Since the announcement by the Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, that he intends to continue with the next stage of his four-step plan to bring the country out of lockdown by the summer, there has been much speculation about leaving our make-shift home offices and returning to the corporate environment.
Johnson declared that thanks to the successful roll-out of vaccines and social restriction measures, “this unlocking amounts to a very considerable step on the road back to normality.” However, although he promises pubs, cafes and restaurants will be able to host customers indoors from the 17th May he urges people not to throw caution to the wind and said “social distancing must continue in workplaces, shops and restaurants.”
So how should companies respond to this next stage of social restriction measures? According to a memo by Reuters, JPMorgan will step up the return of all of its employees in England to working at least part of their week in its offices from June 21st, and it seems that many large corporates and SME’s are following suit, embracing a new ‘hybrid working model’.
Research from the Adecco Group suggests 77% of UK employees feel a mix of office-based and remote working is the best way forward post lockdown. However, how safe do employees actually feel when they’re ‘back in the office’ and what can companies do to ensure they feel as protected as possible?
Angela Collins, Sales & Marketing Manager at Incentive QAS Ltd reports that they have invested in a robotic scrubber dryer in order to free up human resources for touchpoint cleaning in communal areas. Collins said: “We work in partnership with our clients so that we are able to understand their evolving requirements and continuously improve our service delivery on site.
“A recent example of these successful close relationships has resulted in one of our clients taking on board our suggestion to increase cleaning of touchpoints in communal areas throughout the building, due to people returning to the workplace after lockdown. Together we identified the best way to create extra cleaning time to enable us to include this in the work schedule.
“It was decided that extra human resource wasn’t the best solution, and after considering other options we settled on a robotic scrubber dryer. This innovative piece of equipment takes care of large internal floor areas allowing staff to be re-deployed for touchpoint cleaning. It also returns itself to its docking station when the battery is low or the tank is full to self-charge and self-empty.
“This resolution has proven successful, and our client is happy that internal standards are being maintained with cleaning inside the building is more visible, providing occupiers with peace of mind that they are as safe as possible.”
The cleaning industry has been central in enabling the country to emerge from lockdown by helping to restore the public’s confidence in returning to work and using public spaces once again. Incentive QAS have been at the forefront of this effort, and their investment in robotic cleaning equipment is a clear indicator of their commitment to providing solutions for their client’s requirements.
While robotics aren’t new to the cleaning market, the recent developments in technology have meant that automated cleaning robots will undoubtedly change how businesses address their commercial cleaning challenges in the future. And while it seems that opinion is split between organisations wanting their staff ‘back in the office’ or continuing to embrace the new remote working world, it is clear that the cleaning industry have a huge role to play in the safety of our workers and public spaces.
