Farmington High School – Enhancing Janitorial Operations with Robotics

BACKGROUND

Farmington High School sought to optimize its custodial operations, where two custodians were spending a combined 8 hours each day cleaning floors. This routine task limited their ability to attend to other essential cleaning responsibilities. With a focus on efficiency and effective resource management, the school aimed to find a solution that would maintain cleanliness standards while freeing up custodial staff to focus on more complex tasks.

CHALLENGE

The high school faced significant labor challenges, with floor cleaning consuming valuable custodial hours that could have been spent on more strategic maintenance and cleaning activities. The school needed a solution that would not only automate the floor cleaning process but also support the custodial team in meeting the demands of the school year. Additionally, the solution had to be adaptable to varying operational needs, especially during periods of reduced demand in the summer.

OBJECTIVES

  • Free up several hours of custodial staff time daily by automating floor cleaning, allowing staff to focus on higher-priority tasks.

  • Maintain high cleanliness standards while improving operational efficiency.

  • Implement an adaptable solution that could run regularly during the school year and adjust based on seasonal needs.

  • Ensure easy integration with existing custodial workflows and scheduling.

SOLUTION

Innovative provided the CenoBots L50 Auto Scrubber, a fully autonomous floor cleaning robot. The CenoBots L50 is designed to integrate seamlessly into custodial operations, providing consistent and efficient cleaning while allowing staff to focus on other areas that require their attention.

Key features of the CenoBots L50 include:

  • AI-Powered Navigation: Uses the NVIDIA Xavier AI chip, enabling the robot to navigate spaces efficiently and safely, similar to human intelligence.

  • Advanced Sensing Technology: Equipped with 3D LiDAR, ultrasonic sensors, and anti-drop sensors, it ensures safe and effective operation across different environments.

  • High Cleaning Efficiency: With a cleaning width of 510mm (20 inches) and productivity of up to 2,203 m²/h (23,713 ft²/h), the L50 is capable of covering large areas quickly.

  • Extended Battery Life: Its 120Ah lithium battery provides up to 6 hours of continuous operation, making it ideal for long shifts.

  • Sustainability Features: A 5-stage filtration system and automatic detergent mixing reduce water and chemical consumption, promoting eco-friendly cleaning practices.

  • User-Friendly Interface: The robot is controlled via a 10.1-inch touchscreen and a mobile app, allowing for easy scheduling, monitoring, and maintenance management.

RESULTS

The implementation of the CenoBots L50 at Farmington High School resulted in significant improvements for both custodial staff and the school’s janitorial operations:

ENHANCED PRODUCTIVITY

By automating floor cleaning, the custodial team reclaimed 4-8 hours of their time each evening. This freed up valuable staff hours to focus on higher-value tasks, such as maintaining other parts of the school.

CONSISTENT QUALITY

The autonomous operation of the CenoBots L50 ensured that floors were consistently cleaned to a high standard, while also maintaining efficiency.

SEAMLESS INTEGRATION

The CenoBots L50 easily integrated into the school’s existing cleaning schedule. While the robot was used on an irregular basis during the summer, the school is now transitioning to a daily routine as they resume full-scale operations.

IMPROVED EFFICIENCY

Far from replacing jobs, the CenoBots L50 empowered custodial staff by taking over repetitive tasks, allowing them to focus on areas of higher priority. The result was a more efficient and satisfied team.

The introduction of CenoBots L50 to Farmington High School’s custodial operations is a prime example of how automation can be used to enhance custodial teams rather than replace them. The robot is freeing up valuable time for custodians to focus on other critical tasks, allowing for improved overall efficiency, job satisfaction, and consistency in cleaning. This case study demonstrates how robotics can work in partnership with existing teams to elevate their capabilities, and how it can help schools, offices, and other facilities optimize operations without compromising the role of staff.

TESTIMONIAL

Our CenoBot L50 was purchased to assist in modifying the workflow of our high school custodial team. We were looking for ways to redistribute work duties within our staff to better meet our needs. The CenoBot should help us reclaim 4-8 hours of staff time every evening to perform work that requires their direct attention. We have been running the scrubber on an irregular basis this summer due to reduced need, but are looking forward to having it run a regular daily schedule when we return to full-scale operations in late August. Thus far, we have been very pleased with the overall function and ease of use. The only hiccups we’ve faced thus far are staff learning the highly specific aspects of operating the robot at our facility they need to account for.

Dan Miller, Director of Operations, Farmington Area Public Schools

Ready to enhance your custodial operations and free up your staff’s time for more critical tasks? CenoBots L50 could be the perfect solution. Contact us today to learn more about how CenoBots can integrate into your existing operations and support your team.