| |SEPTEMBER 202219Although UV light has been used to a greater extent for more than 40 years for disinfecting wastewater, air, drinking water, & surfaces against most human pathogens, similar to other disinfection technologies, UV has observed a rise in popularity over the pandemic periodthe pandemic sped up the surge in demand & implementation of this technology.Self-driving, programmable floor scrubbers for example implement the built-in cameras as well as screens that integrate with intuitive software platforms in order to safely navigate surroundings, detect as well as avoid people & obstacles & learn new routes. Also, what sensors did was they wereused to collect real-time data in order to alert managers while cleaning tasks are complete, tanks need refilling or maintenance required.One of the major selling points of cleaning robots during the pandemic period was how these machines can take on repetitive, as well as labor-intensive cleaning jobs which include vacuuming & floor scrubbing which lets employees on focusing on `high-value' tasks such as disinfecting surfaces.Robotic cleaning machines are not the right fit for all sorts of enterprises or even facilities. Neither will they totally replace the need for human workers. Let us think of the layout of your facility and size as well as the impact these robots will have on your staff. They will not only need to start training but they should also get educated on how to operate these machines.The next wave of cleaning robots that are arriving to the market at present are multifunctional. This means that they can disinfect doorknobs/stock shelves based on the facility at the same time they will clean floors.In September, 2021, Avidbots a Canadian based company announced a new disinfection sprayer add-on for its floor scrubbing robot Neo."With the disinfection add-on, our customers can disinfect surfaces for a few hundred dollars per month ­ this is more than 10 times the savings when compared to having a separate robot or human completing the same task", said Avidbots' CTO & Co-Founder, Pablo Molina.ULTRAVIOLET DISINFECTION TECHNOLOGYLastly, ultraviolet light is also being used in disinfection technology products. Although UV light has been used to a greater extent for more than 40 years for disinfecting wastewater, air, drinking water, & surfaces against most human pathogens, similar to other disinfection technologies, UV has observed a rise in popularity over the pandemic period. Also, Research has proved the wavelength range of UVC light is highly effective in inactivating bacteria as well as viruses.UVC disinfection do not totally replace cleaning as surfaces are required to be free of either soil for the UV light to touch & disinfect them. Hence, UVC light must be used in combination with other cleaning procedures for better infection control.One such company offering UV Surface sterilizer is Hitech UV. Another instance is when Nilfisk came up with a new ultraviolet germicidal irradiation UVGI light attachment for its liberty SC50 autonomous scrubber last year.THE ROAD AHEAD"When vetting new technology always consider its complexity and any investments you will need to make to ensure its effective use; its track record compared to other technology and finally both the short- and long-term costs that will come from integrating technology into your day-to-day cleaning and disinfectant regiment", says Caracciolo, chief operating officer of OpenWorks.While the COVID-19 pandemic has spurred cleaning technology development like never before, new options are exciting & most of it are proving to have staying power owing to the efficiencies & cost savings these products bring.
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