A look back at Interclean 2018
Interclean 2018 Amsterdam. What did we get out of it as FacilityApps? About 2 months after the event I put some thoughts in order.
Interclean is an unprecedentedly large event with many visitors from all kinds of countries. The fair organisation creates a feeling of "we need to be here". There are only a limited number of places left.
There is a special hall set up for our mobility solutions. But how can you stand out in all those huge exhibition halls? Stand design, stand staffing, how do we do that? I think we succeeded well with our stand. But we were also lucky to be in the Kalverstraat. People had to pass through this route in this hall. This attracted a lot of attention and interest.
In addition, we had the luxury that our partner Vileda Professional's stand (which was much larger than ours) was fully focused on digital solutions. Including FacilityApps solutions. Double opportunities :).
Innovation in cleaning
We had chosen not only to show our standard modules for digitalisation of the cleaning operation in our stand. We wanted to show what will happen in the future with new techniques. These techniques already exist and during this event we could demonstrate as many of them as possible live.
We had a waste bin with a sensor that sees through the waste what the density of the waste in the bin is. A task can then be created directly for the cleaner when the bin is 75% full (or 90%, whatever you prefer).
We also had people counters that count how many people have been in a room and beacons that automatically show that cleaners have been in certain rooms.
Introduction Indoor positioning
Finally we introduced the 'Where is my cleaner app'. If you have this app on your phone, we can determine the exact position of cleaners in a building. Once you know that, you can look at many more interesting things. How much time did he/she spend in a room? Who is closest in case of an emergency?
Two years ago we already attracted a lot of interest in sensors at Interclean 2016. This year that interest was even greater. There were also people who concretely said they wanted to start with this. The development of new techniques was also visible at Interclean itself. There were, for example, many more robots.
Converting interest into pilots
We are now more than 2 months further. Converting interest into actual pilots turns out to be a challenge. Really pushing forward on innovation only happens on a small scale.
We are therefore pleased that there are a number of cleaning companies and partners who believe in our vision and are joining us in this development.
Yes, it costs (extra) time and money, but together we try to learn from the data that is generated. Hopefully we will have taken a big step forward in improving our industry in 2 years' time.
In short: Interclean is potentially a dream event due to the many targeted trade visitors and to see the latest developments in the cleaning industry. The question remains how we can accelerate the new developments….