August 27, 2020

Airports: The benefits of an autonomous floor-scrubber

Ever run late for a flight and have to sprint through a terminal? Then you realize how large some of these international airports have become, some spanning hundreds of miles. The Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport is so large that it has its own zip code. It’s hard to imagine how much floor space is in airports around the world — it’s even harder to imagine how all that floor space gets cleaned daily.

In a typical year, airports across the world see upwards of 8 billion passengers. That’s 16 billion pairs of shoes and several billion suitcases traveling along those hundreds of square miles of floor space, leaving them dirty and stained. There are facility management companies and teams of housekeeping staff dedicated to airport cleaning, but the hours required for cleaning the floors can take away from other important tasks.

Recognizing this, Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport Airport deployed Neo, the autonomous floor scrubbing robot, this past November. Cleaning the floors manually required 24 labor hours and a three-person team working overnight. Neo is now deployed three to four times per day, autonomously and thoroughly cleaning the floors, freeing up the housekeeping team to focus on high-touch areas.

As Brian Cobb, Chief Innovation Officer, at CVG mentions following the deployment of Neo,

“We receive written notes and feedback. People say, ‘We saw the robot. You really care about cleanliness.’ What is heartwarming — to leadership and the individuals responsible for it — is that we are absolutely lauded for our cleanliness. That’s hard to accomplish with the number of people coming through our facility. We’re exceptionally proud of that. The credit really goes to the housekeeping staff and to Neo, working alongside one another.”

To learn more about CVG’s experience deploying Neo, including the selection process and the benefits they’ve realized, visit the CVG Airport Embraces Smart Robotic Floor Scrubbers to Manage Growth case study.

Credit: Neo autonomously cleaning the floors at CVG Airport (source: The NY Times).

Like CVG, several other airports around the globe are employing Neo to ensure their floors are cleaned thoroughly, frequently and safely — five of the top 10 airports at the prestigious 2020 World Airport Awards by Skytrax rely on the autonomous floor scrubbing robot Neo as an integral part of the housekeeping team.

Changi Airport in Singapore sees 65 million passengers through its four terminals each year. In 2018, this 4.1 million square foot facility deployed a large fleet of Neos to take on the laborious task of keeping their floors clean.

In addition to freeing up the housekeeping team to focus on high-touch areas, Neo offers:

Enhanced passenger experience

In the wake of COVID-19, regular and consistent cleaning, sanitizing and disinfecting is paramount to the health and safety of passengers, employees, flight crews and partners alike. With Neo delivering a consistent and efficient floor clean, the housekeeping staff is able to use the time they would have spent cleaning the floors to clean high-touch 3-D surfaces. With Neo autonomously cleaning, passengers know that their health and safety is a priority for the airport.

Safety

Powered by Avidbots Autonomy, Neo delivers flawless navigation, avoiding anyone and everything in dynamic environments including airports. The additional safety features such as e-stop buttons and bumpers along with integrated warning lights help protect property, travelers and airport personnel during robot operation. Additionally, Neo’s rear vacuum and squeegees ensure floors are clean, dry and safe for public use after cleaning.

Reliability

The housekeeping team can keep everyone safe by focusing their attention on high-touch 3-D surfaces while Neo cleans and sanitizes the floors. With Neo, the floors are cleaned accurately, efficiently and consistently. Neo can be counted on to perform its job thoroughly with every use, and Avidbots customers have 24/7/365 access to our team of experts via phone or quick-response email, ensuring maximum uptime and efficiency for Neo.

Return on Investment (ROI)

Each Neo’s performance is measured and tracked through our proprietary web-based software platform, the Avidbots Command Center. The highly-detailed information provided for each robot will track metrics such as productivity, area cleaned, time of cleaning operation and more. These insights allow cleaning plans to be managed and modified to maximize the robot’s efficiency, ensuring a high ROI and supporting Neo’s ability to pay for itself within a 12-18 month timeframe.

With Neo already in use across the world, this truly autonomous floor scrubbing robot is changing the way airports keep their high traffic spaces clean, sanitized and safe. To learn how you can add Neo to your team, get in touch with us today.

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