FM Business Daily was invited to take a tour of Mitie’s Cleaning and Hygiene Centre of Excellence in Birmingham to understand the innovations it is investing in and its different approach to cleaning
It’s fair to say that before the pandemic, cleaning was not as much on the agenda as some of the other FM services. But with a completely new approach to flexible working as restrictions lifted, including hotdesking, hybrid working and new office layouts; and a heightened concern of cleanliness and hygiene – cleaning services has been put in the spotlight.
There is now a demand for cleaning to be more visible, especially in the workplace.
Mitie has adapted to incorporate these changes and has invested in its cleaning services with advances in technology and science leading to a new approach to cleaning. Most recently, Mitie has opened a Cleaning and Hygiene Centre of Excellence in its Birmingham hub, to demonstrate to new and existing clients how it approaches this service when cleaning more than 6,800 sites across the UK and Ireland, and how it is investing in the latest technology to achieve this. This is combined with market-leading training with a focus on compliance and support for its cleaning colleagues.
Jason Towse, Managing Director, Business Services, Mitie said:“We believe that it is the combination of our exceptional colleagues, backed by the latest innovation that means we can deliver the best for our customers. Leading an industry is both a privilege and a responsibility, which is why we are investing heavily in our people and technology, to accelerate the Science of Service.
“Technology and innovation not only ensures more hygienic spaces, it helps reduce our impact on the planet while also creating more fulfilling, skilled careers for our cleaning colleagues. As the UK’s largest provider of cleaning services, with a footprint covering hundreds of customers and thousands of sites, we are in a unique position to drive the industry forward. Hosting the future of our industry under one roof, the Cleaning and Hygiene Centre of Excellence is just the start.”
The centre consists of six zones, each highlighting how its different solutions integrate and drive innovation in the sector.
A science-based approach
Mitie has developed a fully-operational Health and Safety Executive-accredited laboratory to demonstrate to its clients how science plays a part in cleaning innovation.
Within this, scientists are continually looking at how they can use enzyme-based solutions and ‘good’ bacteria to increase the effectiveness of products. Investigating and implementing it into its cleaning processes alongside technological advancements, this approach aims at improving cleanliness longevity and provide assurance to clients of clean environments and atmospheres.
Combined with special UV lighting that sterilises the room when it is empty, Mitie is developing infrastructure for longer-term benefits for its clients.
Advancement through innovation
While reports this week from CIPHR show that one in three employees consider their jobs at risk from automation and digital transformation, Mitie is using its Cleaning and Hygiene Centre of Excellence to demonstrate how its teams and technology work together to achieve the best outcome from its clients. Using ‘co-bots’ called Chloe and Matilda, which work using mapping technology and sensors, to finish off areas after an initial clean, it allows the teams to focus on other areas within buildings – which is vital in sectors such as healthcare and a lot of transport hubs which are supported by Mitie.
As the demand for cleaning visibility increases after the pandemic, co-bots such as Chloe, which will clean around buildings while greeting people as they walk by, are a welcome sight and attract a lot of attention.
Lorraine Davis, Director of Cleaning & Hygiene Services, said: “There is always a need for human resource when it comes to cleaning services, which is why we are investing in technology that supports our teams to provide a better service – rather than reducing the amount of cleaners needed.
“Training is essential and is easily provided to all colleagues. The reception from our team has been phenomenal. Alongside the benefits we provide our colleagues, such as a 24/7 virtual GP Service and free life assurance, our investment in innovation demonstrates the support we are giving our teams to do their jobs well.
“Technology will not replace the important of human intervention when it comes to cleaning – it has enhanced it. It allows us to give further assurance to our clients that we are leaving them with a consistently clean environment.”
Alongside the co-bots, Mitie is looking at environmental and biological advances to provide sustainable solutions which reduce reliance on chemicals, water and energy, including bamboo and sugar cane paper products. By using BioHygiene enzyme-based cleaning products, it can reduce CO2 emissions by 96%.
All this contributes to Mitie’s ‘Perfect Cleaning Cupboard’ which will feature all new innovations as new products and services are trialled.
Bringing a data-led approach to cleaning
An impressive feature of Mitie’s innovations is its control centre dashboard, Merlin, which, through in-house developers, has taken a data-led approach often seen in major projects and security services and applied it to cleaning.
Through sensors and tracking tools, Mitie is able to determine which areas need extra detail cleaning and improve efficient cleaning. Fed on to one dashboard, which also logs how and when Mitie colleagues have cleaned areas, it gives assurance to those using the workspaces and clients that they are receiving a great service.
Lorraine said: “Our in-house developers have looked at how control centres like this work for security services and adapted it to cleaning – using smart and powerful advances to truly give an indication of how much cleaning needs to be done in certain areas.
“To be able to harness this data and use it to optimise our services is essential, while giving our clients assurance that we are providing the best service we can.
“It also allows us to understand workplace habits with regards to usage in bathrooms and in open spaces, which we can analyse and provide insightful feedback to both new and existing clients when talking about our services.
“Through this, Mitie can pioneer a revolutionary way of delivering cleaning services, which is reinforced digitally and scientifically – ultimately giving everyone that benefits from our services the assurance that they are in hygienic environment.”
To find out more, visit https://www.mitie.com/the-science-of-service/
