When a new member starts on your cleaning team, they naturally fall into an established org structure. They quickly identify who their supervisor is, and they generally understand the support they will need from this person. They will look to their supervisor for tasks and schedules, to acquire supplies and tools, and to submit their vacation requests, among other things. All this will be mostly intuitive because it translates well from their last position on a cleaning team.
So how about the new collaborative robot joining your team next week. Where will it fit into the org structure? You do have an org structure, right?
Some would be inclined to say it falls off the org chart and into the equipment catalogue. After all, it’s no different from our walk behind scrubbers or battery powered vacuums. Or is it…
Collaborative robots, or cobots, used in a cleaning program aren’t just another piece of equipment. The cobot may be in essence a vacuum or floor scrubber, but it’s abundance of sophistication and technology level it up above the other equipment stashed in your EVS closet.
Just like our new human we hired above, your cobot can:
- Receive scheduling and task direction
- Work independently for a time
- Utilize consumables, supplies and tools
- Request vacation (ok, it’s really just requesting a Preventative Maintenance Inspection, but that’s sort of why we take vacation when we need a reset.)
Defining supervision is a key component of your future-ready cleaning management strategy. Because cleaning cobots are designed to function daily, they will need assigned supervision to ensure reliability and repeatability, just like the people in your organization. This doesn’t mean they need to fall under someone who already has the title supervisor, which is typically given to more experienced (hopefully) team members who have been trained and blessed by HR to manage others according to organizational standards.
So who gets to supervise the robotic newbie?
We suggest the operator.
Don’t shrug off the obvious nature of this suggestion and so overlook the opportunity. Remember, we’ve established the robot needs supervision, not simply operation like all the other equipment living in the EVS closet. Your opportunity is to introduce the cobot as a new team member assigned to it’s new supervisor…
We’ll call her Eva for this example. Eva has been with your team for 3 years. She is a faithful contributor and reliable equipment operator who has been content at her position on the org chart with no boxes below her name. After all, supervising humans comes with pain points, and a watchful HR department. But Eva contributes and cares, and you now have an opportunity to elevate and celebrate her skills by promoting her to cobot supervisor.
As cobot supervisor Eva will experience upskilling through robot operator training. Like any new equipment, there’s a learning curve, but she’s capable and will value the additional training. The consistency she’s demonstrated as an Individual Contributor will be a perfect solution to the maintenance needs of the cobot. It will even tell her when brushes or bags need changing, or when something isn’t working quite right. Eva is also accustomed to following a regular schedule, so it will be natural for her to shepherd her new report in a daily cleaning routine.
As it suits your organizational culture, give Eva a title reflecting her new skills and contributions to the team. By doing so you’ve accomplished two things: You promoted a new supervisor with little to no friction, and you’ve ensured your investment in a cobot will yield returns for years to come. It’s the future of supervision, and the future of clean!
