After hours or during trade?
Night runs avoid people but need lighting, access and someone to start and finish the job. Daytime runs need clear rules for shared floors.
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Application 03 / 06 · Planning guide
Cleaning robotics. Start with the floor.
Autonomous sweeping, vacuuming and scrubbing for commercial floors, planned around the surface, the routine and the people who share the space.
Planning guide · Project enquiries · Equipment confirmed per project
Fig. 03 · Autonomous floor scrubberMoving partSheet 03 / 06
The buyer question
Could a cleaning robot suit your floors?
Commercial cleaning robots sweep, vacuum or scrub floors along a repeatable route. Whether one suits your site depends on floor material, usable area, clutter, traffic, water handling and the daily maintenance around it.
Cleaning does not imply sterilisation or disinfection. A machine can only clean the surface it reaches, and someone still manages the water, the consumables and the edges. This guide explores the questions; it does not offer a particular model.
Start with the floor
- Surface: sealed concrete, vinyl, tiles, timber and carpet each call for a different machine type and method. Mixed surfaces may need more than one.
- Area and layout: open floor area, aisle widths, furniture density and the proportion of edges and corners a robot cannot reach.
- Levels and thresholds: ramps, lifts, door thresholds, drains and gradients. Stairs are out of scope for floor robots.
- Water and power: where clean water is filled, where recovery water is emptied, and where charging happens without blocking a route.
- Obstacles: cables, pallets, trolleys, glass walls and highly reflective or dark surfaces that can affect sensing.
Coverage rates, tank capacities and run times must come from the documentation for the selected machine, measured against your own floor plan.
Map the cleaning routine
A robot changes who does what, not whether the work exists. Write down the current routine, then mark which parts a machine could take and which stay with people.
Fill, empty, charge, replace
Someone fills clean water, empties recovery tanks, charges batteries and replaces pads, brushes and squeegee blades. Plan who, when and where.
When it stops
Define what happens when the robot pauses at an obstacle, loses position or reports a fault, and who is trained to recover it.
Plan for shared spaces
Shopping centres, lobbies, warehouses and schools all mix pedestrians with equipment. Observe the busiest period on the proposed route and note children, mobility aids, trolleys and staff crossing points.
Wet-floor management still matters. Confirm signage, drying time, slip risk on the chosen surface and how the machine indicates it is working. Relevant duty holders keep their safety responsibilities; a demonstration or training does not transfer them.
Costs beyond the machine
Compare the equipment price with consumables, water and chemical use, software subscriptions, connectivity, training, repairs, spare parts and servicing in Australia. Ask what the subscription covers if the machine relies on cloud features.
Build the comparison from your own cleaning schedule, labour tasks and quality standard. We do not promise a labour saving or payback without evidence from the actual site.
Measure a trial against your baseline
| Measure | What it helps establish |
|---|---|
| Area covered per run | How much of the planned floor the machine actually cleans, and what remains for people. |
| Interventions | Stops, re-routes, fills and empties per run, and the time each takes. |
| Result quality | A visual or measured check against the current method on the same floor. |
| Consumption | Water, chemical, battery and consumable use per run. |
Include at least one busy period and one fault-recovery scenario in the trial. Agree the measures before the machine arrives.
Prepare a useful brief
What to include in your enquiry
Your floor plan is the brief.
Send the site type and state, floor types and areas, a floor plan if you have one, the current cleaning schedule and method, busy periods, water and charging locations, and the result you want to improve.
Start a cleaning & facilities briefSources behind this guide
Reviewed October 2026. Manufacturer and regulator material illustrates application possibilities and operating considerations only; it does not indicate a Galilei supply relationship or product availability.
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Start a conversation
Bring the task. Start the conversation.
Share your site, the current workflow and the outcome you want to improve. Equipment and any supply or support arrangements require confirmation.
Start a project brief
info@galileirobotics.com.au
Project enquiries only. Equipment, availability and any supply or support arrangements require confirmation.