Articles

Improving the Cleaning and Disinfection Process

Categories: Innovations, Trends & Technology, ISSA Member Spotlight

As we begin to emerge from the haze of 2020, we still face record numbers of infections and ongoing issues with the pandemic. But one bright light is how the cleaning industry has responded to challenges.

One of the most outstanding challenges has been maintaining the health of workers and customers of the businesses and facilities we care for. These persistent concerns regarding virus pathogens, hygiene, and disinfection elevate the expectations of cleanliness from our customers for their facilities.

Also emerging from this haze have been many innovations from the cleaning industry to match those expectations. One such innovation was honored during the ISSA Show North America Virtual Experience 2020. On November 19, 2020, TASKI^® IntelliSpray for swingo^® by Diversey was announced as the 2020 Innovation of the Year Award Winner during the closing ceremony.

But how did this innovation come about? What exactly does it do?

Diversey and TASKI

Founded in 1923, Diversey Inc. (diversey.com) has developed cleaning and technology products for the hospitality, health care, food and beverage, food service, retail, and facility management industries. Diversey’s TASKI division has over 50 years of professional cleaning success in providing a wide range of benefits since 1955, including efficiency, sustainability, and improved cleanliness, marked by innovation and smart thinking.

TASKI has always been known for its industry-leading cleaning machines, and Diversey for its chemical technology and best-in-class infection prevention products and knowledge. Together they strive for a safer world, and this innovation is a part of that goal.

The TASKI IntelliSpray is an adjunct technology that brings the best of what TASKI and Diversey specialize in. This innovation facilitates both mechanical floor cleaning and the disinfection of floors or surfaces in just one application.

The rise of the IntelliSpray

When the pandemic hit, the team of engineers in the research and development department at TASKI immediately started looking at how they could improve disinfection capabilities.

“We did not want to simply add disinfectants in our tanks and bolt on some simple sprayer,” claims Mark Palumbo, director of TASKI North America. “We wanted to use our scrubbers to do what they are best at—cleaning and drying floors. We envisioned a separate professionally fitted device that could hold disinfectants separately and spray horizontal, vertical, and distant surfaces. We thought of schools and healthcare facilities where we could scrub the floor while vertically spraying down things like lockers and doors, while in the same pass, taking a long hose and wand and going into a room and disinfecting it.”

From this vision, they created IntelliSpray in just three months, including its design and extensive testing for everything from chemical compatibility to efficacy. 

Innovation obstacles

Just as with any innovation, Diversey faced challenges in the manufacturing of this product. “It usually takes time to mechanically design and build a device that can be electronically integrated with another device,” says Palumbo. “We overcame this by using things like 3D printers and linking into our machines existing CPU’s that make TASKI scrubbers adaptable and offer other intelligent solutions such as IntelliTrail^™ and IntelliFlow^™.”

The result was the TASKI IntelliSpray—the ultimate cleaning machine with integrated disinfection. It is designed for use with the TASKI ride-on scrubber drier for maximum productivity and efficiency. It includes an integrated hand spray tool for manual disinfection of surfaces for complete flexibility, allowing operators to perform precise, on-the-spot disinfection as required.”

A hero for 2021

In this new year of 2021, the TASKI IntelliSpray will impact how people clean and disinfect.  Now and far into the future, customers are asking for both cleaning and disinfecting, and innovations like IntelliSpray are great tools to improve efficiency without compromising efficacy.

Palumbo continues, “Almost all sectors can use autoscrubbers and disinfectant sprayers, so together, it makes even more sense for them today to embrace this technology. Education and health care are two primary places where cleaning and disinfecting horizontal and vertical surfaces could significantly impact safety and infection prevention. We see this innovation used to clean schools, apply disinfectant to high-touch surfaces like lockers, desks, and sporting facilities. We also see it as another tool for our health care system to improve each facility’s overall cleanliness and safety.”

Simply put, this innovation is for everyone who wants to improve their cleaning and disinfection process.

ISSA as an ally

Diversey has always been proud to align its brands with ISSA’s mission to advance clean and drive innovation.

“Diversey and TASKI have been active partners with ISSA and think the Innovation Award program is excellent at shining a light on new and meaningful innovations,” says Palumbo. “As our industry is continually changing and becoming more critical than ever, we need to continue to be innovative.”

Diversey’s mission is “to protect and care for people every day by pioneering future focused cleaning and hygiene technologies.” The company proved that point with their entry in ISSA’s Innovation Award Program at 2020’s ISSA Show North America Virtual Experience this past November

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