from two to four hours,” says Choucrallah. “That allows us to be proactive and get to the problem before a quality issue arises.”

Improving cleaning quality before it becomes a noticeable problem for the customer is the real goal.

“We believe these reports will help ensure we are providing reliable and consistent service to our clients,” he says. “Now we can act immediately on a daily basis to prevent service levels from dropping."

Data generated by the units also aid the BSC’s sales team.

“When our sales team quotes jobs, they can tell the potential customer how long a scrubber will be running, which enables them to better quote jobs,” says Larry Ker, vice president business development at United Services Group. “Our quotes are based on productivity rates and gains, which keeps us very transparent with our pricing and breakdowns when we quote jobs.”

Key United Services Group employees are also alerted when the floor machines need to be serviced according to the manufacturer’s recommendations, similar to a car alerting the driver of the need for an oil change. The system is intended to remove the possibility for human error.

“The indicator from the telemetry is much more precise than what a human can determine,” says Choucrallah.