Cleaning solutions provider Kärcher has developer Kärcher Fleet, a new telematics solution that ensures transparency for commercial cleaning contractors.
It works in a similar way to established fleet-management solutions for logistics companies. Commercial cleaning contractors can use GPS and mobile telephony to find out where a particular machine is, what work it has performed, and what condition it is in.
By providing customised information for operators, facility managers, branch managers and head office, Kärcher Fleet lays the foundation for optimisation and increased efficiency in daily routines.
The system’s technical centrepiece is a specially developed telematics box the size of a smartphone. At present, it can be fitted to scrubber-driers and sweepers ex-works. The principle everywhere is the same – plug and play: switch on the telematics box, log in via the Internet, and off you go.
What information do the various people involved in the cleaning business need in order to improve their daily work? A team of developers working with Dr Alexander Grohmann of Kärcher’s Fleet and Telematics Management found the answer to this by means of a field study and systematic process analysis of and with teams of cleaners. “We asked ourselves what information offers utility value to customers. Collecting data or status reports is not much help in itself,” Grohmann said. “The fine art is not to overload the system and to offer a high degree of user convenience.”
Kärcher Fleet now provides commercial cleaners with reliable information about capacity utilisation, machine allocation, determining location, battery status, machine status and work performance records.
For more information, visit www.karcher.com.
© 2015 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones.
