Mission impossible? Not with these four commercial window cleaning trends

Exterior maintenance is an important part of creating productive and hygienic professional environments. Discover the commercial window cleaning trends, such as drones and robots, that make this task easier than ever for your cleaning team.

Every building provides its own unique challenges

Did you know that professional window cleaners are braver than Tom Cruise? Yes, the movie star might have scaled the world’s tallest building in the popular Mission: Impossible series, but that’s no big deal. Not to the window cleaning team who do the same thing EVERY DAY to make sure the Burj Khalifa’s glass exterior is spotless..

The Burj Khalifa’s professional window cleaning team work year-round to stay on top of the job. After all, it takes three months to clean the tower from top to bottom. And, to achieve this amazing feat, they attach themselves to the building’s spire (only 828m off the ground). From here, they abseil down, cleaning as they go. You’d need a head for heights in that job..

Sure, not all buildings have such extreme window cleaning needs. But it does highlight how challenging it can be to maintain exterior cleanliness. Building design, height and weather all add to the difficulty of your window cleaning operations. And you need to make sure your team has everything they need to get the job done in a way that's both safe and effective..

Four commercial window cleaning trends to look out for

The complexity of maintaining building exteriors is growing, so your team needs the right equipment. However, the ‘right’ equipment is always changing. Sometimes, you even see a major shift in how businesses across the industry operate – and 2021 could well be the year another big change takes place..

Here are the four commercial window cleaning trends you really need to look out for (and how they might transform your business):

1. Cleaning drones will take to the skies in a big way

This is the trend that could shape commercial window cleaning in 2021. Some companies already use drones to clean tall, glass-fronted buildings and even wind turbines), so it’s not exactly new tech. Saying that, we expect it to see widespread adoption and use over the next year. So far, this innovation has been something of a curiosity. But, now, it looks likely to change the way you work for good.

The benefits of the technology are clear. For starters, it’s safer for your team (no dangling off the side of huge towers). It’s also incredibly efficient – especially as newer, tethered cleaning drones increase the range and time you can use them for. The exciting thing is that the sector is relatively new. This means there’s still plenty of scope for improvement and innovation. Now’s the time to start exploring what cleaning drones could do for your team….

2. Robots will be the ones climbing buildings

Drones aren’t the only machines making their way into the world of commercial window cleaning. Like their indoor counterparts, robotic cleaners are proving that they can take on the job. They're especially useful for cleaning those tricky-to-reach areas. A good example of this in action is the robot that cleans various areas of Utrecht’s Central Station. Handling such a complex building shows how machines can work alongside your team to drive productivity..

Autonomous robotic cleaners will likely be the competition for cleaning drones in 2021. Offering similar safety and efficiency benefits, the difference will be in customer needs. It’ll all depend on which innovation best meets the specific requirements of the environments you work in. While drones still rely on a user to pilot them, you can leave most robots to get on with the job. This could prove to be a crucial advantage.

3. Management & Mobility apps will become the standard

Drones vs Robots might sound like great fun, but you can’t afford to focus entirely on machines. There’s plenty of less visible innovation going on behind the scenes that should excite you. And, whichever of the two you pick, you still need an effective way to manage everything..

That’s where Management & Mobility apps come in. Connecting everyone via smartphone, they give your team complete visibility of your operations. No more duplicated effort or missed tasks. This means you can improve productivity (and measure it), delivering better results while saving costs..

This will be one of the key investments for any cleaning business in 2021. After all, what’s the point of introducing hi-tech new machines if you still manage your operations with pen and paper or a spreadsheet?

4. Sustainability will be at the front of customers’ minds

Whichever ways you develop your cleaning operations in 2021, the need to be more sustainable will underpin every decision. It’s the big issue that’s relevant to every single sector of the industry. And companies everywhere are already working to create environmentally friendly products and processes. Expect this to accelerate over the next 12 months.

You’ll have to look further than the chemicals you use to clean windows, though. The need for sustainability in professional cleaning goes way beyond green cleaning. It affects every link in the supply chain. No doubt you’ve already worked with customers who’ve asked about your green credentials. It’ll soon become the norm, so you can’t afford to look the other way on this at all..

If you haven’t already, it’s time to explore what sustainability means for your business. How do you become part of the Circular Economy? How do you drive sustainability across your supply chain? And how can you prevent waste, rather than managing it? The sooner you answer these questions, the better..

See these trends in action

The four commercial window cleaning trends above will play a huge role in shaping the future of the industry. So, if you haven’t already, you really need to look at what they mean for your business. We get it, though. That’s easier said than done when there are so many new solutions to learn about. How do you know what’s going to work best for your team today, tomorrow and in years to come? In our experience, the best way to answer that question is to subscibe to our newsletter.

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