Our core business is cleaning services.

We mainly win contracts for government-related facilities through bidding.

We also clean Osaka Metro stations and hospitals.

Most sites are mid-sized buildings, not large event venues.

Cleaning areas are mainly shared spaces like entrances, hallways, toilets, and exteriors used by the general public.

A common issue across the industry, especially labor shortage and aging staff, was serious.

Even with job postings, we couldn’t hire enough people, so retirees continued working, accelerating on-site aging.

This increased the risk of workplace accidents.

Rising minimum wages also added financial pressure.

We saw no sign of improvement in labor shortages or aging.

Fearing business continuity issues, we began seriously considering robots for labor savings and efficiency.

The Osaka Building Maintenance Association also began hosting frequent robot briefings, raising industry interest.

Management and staff had different concerns.

A past demo of another company’s robot left a strong negative impression.

That robot had

① complex route setting requiring expertise

② stopped cleaning with even minor obstacles

and was impractical.

We feared the same issues would recur.

Staff worried about safety and operational burden.

Specifically:

“Will it collide with users?”

“Will we have to babysit it all the time?”

They also felt psychological pressure handling expensive equipment and feared complex operation.

There was also anxiety about the psychological burden of handling expensive equipment and the difficulty of operation.

These concerns were resolved by seeing the robot’s actual performance and ease of use.

The touchscreen was intuitive—even elderly staff could use it easily.

Its smart obstacle avoidance and continuous cleaning dispelled all doubts.

After watching it smoothly avoid people and obstacles, both management and staff agreed it could be used safely without constant supervision.

Three main reasons:

Unlike the previous complex system, this robot creates a map simply by manually guiding it once, making planning easy.

Its strong suction leaves almost no water after washing, allowing us to integrate washing into daily routines instead of periodic deep cleans.

At ~40 kg, it’s far lighter than 80 kg midsize robots, making it easy for staff to handle in mid-sized facilities.

For us managing multiple sites remotely, the remote management system was the best fit.

Being able to monitor and manage many robots centrally from HQ is essential for efficiency.

We base operations on human-robot collaboration.

The robot handles large floor areas while staff focus on corners and edges it can’t reach—an efficient division of labor.

Cleaning operations are now visible.

The map shows cleaned areas in color, so progress and missed spots are obvious at a glance.

This improves reporting accuracy, saves site-visit time, and greatly reduces management workload.

Floor-cleaning quality has improved dramatically.

The J35’s strong suction leaves almost no water.

Previously, washing required 2–3 people and was only done periodically.

Now one robot handles it safely and cleanly, so we can include washing in daily routines.

This maintains high hygiene and appearance every day.

Remote logs also eliminate uneven or missed cleaning, ensuring consistent quality.

Staff burden has definitely decreased.

The robot covers most floor cleaning, so staff can focus on areas it can’t reach.

Clear role division creates an efficient collaborative system.

Right after introduction, many small questions and technical issues arose.

Being able to contact manufacturer engineers directly for quick support was extremely helpful.

Immediate assistance lets us operate the robot with confidence.

While setting up at a station, a passer-by asked, “Is that a cleaning robot? Modern stations really do have robots!” and watched with interest. That left an impression.

Robot adoption is now inevitable in the cleaning industry.

For those considering it:

Start planning new contracts with robot use in mind from the outset.

This makes introduction smoother and more effective.

The same applies to existing properties.

If you have the resources, actively consider introduction.

Waiting until labor runs out leaves no time to gain experience.

Start now, even experimentally, to build know-how and hedge future risk.

Attend industry briefings and demos, and use trial programs.

Above all, involve on-site staff.

Top-down alone won’t work; gain staff understanding and cooperation through careful follow-up.